The Wine Experience       
Wine Blends                    

You may be surprised to know that most wines come from blending grape varieties.   Yep, even if it says Chardonnay on the label only seventy-five percent of the wine inside has to be chard.   And there's nothing wrong with that.  

You see each grape type has unique aroma, flavor and winemaking characteristics.   Some are juicier.   Some are thicker skinned.   Some are more acidic.   Some ripen sweeter and so on.  

So part of the winemaker's art is taking full advantage of those qualities.  

The great wines of Bordeaux are blends.   They call it the "assemblage" of the wine.   The Australians are famous for blending varietals.  

If there are two grape types on the label the most is listed first.   "Cabernet merlot" has more cab than "merlot cabernet".  

Around the world are other typical blends.   A few are Chardonnay with Semillon, Grenache with Syrah and Cabernet with Sangiovese.   

When you're wine shopping, take a good look at the back label.   It often tells you about blending and other good stuff.  

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