THEWINEMONOLOGUES.COM: Wine Blends

Wine Blends

I have been known to mix or blend many foods and drinks. . . mayonnaise and ketchup for fries, peanut butter and bologna as a sandwich (it's good!), and something from my college years called a "sip and go naked", that if I told you what was in it, you might vomit, but it is actually tastey! Today though, I will address wine blends.

You have all seen them on the shelves, the "California Blend", the "Chianti" or "Meritage".

There are over 10,000 different types of grape varieties. Out of all of these different grapes, only a few hundred are used to produce commercial wines. You probably know only a dozen or so varietal grapes, such as Chardonnay, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc for white wines and Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir for red wines.

In the United States, a bottle of wine can be called by a specific grape's name only if the grape makes up at least 75 percent of the wine. For example, a bottle can only be labeled a Pinot Noir if the wine consists of 75 percent Pinot Noir juice.

Blended wines do not meet varietal standards. Blending wine is though, a time-honored tradition. For hundreds of years, the French have been blending grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc to produce the wines of Bordeaux and the wines of Bordeaux are some of the best wine in the world!

Winemakers blend varietals for a number of reasons including: to enhance aroma, to improve color, to add or minimize flavors, to raise or lower alcohol levels, and to adjust levels of sweetness, oakiness and tannins.

Blended wine enthusiasts agree that blended wines can be better balanced than varietal wines. Blended wine lovers maintain that using two or more wines makes the overall wine "better" than the individual parts of the wine. If you explore the worlds of blended and varietal wines, you can decide for yourself.

Recently, I had the opportunity to try two blended wines from Italy and Spain. These samples were provided to me from my fellow Wino Fantasy Baseball player Joe Janish from the Opici Imports. www.opiciimports.com/home.asp

The Altos del Cuco is a blend of 40% Monastrell, 30% Syrah and 30% Tempranillo.

In the glass, the wine is very dark at its core with ruby red colors at the edges On the nose I got blackberry, slight blueberry and hints of vanilla. This medium-bodied wine holds jammy flavors of dark berries and vanilla with hints of mild spice. Overall, this is a good wine that would be great to take with you to a party of "red wine" lovers! Not sure it's a "food wine" but it would do well on its own. Its price is fantastic too coming in typically less than $10.00 per bottle!

The Carpineto Dogajolo Bianco is a blend of 40% Chardonnay, 30% Grechetto, 3% Incrocio Manzoni, and 27% Sauvignon Blanc.

On the nose, this Italian white emits scents of lemons, grass and minerals. The citrus and mineral/"wet rock" aspects follow through to the palate and the texture has a bit a silkiness to it. The finish was disappointingly short though. My sister-in-law, who is a white wine fan, described this wine as simply "okay". I have to agree. Nothing phenomenal and nothing offensive. It was interesting that the wine actually got better the warmer it got. (Editorial note to white wine drinkers—drinking your wine too cold lessens the flavors! Drink your wine "chilled" but not "cold" to truly enjoy the wine!). This wine also comes in at about $10.00 per bottle, which is not a bad price! It would be good as an aperitif or with salads and seafood on warm summer days.