What Makes a Good Red Blend Wine?
To improve or alter the profile of a wine, wine manufacturers regularly combine more than one type of grapes to make good red blend wines. In addition to different grape varietals, the blending may involve mixing different vineyard plots of land or even different putting in the wine in different barrels. Obtaining good red wine blends is a form of art that requires experience, knowledge, and a refined sense of taste to know what works and what doesn’t. To master the art of blending good red blend wines can take many years of practice and often dozens of trial-and-error blends are required to achieve the desired taste, flavor, and aroma.
Creating New Red Wine Blends
Over the decades, many good red wine blends have been created to meet the needs of wine consumers. Because of climate change, almost every year grapes acquire a different taste and flavor, and, consequently, new good red wine blends appear on the market all the time. Today, a great number of red wines are blends rather than pure wines.
In general, to make good red blend wines, grapes grown in the same region under the same climate make great blending partners. For example, Cabernet grown in France is best blended with other similar grapes in the region. Blending a Cabernet with grapes from South Africa or Australia may not produce the desired result or may even result in poor quality.
Popular Red Wine Blends
Several very popular wines that have been blended include Bordeaux, Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah, and Pinot Noir, just to name a few.
In Europe, Bordeaux blends are from the Bordeaux region of France and include several top red wines, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, and Petit Verdot. If you are looking for a top-class French red blend wine, you will not go wrong with any one of these wines. They all have some type of fruity flavor and tend to have complex peppery flavors. Overall, they tend to be light and savory.
GSM is another top-quality blend also from southern France; The grenache Syrah Mourvedre blend is made from at least 19 grapes (including some white grapes) to make a highly flavorful wine. All these blended wines have black fruity and peppery flavors, along with a dark tinge. They are all bold and have a long, thick finish.
Besides America and France, other good red blend wines also come from the following countries:
Italy’s Tuscan blend has many variants, including Merlot, Sangiovese, and Cabernet Franc
Portugal‘s Douro Tinto blend features the Tempranillo and the Touriga Nacional, which are dark wines, acidic, and have complex savory flavors.
If you are looking for good red wine blends close to home, we'd love to hear your opinion on some of our blends!
These good red wine blends have low acidity, are slightly on the sweeter side, have ample fruity flavors, and pair with many types of foods. To learn more about good red blend wines and what foods will pair nicely with them, contact Pacific Rim and Company at 1-503-863-5454.