In recent years, Red blend has been a growing part of the wine business. It has recently surpassed major red wine varietals such as Pinot Noir and Merlot. The fact of the matter is, Red blend have been around for a long time and many wines made today are actually blends of grapes. The main growth for Red Blend comes from the United States rather than Europe due to their stricter laws restricting certain varietals being paired with each other. In California, only 75% of the bottle has to be the varietal that is labeled meaning just because it says Pinot Noir or Cabernet Sauvignon, it could still be a blend and not 100% of that grape.
The reason for the explosive growth of Red Blends is due to the ability of creating a wide spectrum of wines. Great winemakers have the ability to extract certain characteristics from each grape such as the nice tannins of Cabernet Sauvignon and taste of Malbec. When it comes to the blending process, many winemakers choose to blend after fermenting their wine giving them more control over the final product. The ability to blend wines often leads to smoother wines with easy drink-ability and fantastic taste.
