McGuire's September WINE TASTING

Join us for our first ever all 
Red Blends Wine Tasting

Almost out of nowhere, California Red wine blends became one of the hottest wine categories. Wine consumers love the smooth easy drinking, slightly sweet taste of these red wine blends. Almost all big wineries have come out with a red blend the past few years.

But before these inexpensive red wine blends hit the market, red wine blends have been around for decades. France's famed Bordeaux and Cote du Rhone regions are all blends. Wine makers in Bordeaux can use up to seven different grapes for the blend. Rhone wines can use numerous grapes in the blend with certain percentages of each grape.

High end California wine such as Opus One (available in the gift shop) is a top-notch red blend.

In the United States the governing body of wine making and guidelines is The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. As you may assume, the ATF doesn't have as strict wine making guidelines as, say, France. These loose regulations in the United States wine-making industry give winemakers complete freedom to use any grape they can get their hands on. Though most inexpensive California blends are Zinfandel based, new red blends come out every day with grapes you have never seen in a California wine. With good wine-making techniques, wine makers have catered perfectly to the American palate and made this category of wine here to stay.