Red Wine Blends – The Art of Blending!
Blending red wines is an art that winemakers have practised for centuries to create unique and harmonious flavour profiles. While single-varietal wines showcase the distinct characteristics of one grape variety, blended red wines combine the strengths of different grapes to craft a balanced and complex wine. Let’s explore the skilful process of blending various grape varieties to create red wine blends greater than the sum of their parts.
Blending red wines is all about achieving balance. Each grape variety contributes its own attributes to the blend, whether it’s Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, Merlot’s fruitiness, or Syrah’s spiciness. By carefully selecting and mixing these components, winemakers can create a wine that possesses a perfect harmony of flavours, aromas, and textures.
One of the most famous examples of blended red wines is the Bordeaux blend, which typically includes Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec. Bordeaux wines are celebrated for their complexity, with Cabernet Sauvignon providing structure and depth, Merlot contributing softness and roundness, and other grapes adding nuances of flavour.
In the Rhône Valley of France, winemakers also create captivating red wine blends. The northern Rhône features Syrah-based wines with vibrant fruit and pepper notes, while the southern Rhône produces Grenache-based blends known for their rich, spicy, and herbal characteristics. The art of blending allows winemakers to capture the essence of the region in each bottle.
So how do you blend? Blending doesn’t happen haphazardly; it’s a precise and iterative process. Winemakers taste and evaluate each component wine to assess their qualities. Adjustments are made by adding or subtracting portions of each variety until the desired balance is achieved. This meticulous process may take several months or even years.
Blending red wines also plays a significant role in ensuring consistency across vintages. Climate variations and growing conditions can lead to differences in the grapes harvested each year. By blending, winemakers can maintain the unique characteristics of a wine, making it recognisable to loyal consumers year after year.
Our own SLW Red Wine is created from a blend of Merlot and Barbera grapes. It is a full-bodied dry wine, with red berries and violet aromas, and – like all of our wines – is vegan-friendly and great for Atkins, Weight Watchers, Keto, and Slimming World Diets. Each glass contains Energy of 60 kcal per 100ml, 0g Sugar, 0g Carbs, 0g Fat, 0g Saturates, 0g Protein, and 0g Salt. You can buy it here in our online, low-sugar wine shop.