Blend - Red and White - Wine Tasting Term

I want to first note that actually blending a red and white wine is very unusual in the world of wine. Most wines are either red or white wines. Even "white zinfandel" is simply a pale wine made from the red Zinfandel grapes. There are only a few situations where winemakers actually do mix together red grapes and white grapes to make a wine.

Here is an example - the "Bloodstone" wine from Gemtree Vineyards.

This wine is a blend of 95% Shiraz - a red grape - with 5% Viognier - a white grape. As you can see by the color of the wine, the white grape really doesn't affect the wine that much. This addition "enhances the aromatics and the flavor profile and increases the overall complexity" according to the label.

It's worth noting that many Champagne are technically blends of red and white. They usually have Chardonnay in them - a white grape. They can also have pinot noir in them - a red grape. Even though pinot noir is red, if they add just a small amount and do not use the skins of the pinot noir, the resulting Champagne can still be quite yellow in color. All grapes are white on the inside. It is only the skin that is red!

Champagne Information
Hybrid vs Cross vs Blend

Wine Glossary Main Page > B Glossary Words