vatting

Vatting is the practice of blending or aging liquids in large vessels known as vats. The term is used primarily in beverage production, where transferring liquids into a common container aims to promote uniformity, balance, or maturation before bottling or further processing. In practice, vatting can involve combining different lots, casks, vintages, or types of product to achieve a defined style.

In whisky and other spirits, vatting often refers to blending whiskies from multiple casks or even multiple distilleries to create a single batch. A blend derived from malt whiskies only is sometimes called a vatted malt or blended malt, a term more common in historical usage and older marketing. The goal is to marry flavors, textures, and aromas into a consistent product, though it can obscure individual cask character. Modern terminology increasingly favors explicit descriptions such as “blended whisky” or “blended malt,” but vatting remains a fundamental blending step in many producers’ practices.

In winemaking, vats are used for blending and aging both before and after fermentation. Winemakers may combine wines from different vineyard blocks or lots to achieve desired aroma, acidity, and tannin balance, or to harmonize a vintage. Vatting can also refer to aging wine in large oak or stainless steel vessels, where oxygen exposure and temperature control influence development.

Overall, vatting describes a controlled merging process intended to produce a stable, uniform product, with specifics varying by industry, region, and product type.