Berger: Rating best grapes for blended reds

Blended red wines seem to be everywhere, even though many large wine companies view this amorphous category with disdain.

“Red blends” is one of the fastest growing categories in the wine game today for unexpected reasons. Retailers say consumers care more about whether a particular wine tastes good and how much it costs than what kinds of grapes it contains.

For wine-loving purists, the blend of grapes should make some sense, but in these days of varietal-aroma masking, such distinctions are often left on the blending room floor.

Many Americans have been led to believe that soft, chewy, simplistic red wines are better than wines of distinctiveness, so the result is a glut of red blends that are variations on the same theme.

Cabernet sauvignon remains a call brand in spite of its usual lack of varietal character. Merlot remains just another blah sipper, and red blends continue to sell as long as they are cheap enough. Which generally means about $10 a bottle.

For that we usually get a liquid that only vaguely resembles wine, usually with insufficient acidity to work with dinner.

Here are a few truths I hold onto that drive my curiosity into red wine blends.

Best Blending Grape: Grenache

This grape has a long history in the Rhone Valley and in Spain (as Garnacha), and it can easily stand on its own. But it also adds dramatic fruit to blends as interesting as Cotes-du-Rhones and the so-called GSM wines that also feature Syrah and Mouvedre.

Grenache has an overt red cherry aroma, on its own can make superb pink wines, and it can provide a lilting level of fruit to almost any red blend. It has few drawbacks, but occasionally requires a bit longer on the vine to develop its proper flavors, and thus can be slightly higher in alcohol than it needs to be.

Poor Blending Grape: |Cabernet Sauvignon

Blessed (or cursed) with a distinctive herbal note, this extremely popular grape does fine when blended with its companions from the same family (Merlot, CabFranc, etc.) But its hard tannins are difficult to tame, and the wine is best with a little time in the bottle or aeration. Neither tactic is popular with the “drink-it-instantly” set.

A bit too much Cabernet in a blend can run roughshod over the benefits of most other varieties, which is one reason some of the so called Super Tuscan Reds are so uninteresting.

Fascinating Blender: Tempranillo

This Spanish variety recently has made strides in the blending community since it lacks the roughness of other grapes and offers excellent mid-palate fruit and generosity.

Questionable Blender: Syrah

This superb red grape can make a world-class wine on its own, but in expensive blends, it can be utterly boring and clumsy. It does best in cooler climates, but it’s usually the hot-climate versions that make it into blends.

Cautious Blender: Zinfandel

When this variety gets over-ripe, blends in which it is used can take on an almost dessert-like aroma. When carefully blended, however, it can become a charmer with its blackberry/raspberry fruit notes.

Wines of the Week: 2014 Anthony Road Cabernet Franc/Lemberger, Finger Lakes ($22): The classic cooler climate aroma of tea and red cherry spice from the former grape and a trace of blueberry from the latter make this superb red wine from New York a winner. The wine has fantastic acidity for pairing with food and it has the texture of Pinot Noir. anthonyroadwine.com.

NV Philo Ridge Vino Di Mendocino IV, Mendocino County ($20): Blending Zinfandel with 30% Petite Sirah works superbly here to generate the wild spice of the former grape and none of the harshness of the latter. Superb balance, targeted toward pasta with red sauces. philoridge.com

Sonoma County resident Dan Berger publishes “Vintage Experiences,” a weekly wine newsletter. Write to him at winenut@gmail.com.