Have you ever wondered how winemakers create such dynamic, complex wines that sing like a symphony as they flood your mouth—wines that begin with an enticing aroma and continue with a flurry of mid-palate harmonies and a series of trills and crescendos that overlay the drumbeat of the wine’s tannic structure? The answer, aside from meticulous winemaking, is by blending a number of different wines.
This month I’ve had the incredible opportunity to observe some of Santa Barbara County’s finest winemakers in action, blending their 2010 vintages. I have to admit that I had never experienced this process before and, quite frankly, was rather intimidated by the thought of Pearsons squares, complex ratios, and—gasp—math! As it turns out, blending is one of the coolest, wine experiences this girl has ever had—and something that I thought I’d share with all of you, my fellow winos.
Blending is all about studying the interplay of flavors and nuances and layering them to create the optimum effect. We like to think of every wine as having its own melody—a composition of notes, differing rhythms, and crescendos. Blending is combining these divergent melodies to form the chords that create a dynamic overture.
The best part? Anyone can try their hand at it. All it takes is purchasing a few bottles of inexpensive wines (we suggest starting with a single varietal), taking careful notes of each of the different wines’ characteristics, and combining them in varying proportions to create a wine that is better, more complex and complete than the base wines alone.
Wine appeals to all of the senses. So in blending it’s important to evaluate and be conscious of how the individual wines best accomplish that. While winemakers sip and spit out every drop, we’ll leave that decision to you, dear oenophiles. But keep in mind that your intoxication levels will directly affect the end result (which, in our opinion, is all part of the fun). As you sip, take note of each wine’s visual attributes: color and viscosity; aromatic qualities; mouth feel, and texture; and finally, the wine’s flavor: the tastes that it connotes, where it hits the palate and when, as well as the wine’s finish.
The number of variables that winemakers work with is pretty staggering. It seems that every step of the winemaking process has a direct and fairly dramatic affect on the wine being made. The varietal, the vineyard it’s grown in, the specific row/relation to the sun, all influence the end result. Factor in the sugar content, picking time, the yeast used in fermentation, and the vessel used to contain it (from steel tanks to oak barrels that impart differing degrees of oak) and you’ve got a lot of flavor variations. Winemakers use these flavor variations the way chefs use spices—a dash of pepper here, a touch of vanilla, and a pinch of clove.
So go to it, intrepid wine blenders! Once you have taken stock of the individual wines’ best attributes, using some form of measurement (graduated cylinder or Dixie cup—you choose), play with different ratios until you achieve the formula that tickles your taste buds. This will require a lot of trial and error, sipping and evaluating. We suggest keeping track of the proportions so that you can recreate your wine and share it with your friends—or at least compare it to their blending concoctions.
Have fun, my fellow winos, and feel free to post results and tasting notes below.
We’d love to hear how your blends turn out!
Cheers!
