What Am I Drinking?!One of our followers wrote in: “What’s the deal with the cheap wine blends in the grocery store? Are they kind of like sandwiches made with Thanksgiving leftovers?”
Yep – that’s exactly right!
There is a growing number of wine blends on the market, all with super-cool labels and irresistibly mysterious names. And I mean, irresistible: A recent Nielsen study found domestic red blends to be the most trending category in wine.
So what is the deal with these blends? Why don’t they include the grape varieties on the label? How are they so cheap? Well, in many cases, they are simply a compilation of leftover grapes, wine, and/or juice. Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a bad pick-up. Some of these blends are the handiwork of very reputable winemakers and vineyards, at a fraction of the cost of their single-varietal bottles – and they are ready to drink now.
I should also note, though, there are quiet a few blends out there that are, well, just very well-marketed products made with lesser-quality grapes.