When are certain vintages "released"?

[leslie423]

I apologize in advance if this question has been covered before. I've tried to search but don't really know what to search on...

My question is, how do I find out when/if a particular vintage has come out yet? I understand that not all vintages/wines are "released" similarly. For example, the Beaujolais Noveau (sp?) is released immediately. But for reds that age, I've seen comments like "the 97 is current release..." How do you know what is the current release and when the next release will be coming?

Thanks in advance for any information. (Don't hesitate to tell me to "go read a book" - I hope to have one or two coming for Christmas :-)