So what is a blend? According to the free dictionary, a blend is “to combine or mix so that the constituent parts are indistinguishable from one another” or “to combine or mix so that the constituent parts are indistinguishable from one another”. And in this case, I am referring to blending wines. Will it be smooth and easy for a nice lamb dish? Or sturdy and vibrant for steak or spicy dish like Cajun meatloaf or flavorful Indian dish? Or fruity with some toast to create a dynamic Chardonnay? Are there rules for blending? Or is solely a matter of what tastes best to the winemaker? What is the main purpose of blending?
Why am I asking all these questions? I had a wonderful opportunity to get answers and to learn how it is done, why it is done and maybe get more answers than I have questions.
Beautiful Wine Grapes
This event caused some memory triggers. I found myself revisiting the memories of my initial journey into learning about wines. It took me back some 40 years ago when I first heard the name Rodney Strong. At that time he was with Windsor Vineyards. Certain wines would have his name on it. I used to get shipments of Windsor wines and they even let you order wines and put your own special label on them with your name.
I just recently learned that creating private labels was also something that Rodney Strong began. Today I will learn more about the history of wine concerning Rodney Strong since that time. I was reminded of the winemakers I learned about in the early 70s then too, people like Zelma Long, Robert Stemmler, Mary Ann Graf and Andre Tchelistcheff. I met Mike Grgich of Grgich Cellars and Bob Kozlowski of Kenwood Vineyards. It was a small club back then.
Mary Ann Graf was the first woman winemaker back then. Why do I remember that? Because I, too, was working in a “man’s world”, a woman computer programmer who didn’t think her only place was in the home. It wasn’t easy. I loved seeing other women challenge the rules too. And I cheered them on.
Back then there a group called Les Amis de Vin. We met monthly to taste wines, invited guest speakers 
who would talk about their wines. At some point, I remember going to a very special event where I got to taste a little bit of a very old Cos d’Estournel from France. At that time, France had the reputation of having the best wines. California wineries were upstarts. (Remember, I cheer for the underdog!). We just got a small amount and I still remember the room, the little taste and how astonished I was that a wine that old could still be so fantastic.
I’ll be writing about my experience about blending and maybe visit some more memories. I hope you’ll come back to learn more about my blending experience.
I am very grateful to have had this amazing opportunity and I want to thank Rodney Strong Vineyards for holding such events for wine aficionados.
Have you ever gone on winery tours or learned about the process of winemaking? Would you ever consider blending wines at home? Do you like wines made from more than one varietal?
Interesting article. Love your description about yourself Julieanne, made me smile.
I’m assuming you meant my trailer comment. You made me reread it and I saw some wording I didn’t like! So thank you!
I can see you are deeply interested in wine! It’s so interesting to hear the memories evoked. Given the taste, smell, and color of wine, it’s no wonder you get many memories, to say nothing of the history of wine, the different contexts in which it’s grown, etc. I don’t drink, but I can appreciate the story through your eyes.
I really do appreciate wine. I never drank to get drunk as some family members think. I like how the wine enhances the foods and vice versa. There is a lot to making wine. I did a lot more tastings and studying when I was younger. And there are so many more wineries these days than there was then. Thank you for your comment. I’m glad you got the sense of what I was wanting to write.
What a delightful experience you have had. are having and the memories that it evoked. Like the rule breaking to
Thanks for sharing
I plan to continue this story. I want to talk about the blending and what we learned. We really had a wonderful time. STay tuned and thanks for commenting.
Hello Julianne I love to buy local wines near where I live in France as alot of producers are organic. There is a wine press here in my village where people blend there grapes and pool resources to make lots of local wine!
That sounds like great fun. When I visited my godfather’s relatives in Italy, they too had this great wine that they got from the local store. They took their bottles down there and they were filled up. It was amazingly good. Thanks for commenting.
I love drinking wine, trying new tastes and cheering on the underdog when I am called. I have done a number of wine tours and tastes and enjoyed them all. It sounds like you have had some joyful tasty drinking experiences.
I have @JenDuchene:disqus. I never really realized that I started studying wines when we had to defend drinking California wines and liking them too over the French. When California won in two categories in the world wine tasting over the French, oh did we celebrate. So many memories coming back. Having fun revisiting them. Thanks for commenting.
We belong to a couple of wine clubs and despite the winemakers in my family, I’ve never considered trying it myself. I find I usually like blends because they’re more subtle than single grape wines. My husband recently started brewing beer, and it’s good! Sounds fun, J. Thanks for sharing!
More to come. It was really interesting. The evening was a delight, Gloria. I really think my cooking skills helped me a lot. Or maybe it was my intuition? Thanks for commenting.
I actually think there is something wrong with me right now as I have gone off wine! Unbelievable. Yes in the past I have visited wineries etc but have never really got into the whole wine thing – the tasting etc
I don’t do many tastings anymore. I do enjoy wine with dinner however. But I have had days where I choose to not partake. I really feel the energies are behind this. For some weeks, I could not drink wine at all. Then I could drink a little and now it has settled out. Things are changing. And it could be the green drinks too. Thanks for commenting.