In Praise of the “Fantasy Blend”

Those of you who know me personally, or sell to, or buy wine from The Wine Library, know that I’m a stickler for tradition. Just take a look at the Italian section. I have zero Chardonnays. ZERO. The Portuguese section has no Cabernet Sauvignons or Syrahs. None. As they say in Italian Pane al pane, vino al vino (which roughly translates to “Don’t confuse apples with oranges”), and by this I mean that Italy and Portugal should stick to what they do best, because what they do best is the result of hundreds or even thousands of years of both natural as well as man-made selection and modification of vine varieties, vineyard sites, cellar techniques, etc. Why would anyone take one’s history and just throw it all away? To me, it’s just an attempt to re-invent the wheel.

To use a negative example, what would you want with a hydroponically-grown, genetically engineered strawberry from an experimental “garden” on a space station, if you could go out into your own backyard, and pick the freshest, sweetest ones that you’ve grown for yourself? This goes for food combinations as well - asparagus and eggs, chocolate and peanut butter, pork and apples - it took humankind many centuries to find, test, and re-test these pairings, and finally decide that “This rocks!” Basically, for me, tradition is not so much a blind adherence to an arbitrary rule, or a set of rules, but rather a well studied and tested patrimony that reflects generations of experimentation, progress, and even failure.

BUT, lest I be accused of being a reactionary, let me state clearly that I am in no way opposed to experimentation and innovation, but if you’re gonna innovate, really INNOVATE! Sure, the winemaker has to know that this or that non-traditional variety will or will not work in his or her vineyards, but once this is established, my prescription is to turn your back on the market fashions (most UN-like all of the folks who planted Pinot Noir in California to follow the surge in popularity of Pinot Noir, and many of whom, once the fad passes, will rip the PN up only to re-plant the latest “flavor of the month” variety) and plant varieties that YOU (the winemaker) think will blend well, and that will best show off your terroir, or even ones that you just kinda like, NOT what this or that consultant THINKS that the market wants, or taking up the latest fashion, or worse, someone else’s true innovation from the other side of the globe.

So here below are a bunch of examples of what I mean. The following wines are either TOTALLY “outside the box” blends, or combine tradition with innovation. I’ve chosen these items because they’re what I had physically had at hand to illustrate my point, but I want to be clear here that I am not necessarily endorsing all of these wines as THE shining examples of the ” successful fantasy blend”. There are definitely many MORE examples of this approach to winemaking, and probably some even BETTER ones than I have listed here. That being said, I encourage the readers to post his or her own examples of REAL innovation in contemporary winemaking. As always, post tasting notes for these or any other such wines here as comments.

TOM CIOCCO

Mas De Daumas Gassac Blanc 2005
This might be the QUINTESSENTIAL example of the “fantasy blend”: equal parts Chardonnay, Viognier, Gros Manseng, and Chenin Blanc from the Languedoc (none of these varieties are native to this area)!

Jermann Vintage Tunina 2004
This Italian white blends traditional Friulano varieites (Ribolla Gialla, Malvasia Istriana, and Picolit) that are usually vinified separately (and Picolit is nearly ALWAYS used to make sweet wine) with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

Pine Ridge White 2006
A Chenin Blanc/Viognier blend from California? - now that’s what I’m talking about!

Coturri Albarello Red 2004
Check this one out - this unusual red even has a couple of drops of white grape varieties!

D’Arenberg Stump Jump White 2006
A blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Roussanne, and Marsanne form Australia