Wine Blending Partners

Blending accomplishes several goals in winemaking. It can be done to improve flavor, mouthfeel, cover a defect, balance the chemical profile, adjust the alcohol content, emulate a commercial wine you enjoy or simply for product consistency. Blending is both a science and an art. The correct blend to adjust the alcohol content of a wine can be calculated. However, pH and acidity adjustments are not as straightforward due to the buffering capacities of the blend components, and the real judge of that blending process is your palate. As you may well know, many of the world’s greatest wines are blends of varieties from the regions where they are grown; Provence has its blends based around Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Cinsault. Bordeaux is based around Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc. In Burgundy, where Pinot Noir is the major red grape grown, blends are produced from different vineyards or wines produced from the same vineyard, yet produced by multiple winemakers who own a small section of the vineyard. Tuscan blends are based around Sangiovese, and then in response