People who have recently fallen in love with wine might have come across the terms varietal wines and blended wines. Definitely, these terms may sound strange to a novice, but for old hands this is very basic knowledge of wine, without which one cannot be acquainted with one of the world's most cultured drinks. At the basic level, varietal wines are those that are principally or solely made of a single variety of grapes. Each country, and sometimes states also, dictate the minimum percentage of a named grape to be in the wine so that it can call itself by the grape's name. In Australia it is 85% while in California it is 75%. Some varieties of Varietal Wines are made entirely from one type of grape. The law, however, is concerned with the minimum percentage that should be present. Blended wines are those, which are made with two or more varieties. For example, Composition of Burgundy Red Wine is based on a single variety of grapes, Pinot Noir. On the other hand, Bordeaux Red Wines are usually made up by blending as many as 5 varieties. However, there are a few Bordeaux Red Wines that are made from a single variety. Nevertheless, they are exceptions. In practice, the dissimilarity between varietal and blended wines is not that obvious. A lot of varietal wines are prepared from grapes of the same variety but grown in different regions of the country or even the world. Australia’s Penfolds Grange is made from samples that have been selected after tasting hundreds of samples from different vineyards all over the country. There are many Australian wines that are well famed and are regional blends rather than of varieties. The process of picking this type of blend is easier than that of Penfolds grange. To know about the origin of any Australian wine, you can check the label, which many a times reads out the name of the region the vine has been chosen from. Some wines that are made from a lone variety are blends of a number of different vintages. However, this is not common for table wines. Wines that claim to be blends of Viognier and Shiraz, even if the percentage of Viognier is very small, are strictly not blends but are created with the process called co-pigmentation. In this method, the grapes are mixed preceding fermentation. When a variety of wine is called a blend then the name of the type on wine that has largest percentage in the composition should come first. For example, if a wine is labeled Carbernet Merlot, then it is supposed to contain a larger percentage of Carbernet and lesser of Merlot. If you are a new wine enthusiast and wish to stick to a particular blend you like, then you can always do so. However, if you want to enhance your knowledge of wines and increase your wine experience, then you should indulge in varietal wines whenever you get a chance to. There are uncountable Varietal wines, each of which has a subtle difference that can be discovered by a true wine enthusiast.
Article Source: http://www.articlecontentprovider.com/articlesubmit
People who have recently fallen in love with wine might have come across the terms varietal wines and blended wines. Definitely, these terms may sound strange to a novice, but for old hands this is very basic knowledge of wine, without which one cannot be acquainted with one of the world's most cultured drinks.
Ian Love is the owner of online wine Australia, specialising in red wine for wine storage. He also writes a blog on the wine.
Please Rate this Article
5 out of 5 4 out of 5 3 out of 5 2 out of 5 1 out of 5
