Bordeaux Style

Can't think of anything else. Be sure to try various percentages in tests before you do the big batch. Personally I like a Merlot based Bordeaux style wine with Cabernet Franc and very little Cabernet Sauvignon but this varies a LOT on your grapes and it works for me in my area. Some like a predominately Cabernet Sauvignon based wine.

A bordeaux blend is any or all of these 3, or also including malbec, petit verdot, and some others I can't think of off the top of my head.

In Bordeaux, most of them are Cab. Sauvignon-based or Merlot-based, with a few that are Cab. Franc based (most notably Cheval Blanc).

I think you would want to base it on whichever wine turns out the best, and then blend in the others to add depth.

Seems to me that there is far more to a successful Bordeaux blend than simply throwing the three vrietals together. Some thoughts you might want to consider;

• Acid balance. Look to achieve better acid balance with your blending strategy.

• Flavor / aroma balance. Cabernet (to my palate) tends to have the strong 'bottom' flavors - cab Franc often excels with some of the 'high' fragrance and flavor. The blend may be a careful attempt to create a great balance.

• Making a wine that is better than any one of the three individual contributors. Someone said to do some bench trials. Sounds Absolutely. Cause it sure would be a waste to pour some wines together sinmply to have a bunch of wine that is less attractive than the best of the three you put in.

Good luck

One other think I would like to add. The only way you are going to make a "Bordeaux" is to go to Bordeaux. This is not saying that you can not make an excellent wine as good as or perhaps better than the average "Bordeaux".

I have been on a mission here in Maryland for wineries to name their blends after the American Viticulture Area (AVA) in which they get their grapes and in which they are located. Maryland has three AVA and the state is doing extensive research on delineating the best areas. Other AVAs may follow. So far, I have met a lot of resistance of naming blends after the AVA in which they are grown. I guess tradition is not easy to overcome. People would either like to name the wine after themselves or some other obnoxious name such as Road Kill Red (not a real name - just an example.

I name my blend (A Bordeaux style blend) Catoctin because I live in and grow my grapes in the Catoctin AVA. One member of the Maryland grape growers association said I might face LEGAL problems if I sold my wine because there is a winery named Catoctin BUT this winery is NOT in the Catoctin AVA. I name my wine after the AVA. I am not calling my home winery Catoctin I am naming my wine Catoctin.

There is also a Linganore Winery located in the Linganore AVA but they do not name their blend(s) Linganore.

I would like to know what other think of the idea of naming their blends after the AVA similiar to the way France names their blends such as Bordeaux and Burgandy after the AVA or in their case it is know as an Appellation.

That's really good advice, the goal of blending is to get a better wine out of the blending stock.

A lot of Bordeaux houses used to favor Cab alone when they made wine to lay down for 20 years; now it's common to blend in some Merlot to mature the wine faster. Were the older ways better? Depends on what you like and when you want to drink it. There are no hard and fast rules, some still make it that way because that is what they like. That said, what most people refer to as a Bordeaux blend is mostly Cab Sauv, about half as much Merlot and a little Cab Franc.

They also pay attention to the ground, drainage and sun exposure when planting; some of these are blended in the field.

To be honest if you went to 5 different Bordeaux houses they probably do things a bit differently in each one and all are going to be a little different. You might be able to give each one the exact same grapes and chances are none of them would end up identical.

You have to evaluate what you have in front of you; if you can make it better by blending do that. That's why it's an art, if it were a science anyone could make great wine from a recipe.

Joe

I agree that would be nice. The government and industry are looking at that in Ontario also. We have Pelee Island, Prince Edward County, Niagara Peninsula... But let's face it we don't have the history and reputation of France and Italy but it does seem to work to attract local support.

It looks to me like a lot of effort is made to attract the cool crowd similar to the Canadian beer ads with the sexy bottles and sex connotations absolutely no emphasis on quality. But who can argue with success. It looks like people opt for cheap wine to guzzle in sexy bottles rather than savoring vintage wine at $40 per bottle.

Joe

The problem I see with your "mission" is that in France's Bordeuax and Burgundy regions, the types of grapes used are highly regulated.

For instance, you can not get a red Pommard that is made from anything but Pinot Noir. A wine maker can grow other grapes, but they can not call it Pommard. A red wine labeled Pauillac must be made from certain grapes (Cabs, Merlot, etc). You can't make a Pauillac from Pinot Noir.

Are the other growers in Catoctin ready to say Catoctin wine is only made from Bordeaux style grapes just because you made yours from them?

Personally, I think the US has a system which fits the US better. Calling it Cabernet Sauvignon with the AVA of Catoctin on the label. This still allows the winemaker next to you to produce a Pinot Noir from Catoctin. If they were both labeled just Catoctin, as a consumer, how do I know what's in the bottle?

Andy

We would not have to adopt the stringent requirements you mentioned. My idea would allow each AVA to produce a blend made from whatever grapes they grow in the AVA that they deemed best to make the best possible blend and to name that blend after the AVA. As with France, each AVA could be subdivided into seperate AVAs if soil and climate indicated this to be representative of a local terroir. In my opinion is not important for the consumer to know exactly what is in the bottle. The criteria should be the taste not necessarily the particular grapes it is made from. Of course, there is nothing saying that the individual producers could not list the grapes and percentages on the label if they wished. BTW, how many American wines named Cabernet Sauvignon are 100% Cabernet Sauvignon? This is true of the Merlot and other varieties as well. Most are "Blends" although the "Other" grape(s) may account for 20% or less, you still do not know exactly what you are drinking now with the present system.

Under my concept, for example, one could compare a red blend named Catoctin produced in the Catoctin AVA with a red blend named Linganore produced in the Linganore AVA. Each AVA would be allowed to use whatever grapes they deemed to make the best possible blend. Of course there could be many producers in each AVA with each having their own idea of what the "best" is for them. This way AVA could be compared with AVA and it would foster competition amongst produces in each AVA and between the AVAs themselves.

I think one of the reasons my idea is not well received is because the AVAs in the United States for the most part, do not have attractive sounding names. I think the exception is the AVA in which I am located; the Catoctin AVA. To me, this has an appealing name and is reportedly from an Indian language meaning "spotted rock". If other AVAs had American Indian names or names that sounded more appealing, I think the idea might catch on more readily.

But you're trying to cross the US and France's way of doing things but, IMHO, throwing out the best parts of each.

I'm OK with the US way of labeling it with grape name, as long as they say where the grapes are grown, such as Napa, Sonoma, etc. or with specific vineyard names.

I'm OK with the French way (generalization, as not all French growing areas follow this), of labeling with the area grown because it implies the grapes used because of their regulations.

Either way, we are given information on what type of grapes are used and the area they are grown, so I know what to expect out of the wine. I still don't know if it is a quality wine, but I know the basic flavor profile I should expect.

But it is to me and many other people. If someone was to sell Napa wine, I wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole unless I was able to get information on the grapes used. If St. Julien decided that their wineries could use whatever grapes they wanted, I stop buying it unless the winery gives me information on what grapes it is using.

But the taste comes from the type of grape, or at least should. Of course there are some wineries where you can't tell their Shiraz from their Cabernet, but those are of little interest to me.

But there must be a certain percentage which helps the consumer identify the general characteristics of the wine. It means that when I buy a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, I probably won't get something that tastes like Grenache.

But this is different from saying the wine labeled with the AVA could be Cabernet, or could be Pinot Noir or could be Chancellor.

But it wouldn't provide the name recognition of your AVA that you should really be looking for. I know a Pauillac will have a certain flavor profile. If I try a Pauillac and like it, I'm more likely to try other Pauillacs.

I know RRV Pinot Noir has a certain flavor profile, if I try one and like it, I'm more likely to try another one.

If I try your Catoctin and I like it, there is nothing that says to me any other Catoctin will be similar. Chances are I wouldn't buy it in the first place because I have no idea what to expect.

Sonoma isn't an attractive name? Alexander Valley? Russian River Valley? I think the reason it's not well received goes deeper than that :-)

In general, I think consumers, at least at the higher end of the market, want more information, not less.

Andy

Andy

You have made some valid points.

The whole problem as I see it is the naming of BLENDS. Naming a wine after a single varital is no problem.

Surely, however, you have heard of "Meritage" wine This is a copycat of Bordeaux wines using the same varieties that go into a typical Bordeaux.

Meritage is a legally recognized name and I am sure there are requirements as to which grapes can and can not be included in the blend(s) - the same as Bordeaux

The term "Meritage" is used because wineries in this country can not label their wines "Bordeaux" because Bordeaux is an Appelation in France and NOT in the United States.

It is true that when you see a wine labeled "Bordeaux" you know what grapes could or could not be included in the blend.

The problem is that at present there is not way to legally name a wine after the AVA here in the United Sates. You see this as no problem; I do.

PERHAPS naming a wine after an AVA would be too broad if there were not limitations put on which grapes could or could not be included in the blend, as you have stated. I do not think, however, they we should not be constricted in naming blends named "Meritage" and including ONLY those grapes that typically go into a "Bordeaux".

Perhaps each AVA could decide which grapes representing their particular AVA could go into a BLEND and cary the name of the AVA.

For example, growers in Missouri may not be able to grow the typical "Bordaux" varieties with a lot of success. However, they may be able to grow Nortin, Chambourcin, Chancellor etc and produce excellent wine from them. I think it would be appropriate if the AVA decided on which grapes it wanted to be included in a blend from that AVA and named for that particular AVA. This would not prevent them from making single varital wines and naming the wine after the variety or for that matter creating blends of whatever and naming their blends anything they so desire.

Thanks to all for the suggestions I am planning to do a lot of tasting and experimentig in the next few months.

Joe