What does vintaging mean?
“Vintaging” most commonly names the practice of producing wine from grapes belonging to a particular harvest year. Unlike simply calling a wine old, the vintage system ties a wine to the year in which its grapes were grown, so vintaging is a specifically time-conscious kind of winemaking. The word can also be used as the present participle of “vintage” in the less common sense of making something look old, old-fashioned, or deliberately period-appropriate; a stylist might describe this process as vintaging a garment. In British and American English, the noun use is somewhat specialized and literary, while the verb forms sound marked outside wine-related or fashion-related contexts. “Vintaging” should not be confused with “vintage,” which names a year-designated wine, an older classic object, or the characteristic style associated with a past era. The word is useful because it distinguishes actual production tied to a named harvest year from products that are merely made to look old.
The process or activity of producing wine from grapes of a specified harvest year.
"Careful vintaging preserves the distinctive character of each year's harvest."
This noun use is specialized and is most natural in discussions of wine production.
As the present participle of “vintage,” to make wine from grapes of a specified year or to make something appear old or old-fashioned.
"The workshop specializes in vintaging furniture to match a period interior."
The verb usually appears in an ongoing or habitual construction, such as “is vintaging” or “has been vintaging.”
The regular plural is grammatically possible but uncommon because the noun use is itself specialized.
"Vintagings from the 2019 and 2020 harvests produced notably different wines."
A vintage is named for the year its grapes grew; vintaging is the work of turning that year into wine.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of vintaging
“Vintaging” was formed in English by adding the suffix “-ing” to “vintage.” “Vintage” came through Old French from the Latin “vindemia,” a term for a wine harvest or the year's wine, ultimately associated with “vinum,” meaning wine. English later extended “vintage” to refer both to wine identified by its harvest year and, more generally, to things valued for age or association with an earlier period.
Related word forms
How vintaging is actually used
The noun use is specialized and more common in wine-related writing than in general conversation. As a present participle, vintaging often has a sense of an ongoing or habitual process; the sense of making something look old is comparatively uncommon.
Easily confused with vintaging
Vintage names a year-designated wine, an older classic object, or a characteristic style, whereas vintaging is the activity of producing vintage wine or making something appear old.