Wine & Words

We Americans are largely responsible for the rage for "single varietals" in wine. People come into the store and ask for "a Cab" or "a Chard" or "a Pinot" (and I always have to ask "Noir or Grigio"). Those who are more wine-savvy may ask for one of the classic European blends like "Rhone" or "Bordeaux" or "Chianti." They know that the grapes in these blends and the proportions of each are set by long tradition and in many cases by law. It is the Australians, I think, who are mostly responsible for introducing proprietary blends that…well, just taste good. Blending grapes of different varieties and from different vineyards allows the winemaker to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative. That’s one reason the year of the vintage is not as important as it once was. Blended wines are not "made in the vineyard" but are, rather, a result of the blender’s art. This month we will feature some of our favorite blends. We hope they’ll become yours, as well.