The Mystique, Attraction, and Fallacy of the "Red Blend"

 Welcome back!!

As those of you who were regular or semi-regular readers know, I went about a year and a half writing original content off the top of my head. I ran out of steam. I ran out of ideas.

Now I'm back, but not every day.

Yesterday, I paid a visit to one of my seemingly favorite homes away from home -- the Delta Sky Club. For those who have never been in one, it's an airport lounge frequented for the most part by people who fly an awful lot on Delta as well as some who simply have the right credit cards or who spend more money on it than it is worth.

In any event, almost all of the Sky Clubs have a bar with selections of complimentary alcoholic beverages as well as "premium" ones that you can pay for with dollars or with Sky Miles.

Yesterday, being done with client interaction for the day and knowing I was not getting behind the wheel again for the day, I ventured to the Sky Club bar as did a seemingly professional woman probably about 40 years old.

She ordered before I did. She said she wanted the complimentary "red blend." A bit to my surprise because their inventory is usually pretty good, the bartender informed her they ran out the previous night and had not yet been re-stocked. She did offer, however, that their Cabernet [Sauvignon] was quite popular.

The complaining started. "But I only like red blends," the professional woman said. 

I asked the bartender if I could see the bottle of Cabernet. I knew that particular wine and knew what I would find. It's a blend of about 80% Cabernet with some other Bordeaux grapes tossed in. The particular producer calls it Cabernet presumably for marketing purposes and that's legal in the US as long as it is at least 75% that variety.

I remarked while the woman was standing there that this Cabernet was actually a blend. She told me I was "stupid." Perhaps she was right, but I was correct on this one.

So why do I bring all this up?

She is not the first person or 10th or even 50th I have heard say they prefer red blends. It's common. The blend part somehow makes it more palatable. That the winemaker put in a dash of this or a splash of that and says so somehow makes the wine more approachable, more attractive, more mystical.

You know what? Often that's the case. 

It's not unusual for a winemaker of an ultra-high-end Cabernet to add a percent or two or five of Merlot, or Cabernet France, or Malbec, or Petit Verdot to a Cabernet Sauvignon for any of a number of reasons. Yet they still might label it Cabernet Sauvignon. If you are a Cabernet drinker, your favorite ones, more likely than not, are not 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. And that's true with other labels as well.

While the Delta Sky Club has limited options, your favorite wine list at your favorite restaurant might have more. I encourage you to explore, branch out, ask questions, and drop the preconceived notions.

Not all Cabernets are alike. Some have other varieties in them. Some were aged in new French oak for multiple years. Others were aged in neutral American oak for a just a few months. Some winemakers seek to mass-produce from inexpensive grapes. Others choose to make small bottlings with only the finest grapes from carefully selected vineyards aging the wine in their favorite barrels from their favorite coopers (that's a barrelmaker for anyone unsure). 

If you find something you like and you have access to a person knowledgeable about that wine, ask questions. Figure out why you like that particular wine and seek out other ones with similar characteristics. 

Putting the words red blend on the label though should neither be your favorite choice characteristic nor an indicator of anything but either a failure to have enough of one variety or simply the winemaker's preference. And if you are choosing a wine from areas like France, Italy, or Spain, there is a good chance that any red wine you choose is a red blend.