New Releases

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran. It is that time of year – yes spring, and that is important in the wine biz. Right about this time of year there is a good deal written about new releases of wine.

Like a book or a movie a new wine will have a debut of sorts. Very often my local wine shop will have a special tasting and allow us customers an opportunity to taste these new wines. The term “new release” means that it has now been determined by the winery, this wine is ready to be distributed. In most cases it is now ready for consumption. Now, I say in most cases, because you may experience advice from the winery principles, or your wine merchant, that although the wine has been released and is drinkable now - it may be better yet if you take it home and store it for a year or so. Now just because a wine is from a vintage that is a few years back doesn’t mean that it can’t be a new release. There are reputable wineries that will bottle age their wines prior to releasing them. So - the wines being released may be a year or even two or three older than the vintages being released at the time. Obviously these wines may cost a bit more as the wineries have invested in aging them for you and it has cost money to hold them back. If you attend a new release tasting asks lots of questions. If you decide to purchase the wines try to write down what you were told at the time. It’s always fun to look at your notes when you go back to the wine in the future or when you pour it for friends. So keep your eye out for this season’s new releases, and thanks for joining me on today’s Vine to Wine.