Every winemaker is tasked with crafting a wine of the highest possible quality given the tools he or she has. This applies to mass-market wines, luxury wines, and everything in between. It is easy to apply the adage that “the whole should be greater than the sum of its parts” to wines produced in regions where many different grape varieties are commonly blended, but it is a concept that spans far beyond varietal blending. Regardless of style or quality level, creating a wine that is better in totality than its individual components requires a winemaker to have a comprehensive understanding of blending and its relationship to wine quality.
Winemakers can blend different grape varieties, parcels, or vintages, as well as wines made in different styles. Whatever the blending strategy, it must ultimately enhance a wine’s ability to display quality, a term that encompasses balance, length, intensity, complexity, and the ability to age. Perhaps less glamorous but of equal consideration is wine stability, without which a finished wine cannot display its best qualities.
Many classic wines of the world are made by blending different varieties because the process can result in a wine of better balance, complexity, or ability to age.
Sauternes is often a blend of the richer, broader grape Sémillon (which is also more prone to botrytis) and the more aromatic, lifted Sauvignon Blanc. Chateau Rieussec incorporates varying proportions of each depending on the vintage to achieve their voluptuous yet ageworthy style. In 2013, 96% Sémillon was used alongside 4% Sauvignon Blanc, whereas 2009 brought drought, hot days, and rich wines, resulting in only 84% Sémillon blended with a higher proportion of Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle.
Blending Bordeaux varieties like Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon to
Thanks for the very thoughtful article Mary-Margaret and sorry I'm late to the conversation.
Rajiv, you posed some very good questions.
What really matters in blending? Practically speaking, blending is an iterative, taste-based art.
There are practical considerations and constraints. Most wineries must incorporate the majority of wine they produce into one of their finished wines. Production targets for each wine such as total number of cases, overall house style, and legal constraints must be respected.
From a quality standpoint, winemakers are most concerned with structural components such as acidity, perceived sweetness and alcohol, texture, as well as overall character. With structure in mind, winemakers make bench-scale blends and employ trial and error, at each step tasting to understand how the wines work together. Although chemical data may be referenced, taste is often the ultimate deciding factor.
Blending is complicated by matrix effects, the idea that the perception of aromas and tastes depends on the matrix (the background medium). When you combine two component wines, you have changed the matrix, and thus, the resulting wine is not merely the sum of the two parts. Plenty of sensory science studies have observed these effects, however they are not well characterized for aromas. Wine is an incredibly complex medium and because of matrix effects, tasting is frequently our most reliable tool.
What makes an expert blender? The ability to taste analytically and decisively is key. Simply blending the best components in the cellar typically does not make the best wine. An infinite number of combinations are possible, and there is no single perfect blend. The art of blending is in deciding which interpretation best honors the spirit and intention of the final wine.
I hope that is helpful!
This is a great overview of blending considerations. What I’d love to understand is, what really matters in blending? What’s challenging? What separates experts from average blenders? What are the areas of open questions and progress in blending? How much is know about the nonlinearities of sensory perception? For example, certain impact aromas present differently at threshold than in excess - Brett, pyrazines. How do blenders deal with this? Can we have a follow on article that gets more technical, maybe focusing on a particular region like Napa or Bordeaux?
Truly enjoyed this, thank you for all the information!
This is superb...Mary. Many thanks!
Thanks Mary-Margaret!