[vin.tage] n [ME, alter. of vendage, fr. MF vendenge, fr. L vindemia grape-gathering, vintage, fr. vinum wine, grapes + demere to take off, fr. de- + emere to take--more at wine, redeem] (15c) 1 a (1): a season's yield of grapes or wine from a vineyard (2): wine; esp: a usu. superior wine all or most of which comes from a single year b: a collection of contemporaneous and similar persons or things: crop
2: the act or time of harvesting grapes or making wine 3 a: a period of origin or manufacture "a piano of 1845 ~" b: length of existence: age
[2]vintage adj (1601) 1 of wine: of, relating to, or produced in a particular vintage
2: of old, recognized, and enduring interest, importance, or quality: classic 3 a: dating from the past: old b: outmoded, old-fashioned
4: of the best and most characteristic--used with a proper noun "~ Shaw: a wise and winning comedy --Time"