Why Winemakers Blend Grapes

Just a couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the mystique of blends, particularly red blends. But why do winemakers blend varieties of grapes into a single wine? Is it just commercial or is there science to it? And if there is science, is there also art?

I think the answer to all of those questions is yes. For some, it's simply trial and error, and frankly, there is nothing wrong with trial and error, but I suspect that the finest wines blend grapes using a splash of science combined with a dollop of art. But escaping from the finest wines to just some pleasing ones, the commercial side often takes center stage.

What's really going on?

Let's start by considering perhaps the best known blend, the red Bordeaux. Frequent readers here, moderately knowledgeable wine drinkers and people who have searched for it probably know that there are five red Bordeaux grapes -- alphabetically, Cabernet France, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, and Petit Verdot. How exactly did they come to be found in the red wines of a region?

Well, for starters, they are all believed to be grapes of French origin and they all grow well in the climate of Bordeaux. They're all warmer weather grapes. And with the exception of Petit Verdot, they all have linkages that are the products of some interesting marriages. 

Let's begin at the beginning.

In the beginning, there was Cabernet Franc. It came from somewhere, but if you know where, you are a step ahead of me. But Cabernet France was quite the progenitor (that's a fancy term that we might use to suggest that a grape variety was a bit promiscuous). You see, Cabernet Franc got together with Sauvignon Blanc (yes, a white grape) and had a baby known as Cabernet Sauvignon. And Cabernet Franc also procreated with Magdeleine Noire de Charentes to create Merlot. And that same Magdeleine Noire de Charentes did the grape mating dance with Prunelard to create Malbec. Finally, Petit Verdot just showed up in Bordeaux and is thought to have been born of some random field grapes. One might think of this as being similar to children born in the spring of 1970 both of whose parents spent part of a rainy August prior in Bethel, NY. But we digress.

Why should these five grapes go together? Well, they somewhat naturally appeared in the same places suggesting some natural commonality. They grow well in the same climates meaning that a winemaker in a given region might have easy access to all five. And, perhaps most importantly, there exists between them a somewhat symbiotic relationship of flavor and purpose. Combining these grapes to make for that flavor and purpose is the artform.

Find yourself a Bordeaux blend and taste it slowly enough to understand what is going on at each part of your tasting profile. So start with the forward part that hits you first (wine geeks call that the Approach). The floral notes on your nose and palate will tend to be first to the scene of the crime. They come from the Petit Verdot and because of the chemistry (we're not going into that detail), it only takes a small amount of Petit Verdot to go a long way there.

From there, you might get the creamy, often plummy notes. Enter Malbec. Again, this grape does not typically give us the richness that modern wine drinkers have trained themselves to love, so large amounts of Malbec outside of Cahors and Argentina are not very common.

The final three grapes come to us nearly in unison. Merlot, with its cherry notes (blueberry when it is a less desirable Merlot) and somewhat soft tannins peaks almost directly mid-palate. Cabernet Franc with its high concentration of 2-3-methoxypyrazine (technically isobutyl and isopropyl) gives us the green, peppery, sometimes spicy notes. And the finish begins with Cabernet Sauvignon with additional spice and typically long, gripping tannins.

A winemaker starts by knowing all those things (at least from a taste standpoint if not from a chemical standpoint) and creates a blend (wine) of his or her desire.

Of course, red Bordeaux are not the only blends out there. Let's consider a few more without any detail.

Red Bourgogne -- at least 80% Pinot Noir, but often with a splash of Gamay (personally, I find the heavily Gamay-laden Burgundies to appear watered down, but that's just my palate and need not be yours).

White Bourgogne -- at least 80% Chardonnay with sometimes a bit of Aligote.

White Bordeaux -- Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and sometimes just a bit of Muscadelle.

Champagne -- Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier.

Chateauneuf de Pape -- Grenache (noir), Syrah, Mourvedre, Bourboulenc, Cinsault, Clairette Blanche, Counoise, Grenache Blanc, Muscardin, Picardin, Picpoul Blanc, Roussanne, Terret Noir, Vaccarese. Note that Chateau de Beaucastel is famous for using all 13 grapes in essentially every vintage.

Chianti -- at least 70% Sangiovese often with Bordeaux grapes.

Amarone -- Corvina, Molinara, Rondinello.

Rioja -- Tempranillo, Mazuelo (local name for Carinena which is the Spanish name for Carignan), Graciano, Maturano Tinto.

Try them all. Figure out which ones you like and try to understand why you like them and that will tell you what you might want to buy in the future.