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A Magnificent Blend None The Less

It has been said that blending ranks with fermentation as one of the most critical aspects of the winemaking process. That is a pretty important statement because without fermentation there would be no wine.  Therefore, it follows, that without blending there would be no wine as well.  Perhaps it’s not all quite that critical.  Nevertheless, blending is an extremely important process and is responsible for creating wines of constant quality from vintage to vintage.

Background On Blends
There are some consumers who still consider the idea of blending, when making a wine, with great suspicion. Starting in the mid 19th century and continuing through the mid 20th century, wine laws did not exist.  There were some unscrupulous winemakers who would extend or stretch a good wine by adding wine of lesser quality to it, while still demanding the same price for the wine as if they had not tampered with the wine quality and varietal composition at all.
Up until the 1930s, it was rare for a bottle of California wine to carry any reference to the particular grape or grapes that made up its contents.  When the California wine industry was pulling itself together after Prohibition, the concept of varietal labeling, as opposed to generic nomenclature such as Claret, Burgundy, Sauternes or Rhine, soon emerged as the dominant approach, at least for premium varietals. But simply labeling a wine “Burgundy” is no guarantee of a great Burgundy wine, as even French Burgundies vary widely in quality.  Several visionary American winemakers began labeling varietal wines made from at least 51 percent of a particular grape type (then the minimum varietal content).

One such visionary in this movement was East Coast wine author and importer Frank Musselman Schoonmaker, who was convinced that American wines would never be highly regarded unless wineries abandoned the practice of borrowing European-type names.  So convinced was Schoonmaker that when, in 1939, he added wines from California, Ohio and New York to his import line as "Schoonmaker Selections," he refused to use generic European monikers, instead he named each wine for the grape variety from which it was principally made.

Schoonmaker's approach soon prevailed when winemakers realized that Schoonmaker’s selection Chardonnays, Grey Rieslings, Barberas, Chenin Blancs and Green Hungarians were commanding higher prices in retail stores and restaurants than were the pseudo-American Burgundies, Clarets and Sauternes.

Another visionary was Central Coast vintner Martin Ray who began making wine immediately after Prohibition in the Santa Clara Valley.  He produced some of the first American varietal wines in 1937. A controversial figure, Ray constantly chided his fellow winemakers for making anything less than 100 percent varietal wines.

The minimum varietal content in the United States has subsequently been raised from 51 percent to 75 percent, or 85 percent if the grapes are from a single designated vineyard and labeled as such.  Monterey County vintners often blend utilizing every bit of the 25% cushion to create robust Cabernet Sauvignon and rich Merlot varietal labeled wines.  However, an increasing number of winemakers believe they can make the best wines by blending varietal grapes and exceed the 25 percent minimum. After all, the great wines of Bordeaux have always been blends of several varietals.

In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify hand-crafted wines blended from the traditional "noble" Bordeaux varietals.  Most American wines are labeled after the grape variety that comprises at least 75% of that wine. A label with "Cabernet Sauvignon" indicates that the wine is comprised of 75% or more of the grape variety Cabernet Sauvignon.  Many winemakers, however, believed the varietal requirement did not necessarily result in the highest quality wine from their vineyards. "Meritage" was coined to identify wines that represent the highest form of the winemaker's art, blending, and distinguish these wines from the more generic moniker "red table wine."  "Meritage," pronounced like "heritage," was selected from more than  6,000 entries in an international contest to name the new wine category.  Meritage is an invented word that combines "merit" and "heritage" --reflecting the spirit of members of The Meritage Association.   While many wineries prefer to use proprietary names in addition to, or rather than, Meritage, to obtain a license and use the term Meritage, a wine must meet the following criteria:

· A red Meritage is made from a blend of two or more of the following varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot, St. Macaire, Gros Verdot and Carmenere.  No single variety may make up more than 90 percent of the blend.

· A white Meritage is made from a blend of two or more of the following varieties: Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Sauvignon Vert.  No single variety may make up more than 90 percent of the blend.  Many retailers and restaurateurs are now responding to demand for Meritage wines by stocking or listing them separately in their stores and wine lists.

Locally today, there is much more wine blending at the top premium wine categories.  Faun, Lockwood and Hahn are opting to use the licensed name “Meritage” following the Meritage Association’s guidelines.  Conversely, other Monterey County vintners are choosing to label their Bordeaux blends with proprietary names, such as Jekel’s Sanctury and Bernardus’ Marinus.

To the wine novice, blending is a fascinating process.  Aged wine, ready to be bottled, is identified by the winemaker who then concentrate on the elements of each of the wines and what they may contribute to the final blend.  Each element of a blend is chosen for its complementary component.  Even more fascinating is the overall impact of the addition of a wine like Merlot to a Cabernet Sauvignon will make.  By simply adding as little as a few percentage points of the different wine to the base wine, the result in an entirely different wine.  Both an art and science, the blending by the winemaker can control the style of the final wine to a great degree.  Thus, the consumer will taste an entirely different wine with every blend.

A Blend Can Include

• Different grape varieties
• Juice from different pressings (free run, 1st or 2nd press)
• Fermentation at different temperatures
• Fermentation with different yeasts
• Fermentation and aging in differing wood
• Malolactic vs. non malolactic fermentation
• Stainless steel vs. oak aged