I was visiting a friend a few months ago who works for a winery in Paso Robles... he showed me something that I never considered but have since done many times - he took 2 bottles of wine and mixed them together to create his own 'blend'. The wines? Syrah and Cabernet... about 50% each.
It's interesting because both wines were from the same winery so it was a bit of an experiment, I'm sure. But, later he told me that he took a very fruit-forward Shiraz from Australia and mixed in about 30% of a more spicy and peppery Syrah from Paso to balance it a bit.... he said the result was great.
So, what did I do? I went home... grabbed a bottle of 2005 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cab and a bottle of 2005 Grand Estates Merlot and started doing my own experiments.... not only was it fun, but I started gaining a bit of appreciation for how a slight adjustment in the blend can have a much greater impact on the overall flavor of the wine. My favorite blend of these two? 75% Cabernet and 25% Merlot.... but I've also tried 50/50, 80/20, etc....
It's fun and ads a new interesting dimension to enjoying wine.
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