Email Comments
Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran. Today we are answering questions from the email. Recently a listener wrote with the observation there seem to be so many more blended wines on the market these days.
Blended wines are actually the most common wines on the retail shelf however, you may not always be aware of it. The legal requirement is what controls this, because a minimum of seventy-five percent of the grape named on the bottle needs make up the final product. If the label reads Cabernet Sauvignon there is at least seventy-five percent of that grape, very likely blended with some Merlot and maybe some Cabernet Franc or whatever else the winemaker feels expresses the style they hope to achieve. Each grape variety contributes a different characteristic such as increasing the level of acidity to make the blend bright and lively. Using each of their strengths, the characteristics are combined to create a wine that is well balanced with a pleasing mouth feel. Blending different proportions of grapes could mean wines that do not have the minimum of seventy-five percent of a single grape variety and not allowed to be labeled by one grape type. These blends are often given a proprietary name. On the high end of the blended wine scale the wine may be called a Meritage. They are all considered a table wine because of the law. However, if you really stop to think about it a soup that is only chicken broth is not nearly as interesting as chicken broth with lots of good things mixed into it. Remember to send your wine questions to Linda at vine to wine dot net and thanks for joining me on today’s Vine to Wine.