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Blending Grapes

Some wine blends are made from classic recipes handed down from generation to generation. Other vintners create brand new blends in an attempt to produce a new and exciting wine that has flavor characteristics like nothing else on the market.

Red Wine Blends
Bordeaux Blends
 In France, the only grapes allowed for use in a bottle labeled "Bordeaux" are:

* Cabernet Sauvignon
* Merlot
* Malbec
* Petite Verdot
* Carmenere
* Cabernet Franc

A typical Bordeaux Blend will have either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot as the primary grape and other grapes will make up from 15% to 50% of the blend. When a winemaker chooses to blend these varietals the aim is to produce a more elegant, complex, sophisticated wine that reflects the character and breed of the great wines of Bordeaux.

Super Tuscan Blends
 Super Tuscans got their start in the 1970s when Italian wine makers decided to create a new exciting red wine. Italy has strict wine blending laws according to the Denominazione di Origine Controlla e Garantita or DOCG. Producers of Super Tuscans decided to break the rules and make a new wine blended from grapes of their choosing such as:

* Sangiovese
* Cabernet Sauvignon
* Cabernet Franc
* Syrah
* Merlot
* Petite Verdot

The intense fruit and deep color of Cabernet and the other Bordeaux grapes are well suited for blending with Sangiovese.

Chianti
 Chianti is a red Italian wine produced in Tuscany. In Italy the blend for Chianti usually is around 75% Sangiovese, up to 10% Canaiolo and up to 20% of any other approved red grape variety such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or Syrah. White grapes can also be blended in. 

The flexibility in the blending recipe for Chianti accounts for some of the variability in styles among Chiantis. Lighter bodied styles will generally have a higher proportion of white grape varieties blended in, while Chiantis that have only red grape varieties will be fuller and richer.

Choose Your Own Blend
 At Gino’s School Of Wine you are the winemaker. If you would like to create your own blend please let us know and we will work with you. 

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