Regional Spotlight On Our Community

A Taste of the Foothills: Blending In

By Michael Wreyford

As a wine drinker, you probably have your head full of picks for your favorite wines. Most likely, you’ve settled on a varietal or two that fits your palette, meets your needs and is within your budget. You’ve no doubt tried a few blends with “mixed results” (no pun intended!), but I tend to think of blends overall as “crowd pleasers” … hear me out and you may end up agreeing with me.

Whether you realize it or not, most wines are a blend. That’s right, even that special Cab or Zin you love, or even that Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc, more than likely has “some” amount of another varietal or two in it.

By law, a wine can be labeled by varietal if it contains 75% or more or the primary grape. So in other words, you may go to the store and pick out a Cabernet Sauvignon, thinking it is just Cab, only to find out upon further inspection that it also has 15% Merlot, 5% Petite Verdot and 5% Cab Franc.

Cabernet Sauvignon, Cab Franc, Petite Verdot, Syrah, Merlot, Mourvedre, Zinfandel are just a few of the many “Noble Grapes” grown and made into wine in our area. There are as many styles and flavors as there are winemakers, so half of the fun of discovering a new favorite, is spending time on the wine trail visiting wineries or tasting rooms, or attending a wine tasting event. Most of the time you’ll be able to meet and speak with the winemaker, which will give you valuable insight as to what they had in mind and what the process entails, making the experience that much more enjoyable.

Right here in our own region, the North Sierra Vintners -- which consists of thirteen wineries stretching out from Oregon House & Dobbins, thru Bangor and up into the Oroville area -- offer wine lovers a chance to taste their way through the foothills. Most are open weekends, with some requesting advance notice, and all are a joy to experience. The great annual North Sierra Wine Trail takes place this year the weekend of April 26th & 27th: mark your calendars!

Another great event is just around the corner, and it just happens to focus on blending. Hickman Family Vineyards is putting on their annual “Blending Party” next Saturday, March 14th, at their winery in Bangor. It’s actually part workshop, part party and there’s a bit of competition involved as well.

Tod Hickman, the winemaker, will guide us through the process which will include barrel tasting of the three or four varietals he’s chosen. Then tables of six will be given a bottle from each of the barrels along with some measuring devices. The goal is to come up with a blend AND the ratios of each of the wines to create a blend that, once completed, will be submitted to a panel of judges who will be tasting while everyone enjoys lunch.

After lunch the winner is announced and everyone heads up to the winery where they will then bottle and label the winning blend. The winner gets bragging rights for this year’s Wine Club Reserve, and everyone goes home with a bottle, so really… everyone’s a “Winner”!

This is a great opportunity to try your hand at blending and get a little insight from the winemaker on what you’re trying to achieve with a blend. If you’d like more info on the blending party, the upcoming North Sierra Wine Trail, or any of the ongoing events at all of the other wineries, visit their website at http://northsierrawinetrail.com/. See you out on the trail, Cheers!