Experts are now claiming a new trend has swept the wine world this summer; blending your own. Why has this trend gripped enthusiasts everywhere and is it here to stay?
Blended wine is hardly anything new. For decades, if not centuries, growers and vintners have been taking two types of wine, testing them for compatibility and blending them to create a superior product.
However, until now, consumers have been content to drink pre-blended wine. No longer. Drinkers are getting experimental and they are producing fantastic new blends all of their own.
Traditionally experts have tended to frown on blended wine, partly from snobbery and partly from the fact that even slightly changing a wines composition can drastically alter its flavour. It seems though that experts are finally opening themselves up to the advantages of a blended vintage.
Blended Wine “Lifts the Flavour.”
At the Ideal Wine Company we were first alerted to the new trend by an article in The Telegraph exploring the issue, and what we read certainly made for a compelling argument.
The article quoted the paper’s own wine correspondent, Victoria Moore, who insisted that she often indulges in the practice, adding a touch of Shiraz to one of her choice bottles, which is 100% Grenache, arguing that “it really needs it” and that “it just lifts the flavour.”
She went on to further argue that: “I think if you have a really expensive bottle of wine it wouldn’t be worth taking the risk because muddling it up with something else will almost certainly not be as good as it was before.”
However she then said: “But why not start messing around with cheaper supermarket wines? It will give people a much better appreciation and understanding of what they are tasting.” She concluded by saying that “it will work better if people have some idea of what they are doing and already know a bit about wine and how the different grapes taste.”
Ideal Wine Company Comments on the Blended Wine Craze of 2014
At the Ideal Wine Company, we certainly think that Moore makes a valid point. You certainly shouldn’t attempt blending with superior wines such as the luxury vintages available on the Ideal Wine Company Product List. The complex nature of these luxury wines means that blending them may deprive them of their rich body and flavour.
However we would also agree with her on cheaper, inferior wines. If you have the knowledge to try blending, why not? You may just end up with a superior glass.
