Um, Bordeaux? (Sorry, it’s often my mission in life to point out the obvious…)

What other examples of well known and tasty blends can you think of?

Ah, yes, Chateauneuf-du-Pape: nothing but dreck.

That said, I do agree with him that the splendo-blendo is too often dismissed out of hand. I think some of the negative sentiment coming from ‘wine geeks’ (or anyone else) is based on the idea that blending varietals is only a way of making up for insufficiencies; nothing more than some last minute, half-assed tinkering to try and get something to market, even if it is horrible dreck.

My favorite American heretical blend (can there be such a thing?) is Tandem’s “Peloton,” which blends Zinfandel and Pinot Noir. Yes, really.

Blend varietal wines? Thats blasphemous! Appalling. How could anyone who is serious about wine consider doing such a thing.

Truth is, the different components of vaietal wines lend themselves to blending and the result is a more interesting outcome.

And yes, it is a revival of an old system. A system that was in place before wine geeks turned a fun filled interesting product into a p…ing contest, obsessed with parker points and bulldust. wine geeks dont love wine. Thay are a group of people who are geeks and wine is the subject that enables them to obsess. If pork bellies or corn futures could be used as boasting tools, then the geeks would be onto them just like they are onto wine.

Sorry for the rant. But ultimately, who cares whats in the bottle if it tastes good and is a pleasure to drink?

There’s so many of the French wine rules that are taken as near-religious law, yet frequently broken even under AOC rules. You never mix white and red grapes, except in Cote Rotie or Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Gouais Blanc is practically illegal to grow, but it’s the mother of Chardonnay. You never, EVER blend Pinot Noir with anything… except in Champagne. Only Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier are allowed in Champagne, except for a handful of other grapes that were grandfathered in a hundred years ago.

This past weekend I tried an Aussie rosé that’s a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and Syrah. And I really enjoyed it. I’m preparing myself for the hate mail as we speak.