Blending wine, creative writing for your senses

Earlier in my career in wine, I was intrigued by the topic of blending. I was curious what variables or choices were involved. I also wondered why some winemakers did nothing but purchase and blend wine, with no vineyards associated within the brand at all, indicating that somehow this skill of blending by itself is enough to support someone’s career. There must be something to this process. As I began learning and participating in blending, I found a learning curve, some required education and a whole lot of experimentation.

When we look at the wine world as a whole we see many different traditions and techniques that utilize blending in very different methods. Let’s start with Bordeaux, the grandfather of much of the American wine culture. This style of winemaking has dominated many of the major wine regions of the world, Rioja, Tuscany, large portions of the American wine industry as well. Here they harvest grape varieties separately, sometimes fermenting each portion of the vineyard in small lots to maintain the hyper-terroir essence of the climate and soil. They may even separate by age of vines. As vines age you also get a unique complexity from local mutations as well as the exceptional character that comes with increased vine age. Although the yield per vine is reduced, there is a highly valued characteristic of concentration and minerality that epitomizes vines that have lived through dozens of winters. All of these separately harvested lots becomes a multiple barrel or tank situation where the winemaker attempts to keep as many of the pieces separate. Once all the separate lots are fermented they are aged in a multitude of barrels made of a meticulous selection of wood types differing in age and origin. Now the job of the blender steps in, oftentimes this role is part of the winemaker's job as well.

From here the blender uses all of these pieces as a painter’s palate. Maybe they start with a big portion of a monolithic structured Cabernet Sauvignon, with a chewy tannic structure and lots of rich oak. By itself, it is a bit boring, like a canvas with just one color splashed across it. They then might find a splash of Cabernet Franc for aromatic structure and umami, setting off a contrast where now the drinker has something else to occupy their tastes besides the stone castle of structure the Cabernet has provided as the core of the blend. With these two elements together our wine has a presence in the glass. An aroma that intrigues and a mouthful that stands up for itself. But something is missing, there is no enjoyment, no climax. So let's add a big splash of ripe and round Merlot. It might not affect the nose or the structure since the other grapes in the blend are playing that part in the symphony, but this Merlot has rich and complex fruit right in the middle of the drinking experience, before the bitter tannins from the Cabernet Sauvignon take over. The Merlot gives your senses a richness that then instead of making the tannins austere or unapproachable, it instead turns that structure into a climax to match the intensity of all the experiences that came before it.

This method of blending has dominated the wine industry for a long time, but it is not the only way. Some producers use only single varieties, but still separate lots during fermentation so they can utilize these complex blending techniques to dial in a great wine. Burgundy, Oregon, Napa and Sonoma, for the most part fall under this style of blending.

But there is a third type, an older style, where you let nature do most of the blending for you. The field blend, also called a co-ferment, is when all of the grapes are harvested and fermented together. From here the variations in the glass are more dependent on what each different grape dealt with that year. You see this tradition all along the Mediterranean. Lets use the Rhone Valley as an example. Here the trinity of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre are grown together. Oftentimes a regional character joins the scene as in Carignan and Cinsault, it is like bringing additional instruments to join the orchestra creating a fuller experience. When planting these grapes the places in the vineyard are chosen to reflect where each of these grapes has the best chance of ripening fully. When harvest time comes, there might have been a hot and dry summer, maybe the Syrah struggled and didn’t produce that perfumed violet intensity it did last year, but don’t worry the Grenache thrived in that summer, it end up being able to produce a warm and dusty red fruit that fills that hole. The Syrah is still there providing a depth of color to fill the wines appearance out, maybe some rich tannins as well, but it may be minimized in the overall blend. But what about that Mourvedre. The old adage for Mourvedre is it wants “Its face in the sun and its feet in the water.” Great way to hedge your bet on hot and wet seasons. Although now the goal is to have all three of these ripen to utter perfection, one can see how you can create a wine program that shows quality and consistency year over year by taking advantage of these vineyard partners to help each other out. Almost like the vineyard blends itself!

Now there are few places that will absolutely follow these blending formulas I’ve listed. They are but a piece of the process of how to get exceptional wine from the soil to the glass. From field blends to post-fermentation negociants, the variable of blending is one of the most important parts of the wine industry, and is one of the strongest levers a company has to dial in quality and value. It truly sets apart the highest quality wines from the mediocre masses of wine labels.