Blend Baby, Blend: 15 Red Blends to Keep on Your Wine Rack
There isn’t a virtual wine tasting that I’ve hosted in the last three months where I haven’t heard someone say, “I drink red wine, but really enjoy blends.” Which, great! I’m so glad to hear that red wine is your jam. But my curiosity doesn’t allow just accept that as the final answer. I made a funny on TikTok a few weeks back about this very topic, but aside from through a little harmful shade, I wanted to dig in a little deeper as to why red blends are typically favored by wine drinkers.
For starters, red blends are usually comprised of two or more black grape varieties (ex: Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot; Petit Verdot and Zinfandel; Grenache and Tempranillo) and the combinations are left to the winemaker to create. In some wine regions of the world, certain grape varieties go together like PB&J:
Bordeaux Rouge: Made up of six grape varieties native to Bordeaux, France. They are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Merlot, Malbec and Carmenere.
Rhone “GSM” Blends: Made of up grapes from the Rhone Valley in France, primarily Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre
Rioja Red Blends: Showing Spain a little love, these popular blends can include Grenache, Tempranillo, Graciano, and other popular black wine grapes like Syrah, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Now, my best advice when it comes to finding your favorite is to try as many as you can. While Cooper & Thief and 19 Crimes are usual suspects in the red blend conversation, winemakers are getting hella creative when it comes to which grapes they use to create the perfect combination. Grenache and Garnacha may be the same grape variety, but they’re going to differ depending on where they were grown. As California Red Blend is going to do its best to embody a Bordeaux Blend, but they’re going to taste very different because of the climate and the winemaker’s preferred style.
If you’re looking for a new red blend to try, here are 15 bottles that are under $25 that are great to sip on every day of the week.
Satis Dei (from Spain, $9,)
Dark Horse Big Red Blend (from California, $10)
Brancaia Toscana Tre 2016 – (from Italy, $19.99)
DAOU Vineyards Pessimist Red Blend 2018 – (from California, $24.99)
19 Crimes Snoop Cali Red 2019 – (from California, $12.99, Target)
CVNE Organic Rioja 2019 – (from Spain, $13.99, Wine.com)
Kanonkop Kadette Cape Blend 2018 – (South Africa, $15.99, Wine.com)
Penfolds Max's Shiraz-Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 – (Australia, $20.99, Wine.com)
Horseshoes and Handgrenades – (from Oregon and Washington, $22.99)
Maitia Aupa Pipeno 2020 – (from Chile, $12.99)
McBride Sisters Collection Red Blend – (from California, $15.99)
Benanti Etna Rosso Rossodiverzella 2017 – (from Italy, $19.99)
Avaline Red Blend – (from France, $19.99)
Tablas Creek Patelin de Tablas Rouge 2018 – (from California, $19.99)
Caro Amancaya Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec 2017 – (from Argentina, $18.99)
