🍷 Blend

A blend is a wine mixed from different grape varieties or different lots. The winemaker starts blending after fermentation, when wines with different properties sit in different tanks and barrels. One grape gives acidity, another colour, a third aroma. Together they form a harmonious taste.

Blending is the basis of many famous wines. The Bordeaux blend combines Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and others. In France the word assemblage is used. The GSM blend is Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre. Petit Verdot, Alicante Bouschet, Roussanne, Marsanne and Uva rara also go into blends. There is also the field blend, when different varieties grow in one vineyard and are picked together.

A blend is the opposite of a single-variety wine made from one grape. This does not mean that one is better than the other. The winemaker decides, often a cellar master who prepares the mix. The mix results in a cuvée. A good blend is more consistent in taste from year to year, because the winemaker can balance the whims of the harvest.