One of the things you’ll often hear from a wine snob is how one year of a wine is infinitely better than another. These people go on and on about how 2008 was so much more ideal than 2009, and how it just can’t compare to the blockbuster of a year that 2007 was. Wine is a seasonal product, and so each year will vary as it’s impacted by the conditions in which the grapes were grown. The problem is that “good years” and “bad years” are extremely subjective, and they vary from growing region to growing region and grape varietal to grape varietal (and even vineyard to vineyard). So the year 2011 may be considered equally an “amazing year” for Pinot Noir in Oregon while being a “fairly underwhelming year” for Bordeaux. What makes these distinctions even more problematic is that the qualities that make one year “great” may not make the wine very drinkable and require you to significantly age the wine before it’s really ready to be consumed. We’re also dealing with taste here, so the qualities that make one vintage considered “superior” may not represent the characteristics of the wine that you enjoy.

Since I live in the Pacific Northwest, I’ll take Pinot Noir as an example. The weather in the Pacific Northwest is extremely variable—some summers are quite hot while others are quite cool. The wine that comes from the warmer summers (like 2009 and 2010) is fruitier and more lush. Personally, I like the easy drinking qualities of some of those warm weather Pinot Noirs, as they often are less tannic, brighter, and just plain affable (not to mention that they are often ready to drink much sooner). The cooler summers are considered to be superior because the wine that’s produced during those years (2008 and 2011) is more delicate, perhaps more complex, and with more tannins, which often means they need to be aged longer before they are at their best.

Vintages are important because they give you a reference point to begin to understand more about a wine, the conditions under which the grapes were grown, and perhaps when the best time to drink that wine will be. It’s important to understand, though, that aging wine is not an exact science. While there are a number of great resources for predicting when a wine will be “at its best,” there is a fair amount of speculation involved.

It’s difficult not to get completely overwhelmed when it comes to the different varietals, regions, and vintages, and it’s helpful to have a little perspective. There are a lot of voices in the wine space which can make you feel like you need to be an expert on wine to enjoy it, that somehow there’s a right and wrong approach (again, this goes back to “good” and “bad” years). I think this can create a major distraction from the essential element in all this: your personal preferences. Ultimately, you won’t find the perfect wine for you through the numbers game—neither vintage nor wine score is going to assure you that what you are going to drink is something that you will like. The only way you’ll learn that is by trying and tasting. Trust your own judgment and tastes.