Wine Infographic: New and Improved U.S. Wine Cheat Sheet

I started making wine cheat sheets back in 2013. More than 4 years and nearly 30 cheat sheets later, I've gotten a lot better at it. Now I'm revamping some of the earliest ones with a prettier face and updated information. Here's the new and improved U.S. Wine Cheat Sheet!

To see the Cheat Sheet in full size…
…in Internet Explorer, right click on it and select “open in new tab.”
…in Chrome, right click on it and select “open link in new tab.”
…in Firefox, right click on it and select “view image.”  


You may also be interested in:
California Wine Cheat Sheet
Washington-Oregon Wine Cheat Sheet
Texas Wine Cheat Sheet

To Blend or Not to Blend

I’ve heard passionate wine drinkers extoll the virtues of blending grapes, as if a blend is always a better wine. Likewise, I’ve heard wine fans lament when winemakers won’t just stick to one grape. Let’s explore why some wines are blended and some not, and whether one is better than the other. I learned by experience when visiting Sonoma, California that blending wine well is HARD.

Why blend?

• Taste:  Grape varieties are often blended to balance out the characteristics of a wine. For instance, a grape with low tannin might be blended with a high-tannin grape to create something more well-rounded.
• Vineyard Insurance:  Blending can provide insurance in the vineyard. Different grapes are more or less susceptible to weather or pest problems. If you plant more than one grape and something goes wrong with one of them, you might avoid losing your whole harvest. Your blend may taste different from one year to the next with a different ratio of grapes, but at least you’ll have a product.
• Business/commercial reasons:  Maybe you don’t grow enough of one grape variety to produce it as a varietal wine. You might blend it with a second (or third) grape, to have a larger production of a blended wine instead of a smaller production of two varietal wines.

Bordeaux makes the most famous blended wines in the world, but lots of wines can be blended without having to mention it on the label. The rules in most wine regions allow a producer to list a single grape on the label, even if they've added 10% or 15% of another grape into the blend.

Blended wines are made in two ways. The most common way is to ferment each grape into wine separately, and then blend the wines together. Another way is to create a "field blend," which means that the different varieties of grapes are planted mixed together in the vineyard. In this case, the grapes are all harvested together and made into wine in whatever proportion they were growing in the field.

I tried my hand at blending wine when I visited the Clos du Bois winery in Sonoma, California. Clos du Bois makes a "meritage" wine, a fancy marketing name for a Bordeaux-style blend, called Marlstone. If you visit the tasting room, you can reserve a spot in their "Marlstone Experience," where you can use the same varietal wines that Clos du Bois uses to try to imitate their Marlstone blend or create your own. Just as in Bordeaux, you choose from base wines of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.

Left to right:  Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, "Your blend," and Marlstone

First, I tasted all the wines and blended equal parts of my favorites. It tasted terrible. Then I tried a more typical Bordeaux-style blend: mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with a little Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Better. In the end, the best results came from letting one grape take center stage with small amounts of others playing supporting roles. After at least an hour of trying, I still hadn't created anything I really liked. Blending is hard, but this counts as one of my favorite wine experiences ever.

  

A blended wine is not necessarily good or bad. It's the result of trying to create a better wine, ensure a stable harvest, or navigate a competitive marketplace. If you're still skeptical of blended wines, just remember: 9000 years ago, Neolithic people were making alcoholic beverages out of grains, fruit, and honey mixed together, basically combining beer, wine, and mead. It makes blending together a few different grapes sound like much less of a big deal.

Wine Infographic: Merlot Cheat Sheet

Next in the wine cheat sheet series:  Merlot!

The full collection of wine cheat sheets is here.

To see the Cheat Sheet in full size…
…in Internet Explorer, right click on it and select “open in new tab.”
…in Chrome, right click on it and select “open link in new tab.”
…in Firefox, right click on it and select “view image.”  


You may also be interested in:
French Wine Cheat Sheet
Bordeaux Wine Cheat Sheet
California Wine Cheat Sheet
Washington and Oregon Wine Cheat Sheet
Chilean Wine Cheat Sheet
The Big 6 and Where They're Hiding

Wine Infographic: Syrah/Shiraz Wine Cheat Sheet

The next edition in the Wine Cheat Sheet series - Syrah/Shiraz!  See the full collection here.

To see the Cheat Sheet in full size…
…in Internet Explorer, right click on it and select “open in new tab.”
…in Chrome, right click on it and select “open link in new tab.”
…in Firefox, right click on it and select “view image.”     


You may also be interested in:
Wine Infographic: Australian Wine Cheat Sheet
Sixty-One: An IPA Brewed with Syrah Grape Must
Wine Infographic: Argentina Wine Cheat Sheet

Wine Infographic: California Wine Cheat Sheet

Next in the series of wine cheat sheets - California!

See the full collection of wine cheat sheets here.

To see the Cheat Sheet in full size…
…in Internet Explorer, right click on it and select “open in new tab.”
…in Chrome, right click on it and select “open link in new tab.”
…in Firefox, right click on it and select “view image.”   


You may also be interested in:
Texas Wine Cheat Sheet
Cabernet Sauvignon Cheat Sheet
Washington-Oregon Wine Cheat Sheet

Getting to know a new grape: Arneis

I love tasting grapes I've never had before! Arneis is a white Italian grape which is not often seen outside of Italy. Even within Italy, it's not often seen as a varietal wine.  Seghesio Vineyards in Sonoma County, California specializes in Italian grape varieties and makes a varietal Arneis which I tasted recently. 

The Arneis grape, also called Bianchetta, comes from the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, and has been used historically as a blending partner to soften wines made from the red grape Nebbiolo. This is not as common today, but Arneis does appear in the white wines of the Roero and Langhe regions.

In the United States, Arneis is mainly found in Sonoma County, California and the Willamette Valley in Oregon. The Seghesio bottle says that Arneis translates to "little rascal," because it is challenging to grow. Seghesio currently has about 20 acres of Arneis in the Russian River Valley.

I tasted the 2012 vintage. It has aromas and flavors of lemon, herbs, and tart peach, along with strong minerality. I suspect, but cannot verify, that it gets a little oak aging. It is dry, with high acid and medium body, and an alcohol content of 13%. This Arneis is refreshing and tastes like an Old World wine, in that it's less fruit-forward and more earthy in its flavors. I'd recommend this wine for people who like old world Sauvignon Blancs and dry Rieslings. It's reasonably priced at $22 and is well worth it for the opportunity to try this rare grape. And it happens to taste good too.

I drank this Arneis with a vegetarian Thai green curry and it paired very well. The wine had enough flavor and body that the curry didn't overpower it, and the flavors complemented each other nicely. Many times you'll see a white wine with residual sugar recommended with spicy Asian food, but this dry white did a great job. I could see it pairing well with many dishes, anything from fish to a well-seasoned pork chop.

I'm not sure whether the Seghesio Arneis is available in the Houston area, since I ordered it from the web site. However, they do ship to Texas! Or if you want to find an example of Arneis locally, I believe Spec's carries a few options that come from Italy.

Wine Infographic: Wine Altitude Cheat Sheet

Altitude is an important factor affecting grapes and wine. Here's your cheat sheet for what it does, why it matters, and which wine regions are impacted by it.

See the full collection of Wine Cheat Sheets here.

To see the Cheat Sheet in full size…
…in Internet Explorer, right click on it and select “open in new tab.”
…in Chrome, right click on it and select “open link in new tab.”
…in Firefox, right click on it and select “view image.”   

You may also be interested in:

Wine Infographic: Botrytis (Noble Rot) Cheat Sheet
Wine Infographic: Texas Wine Cheat Sheet
Acid 101
Tannin 101

Wine Infographic: Chardonnay Cheat Sheet

Here is the fourth in the series of grape profiles - Chardonnay.  (See them all here.)  It covers the typical Chardonnay characteristics and the main growing regions.  Use this to learn more about a grape you love or to explore a new one!  (Click on the graphic for a larger view.)

To see the full collection of wine cheat sheets, click here.

To see the Cheat Sheet in full size…
…in Internet Explorer, right click on it and select “open in new tab.”
…in Chrome, right click on it and select “open link in new tab.”
…in Firefox, right click on it and select “view image.”   

Texas Viognier Beats California and Rhone!

The traditional home of the Viognier grape is in the Rhone Valley in France, and it has also had success in California.   But more and more Texas wineries are producing wine from Viognier.  How are they doing?  Very well!

Read the full story here.

Wine Infographic: Pinot Noir Cheat Sheet

Here is the third in the series of grape profiles - Pinot Noir.  (See the full collection of wine cheat sheets here.)  It covers the typical Pinot Noir characteristics and the main growing regions.  Use this to learn more about a grape you love or to explore a new one!  (Click on the graphic for a larger view.)

To see the Cheat Sheet in full size…
…in Internet Explorer, right click on it and select “open in new tab.”
…in Chrome, right click on it and select “open link in new tab.”
…in Firefox, right click on it and select “view image.”   

Wine Infographic: Cabernet Sauvignon Cheat Sheet

Here is the 2nd installment in my series of grape profiles.  (See the full collection of wine cheat sheets here.)  Hopefully this will help you to learn more about a wine you already like, or explore the flavors of a new grape or a new region!  (Click on the graphic for a larger view.)

To see the Cheat Sheet in full size…
…in Internet Explorer, right click on it and select “open in new tab.”
…in Chrome, right click on it and select “open link in new tab.”
…in Firefox, right click on it and select “view image.”   

Wine Infographic: Sauvignon Blanc Cheat Sheet

Sauvignon Blanc is one of the most popular wine grapes in the world.  It's one of the "Noble 6" or "Big 6" grapes, which are used to make about 80% of the wines in the world.  (More about those here.)  It's also considered an "International Variety," which means that it is grown all around the world, and it displays it's own natural characteristics as well as the terroir of wherever it's growing.  Another fun fact:  it is one of the parent grapes of Cabernet Sauvignon. (Cabernet Franc is the other parent.)

Here is your official Sauvignon Blanc Cheat Sheet!  This covers the typical wine style, aromas/flavors, and primary growing regions around the world.  (It's grown in other places of course, but these are the big ones.)    Use this to get to know a new grape, or to find new regions to taste from!  (click to see a bigger version)

To see the full collection of wine cheat sheets, click here.

To see the Cheat Sheet in full size…
…in Internet Explorer, right click on it and select “open in new tab.”
…in Chrome, right click on it and select “open link in new tab.”
…in Firefox, right click on it and select “view image.”   

The 2-Minute Guide to Bubbles

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, so you might be in the market for some sparkling wine!  Here’s a flow chart to help you decide what to buy:

And here are some details about each option:

Champagne – This is the classic choice for celebrations.  It must come from the Champagne region of France to be called Champagne, and you will pay extra for that pedigree!  Because of the process used to make it, Champagne has toasty, bready aromas/flavors that some people like and some don’t.  Most Champagne is “brut” which means it tastes dry.  If it says “demi-sec” it will taste somewhat sweet.  Demi-secs can be tough to find, but if you live in the Clear Lake area, the Spec’s on Bay Area Blvd. carries the Veuve Clicquot demi-sec for around $50.

Cava – Cavas are made in the same method as Champagne, but come from Spain.  They taste similar to brut Champagne (dry), but cost less.

Crémant – Crémant is the name for a sparkling wine made in the same method as Champagne, but which comes from another region of France.  Labels will say Crémant, followed by which region made it (Crémant de Bourgogne, Crémant d’Alsace, etc.).  These also taste similar to brut Champagne (dry), but are usually cheaper.

California Sparkling Wine – These are often made using the same method as Champagne (called “traditional method” outside of the Champagne region), but are fruitier in flavor.  They come in a range of prices.

Prosecco – This is a sparkling wine from Italy which is light and fruity, but dry.

Moscato d’Asti – This is for people who want something light, fruity, and sweet.  Asti Spumante is very similar, but a bit sweeter and with more bubbles.