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Learn about the basics of wine each week.
And, get great recommendations for affordable and attainable wines in the weekly Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week.
Kenwood Russian River Pinot Noir ($13)
The Russian River Valley is home of some of the greatest Pinot Noir to be found. This one from Kenwood is a very nice example and a great value. With red fruit flavors of raspberry and cherry along with hints of vanilla from being aged in French oak barrels, this Pinot Noir is delicate and smooth. Give this one a slight chill and enjoy with most foods, especially grilled salmon.
In years past in the U.S., red wine blends were sold by the jug as "Red Wine" or "Table Wine." These were inexpensive wines that were blends of grapes, vineyards or even vintages. So, today, blends are often disregarded as being of poor quality.
But we only need to look to France, home of some of the world’s best wines, to see that blends are nothing to turn your nose up at. France's famous region of Bordeaux produces red blends almost exclusively. Depending on which bank the wine is from in Bordeaux, it will be a different blend. The Left Bank is known for its blends based on Cabernet Sauvignon while the Right Bank blends are Merlot based. These blends may also include Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot and Malbec.
Other famous regions known for their blends include the Rhône Valley that uses Grenache, Syrah and Mouvedre and the so-called Super Tuscans from Italy that may include Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, Syrah, Cabernet Franc and others.
The main reason that winemakers produce blends is to make the best wine possible. Blending different grape varieties is useful in accentuating a particular grape's virtues. But winemakers have also learned never to blend an inferior wine with a good wine because the result is usually an inferior wine. Again, the goal is to produce a wine that is actually better than the sum of its parts. And blending allows for wines that are well balanced and complex in their aromas, flavors, colors and textures. The blended grapes can add layers of flavor that will change through the process of taking the first sip, letting it sit on your tongue and then as you swallow.
Another thing you may not realize is that most wines labeled in the U.S. as single varietals are actually blends. The laws state that for a wine to be labeled as a single varietal, it must contain at least 75% of the noted grape. But that leaves the other 25% for the winemaker to be creative and generally to blend in other grapes that results in their best possible wine.
So don't turn up your nose at red wine blends. These can actually be some of the best wines in the world. Cheers!
2015 Justin Sauvignon Blanc ($12)
This Sauvignon Blanc from Justin in Paso Robles CA is very nice one. Loaded with bright, crisp fruit flavors of lemon, green apple, white peach and guava. At 14.5% alcohol by volume (ABV) it is quite dry (not sweet). This one is great with cheeses, seafood or appetizers.
The Pinot Noir grape is a red grape most famously known for the production of red Burgundy. And today's new world Pinot Noir wines, especially from California and Oregon, are wonderfully delicate light bodied red wines with flavors of cherry, raspberry, strawberry, cranberry and black plum. But did you know that there is a white Pinot Noir? And what, might you ask, is white Pinot Noir?
Let's first take one step back. The juice from a red grape and a white grape is nearly clear. It's the process of making red wine, in which the grape skins are left in contact with the juice as it ferments, that colors it red. So, quite simply, white Pinot Noir is wine made from the juice of the Pinot Noir grape, but the juice is immediately removed from the grape skins before fermentation. So you end up with a white wine.
Now you're probably wondering if it's anything like that other white wine (rosé) made from a red grape, white Zinfandel. Well, sort of, but not exactly. White Zinfandel became wildly popular mostly because of its high residual sugar. It's somewhat sweet. But most of the white Pinot Noir being produced is dry, having little or no residual sugar. And while white Zinfandel is actually pink in color (a rosé), white Pinot Noir ranges in color from pale yellow, similar to Chardonnay, to a deep golden hue. Typically white Pinot Noir is not aged in oak barrels so you get a lot of the bright crisp fruit flavors of pear, with hints of lemon, orange and honey. An oaked white Pinot Noir will take on the rich flavors of baked apple or baked pear.
Before you write-off white Pinot Noir as a gimmick or just the latest trend, realize that Pinot Noir is one of the primary grapes used to make Champagne, along with Pinot Muenier (another red grape) and Chardonnay. So white Pinot Noir has a very long and illustrious history. You might have heard of white Pinot Noir as Blanc de Noir in France or Vin Gris of Pinot Noir.
Bottles of white Pinot Noir are a bit difficult to find but if you happen to see one, or have the opportunity to try a glass, by all means do. Cheers!
2014 Charles & Charles Cabernet Sauvignon & Syrah ($12)
This red blend from Washington State's Columbia Valley is another from Charles Smith, this time in collaboration with Charles Bieler. Although having the requisite 75% of Cabernet Sauvignon to be labeled as Cabernet Sauvignon, this pair has chosen to identify both the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Syrah (the other 25%) on the label. They describe it as "...bringing together the structure and dense black currant flavors of Cabernet Sauvignon and the sumptuous dark fruit and spice of whole cluster Syrah." This is a big and bold red that is very nicely done and a great value. Enjoy a glass with some bold cheeses, BBQ or a steak.