My wife and I have a disagreement over whether the year matters when looking for a wine that has been recommended by a magazine or site like wine spectator. Often by the time an article (say in Consumer Reports) is published, it is impossible to find the year that the article recommends for a particular bottle. I look for, say, 03, only to find only 04; for 04 only to find 05, etc. And if the year matters, is it only for the higher-priced wines?

It matters. Unless you are drinking sub $10.00 bottles.

Then it shouldn't matter. If you would drink that, nothing can help you.

Consumer Reports is the idiot's guide to wine and food BTW.

It absolutely matters.

Some years are better than others in a particular region and some wineries are more consistant than others. Log onto either Wine Advocate or Wine Spectator and do a couple searches for particular wines in all vintages. You will see that the rating really varies from year to year, lots of times, significantly. There are many factors that go into wine, so the same wine will not be the same year after year.

Check out the vintage charts on WS.com:

http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Vintage_Charts

That'll give you a very general idea about different wines from different regions for a specific vintage. Of course, there will be great variation even within the same region and year, but it is a jumping off point.

It depends on the region the wine comes from. Some, cold Old World regions have more diverse climate, like Bordeaux for example and vintages can vary widely in quality.

In warmer climates the vintages (generally) have a more minor effect on the product.