Vintage
The term "vintage" has a couple of related but somewhat different meanings. First, it is used to refer to the year of a grape harvest. Additionally, the wine produced from that specific year will also be referred to as a vintage. A wine that is produced by blending wines from different years would be referred to as a non-vintage wine (N.V.), and this is common with wines like champagne and port. Due to variation from year to year in terms of the quality and character of the grapes harvested, some years, or vintages, are considered better than others. Typically, champagne is produced as a N.V. wine (many champagne houses prefer the term "multi-vintage"), and this enables the producers to create wines of consistent quality by blending multiple years together. During exceptional years, winemakers will take advantage of the high-quality harvest to produce outstanding vintage champagnes, like Dom Perignon.

Vintage Port
Vintage port is produced only during years in which the grape harvest was of extraordinary quality. Known as a "declared" vintage, they occur about two or three times every ten years. Unlike tawny ports which are often aged in wood for decades, vintage ports are bottled after no more than two years, but then are usually aged in the bottle for at least twenty years before being enjoyed. It is important to decant these wines due to the significant amount of sediment that will accumulate in the bottle during this time.
A case of vintage port is a wonderful wine to buy for a child's birth; the two can age in tandem and the wine sampled at intervals throughout the child's life. When young, vintage port is a mere shadow of what it will become; not until its teenage years does it begin to exhibit character. Upon reaching its early 20's, a vintage port has achieved maturity, but is not as rich and fully developed as it will become over the next several decades. As are we, these wines are much more complex upon reaching their fourth decade, and will begin to mellow - transitioning from intense plum-like flavors to softer, nut-like flavors. Over the next several decades, the port continues to build character and complexity but begins to lose vitality and power. Six to eight decades is nearing the end of a vintage port's lifespan. Only bottles that have been stored properly from the finest producers and vintages will survive ten decades.

Viognier (vee-oh-nyay)
An outstanding white wine varietal that's most commonly planted in France's northern Rhone region. The grape earned its renown due to the stellar wines of Condrieu and Chateau-Grillet - dry, floral-scented whites of the northern Rhone Valley. A small amount of Viognier is also commonly added to the Syrah used to make the impressive red wines of Cote-Rotie. It can also be used to create delightful late harvest dessert wines. Plantings of the varietal have been extremely limited because the grape is highly susceptible to disease and its yield is low, but that's changing. Viognier is making its way into New World wines with plantings in South Africa, Chile, Australia, and the United States, particularly California.

Viticulteur (vee-tee-cul-tuhr)
A French word that translates as "vine grower". In most cases the term is applied to the owner of a vineyard or the chief manager. The term vigneron has a similar meaning, but more commonly is applied to someone who is an employee or who rents the land.

Viticulture
The field of study involving specifically the growing of grapevines. Not to be confused with "viniculture", which relates to the making of wine. Obviously the two terms involve overlapping concepts, but they are distinctly different.

Vitis Vinifera (vee-tis vin-if'-er-ah)
The genus "vitis" is made up of over forty individual grape species, and Vinifera is the shining star among them as it is the species from which almost every wine (and certainly every fine wine) is produced. It is widely speculated that the Muscat varietal is the original Vinifera from which all other types (Merlot, Zinfandel, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Gris, etc.) are descended, but since Vinifera cultivation predates recorded history, we may never know for sure.

Volatile, Volatile Acidity (VA)
A wine is considered "volatile" if it is presenting excess amounts of volatile acids. These acids are intrinsic to wine in general, and in balance they are important for proper aromas and flavors. However, high levels of acetic acid and ethyl acetate will give the wine a disagreeable sharp and vinegar-like taste, and is a considerable flaw.

Vouvray (voo-vray)
An appellation in France's central Loire Valley. The vineyards surrounding the town of Vouvray grow Chenin Blanc almost entirely, and the character of the wine of this region ranges from dry and crisp to lush, with beautiful,sweet fruit flavors predominating. Increasingly, Vouvray producers are making sparkling wines by way of the champagne method.

Watery
This descriptor is applied when a wine is thin and lacks flavor, body, alcohol, and acidity. In other words, it tastes diluted.

Weedy
An aroma or flavor of freshly cut grass or hay.

Weighty
A term applied to assertive, powerful, full-bodied wines.

Wein (vine)
The term means "wine" in German.