The Art of Wine Making: Making Decisions on Blending Wines

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Blending of wines plays a large role in the art of wine making.

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.

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.

Here are some of the types of blending strategies used by wine makers:

Varietal Blends: This is the most common blending done in wine making. Here, wine makers blend different grapes (varieties) to achieve the wine that they desire. Examples include Bordeaux wines, Rhone Wine and Super Tuscan wines. Also, in the U.S., most wines labeled 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. 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.

Field Blends: These are wines that are made from different grape varieties that are grown together in the same vineyard, harvested at the same time, and fermented together in one batch.

Vineyard Blends: Wine makers may draw grapes from multiple vineyards or even multiple regions and blend them to achieve the desired traits.

Vintage Blends: While rarely done, a wine maker may find that their current vintage just isn’t up to their standards. They can then choose to blend this year’s vintage with some of last year’s vintage.

With the exception of field blends, the wines are typically blended after fermentation and aging, just prior to blending.

As this series has continually pointed out, wine making is both a science and an art. And the art of blending, when done well, can elevate a wine to something greater than the sum of its parts. Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Virginia Wine Governor's Cup Winner: Barboursville Vineyards Octagon

2017 Barboursville Vineyards Octagon ($95)

This Barboursville Vineyards wine was named to celebrate the estate’s diverse connections with the legacy of Thomas Jefferson, symbolized in the central octagon drawing room in his design for Governor Barbour’s mansion.

Octagon is produced from 100% estate-grown grapes including 62% Merlot, 31% Cabernet Franc and 7% Petit Verdot. The gapes were grown under the expertise of viticulturist Fernando Franco, and were sourced from two Merlot parcels, one Cabernet Franc, and two Petit Verdot plots.

A traditional approach to fermentation was followed, with blending occurring after 12 months of aging.

This Octagon is medium purple in color with aromas of red fruit, sweet tobacco and notes from the oak aging. On the palate, this medium-full bodied wine has rich black fruit flavors along with notes from the 12 months of oak aging. It has medium-high tannin and finishes soft and balanced. [ABV: 13.5%, TA: 5.4 g/L, pH: 3.68, Residual Sugar: <0.1%]

This is indeed a winner and a perfect fit as the Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Cheers!

Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this sample at no cost for review.

Media Sample Provided by Barboursville Vineyards, Virginia Wine and Donna White Communications

The Art of Wine Making: Choosing Whether or Not to Filter a Wine

Just before the wine is bottled, it may go through one of several processes to remove any remaining sediment.

The processes for removing sediment from wine include (1) racking, (2) fining or (3) filtering. Let’s take quick look at each of these processes.

Racking allows for the natural settling of the sediment to the bottom of the barrels. Then, the wine is pumped out of the top of the barrel leaving the ‘bottom of the barrel’ remains. 

Filtering can also be used to remove sediment but too much filtering can remove important particles that yield a wine’s aromas and flavors. 

Fining is a process that also removes sediment from wine but it’s done by adding coagulants to the wine.  These coagulants immediately bind to the sediment particles and under the force of gravity, fall to the bottom of the vessel. Fining agents can include egg whites, gelatin or a milk protein called casein. In all cases, these fining agents do not remain in the wine, do not leave any residual flavor and are removed with the sediment.

The result of each process is a stable, clear and pleasant-looking glass of wine instead of something that would otherwise be cloudy-looking. Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Virginia Wine Governor's Cup Winner: 50 West Vineyards

50 West Aldie Heights Cuvée ($70)

50 West is a farm vineyard located on Route 50 just past the historic town of Aldie in Middleburg, Virginia. (39060 John Mosby Highway).

First used by Native Americans as a route to move their migrating herds, Route 50 was later used by the colonists and a portion was even surveyed by George Washington.

As one of the larger farm vineyards in the state, they grow fruit on five properties in northern Virginia and are proud of their reputation for growing 100% Virginia grown grapes to make their wine.

Winemaker Jason Burrus got his start in California where he spent six years in Napa, Sonoma, and the Central Valley while completing his MS in Viticulture & Enology from UC Davis. He’s called Virginia home since 2006.

This Aldie Heights Cuvée was produced from 47% Tannat, 44% Petit Verdot, 7% Merlot, and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon from their Shenandoah Springs & Shenandoah Ridge Vineyards. It was aged for 26 months in French oak barrels.

It is medium purple in color with delicate black fruit aromas along with a hint of the French oak. On the palate, this full-bodied wine has rich dark fruit flavors, is very complex, has wonderful vanilla notes from the French oak aging and has a long, smooth and balanced finish. [ABV: 14.5%, TA: 4.5 g/L, pH:4.0, Residual Sugar: 0.4%]

This is a truly outstanding wine. One sip will show you why this was a winner in the Virginia Governor’s Cup. And, it’s a perfect fit as this week’s Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Cheers!

Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received these samples at no cost for review.

Media Samples Provided by 50 West Vineyards, Virginia Wine and Donna White Communications

The Art of Wine Making: Knowing When to Top Off Oak Wine Barrels

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Another aspect of the art of wine making is knowing when to top off oak wine barrels during the winemaking process. Winemakers need to routinely do this during barrel aging.

Here's why…

1. Evaporation Through the Barrel

  • While the oak staves in the barrel do expand when saturated with the wine, these barrels are not completely airtight. So, they actually allow a small amount of oxygen to enter the barrel and interact with the wine.

  • Conversely, oak barrels also allow evaporation of the wine through the wood over time, especially in dry or warm conditions.

  • This evaporation creates air gaps, called “headspace” inside the barrel.

  • The amount of wine that evaporates from the barrel is often referred to as the "Angel’s Share" because it was imagined that angels must be taking their share of the wine from the heavens above.

2. Risk of Oxidation

  • The headspace is filled with air (that includes oxygen), and too much oxygen exposure can lead to oxidation, which can dull the wine’s flavors and aromas and, in the extreme, spoil the wine and give it a nutty-like flavor (much like Port wine flavor)

3. Knowing When to “Topping Off” the Barrels

  • The “art” of knowing when to top off a wine barrel is a mix of routine checks, sensory observation, and understanding the wine’s environment. Experienced winemakers can even predict when barrels need topping based on subtle cues like how the barrels plug (known as a bung plug) fits or the cellar conditions.

  • Topping off simply means refilling the barrel to its full capacity with the same wine (typically from a reserve tank or another barrel).

  • This minimizes the oxygen in the headspace and helps preserve wine quality.

4. Frequency of Topping Off

  • Winemakers typically top off barrels every few weeks to every couple of months, depending on cellar conditions (humidity, temperature), barrel size, and wine style.

So in short, topping off an oak wine barrel is a key part of maintaining the wine’s freshness during barrel aging. Yet another part of the art of wine making. Cheers!