What term describes the practice of blending wines from different vintages?

The practice of blending wines from different vintages is best described by the term "Cuvée." This term is often used in the wine industry to indicate a batch or blend of wine, which can come from various sources, including different grape varieties or even different years of harvest. The aim of creating a cuvée is to achieve a specific style, complexity, or balance in the final product.

Blending from various vintages allows winemakers to maintain consistency across years, as they can adjust the blend to account for variable weather conditions and grape quality from year to year. This technique is particularly common in the production of Champagne and other sparkling wines, where the blending of wines from different years helps ensure a consistent flavor profile.

While "Meritage" refers to a specific style of wine blend made from Bordeaux grape varieties, and "Assemblage" is a French term used to describe the process of combining different components into a final blend, neither specifically addresses the blending of wines from different vintages. "Fortified," on the other hand, refers to wines that have had distilled spirits added, which is unrelated to the blending of various harvest years.