The Corkscrew | Winemaking: the art of blending grapes to make great wine, and why there’s GSM, but no MSG
Like a chef making a stock, many winemakers blend ingredients, in this case grape types, to show to the best effect the talents of their growers; others, such as those in Burgundy, stick to a single grape variety
Winemakers are like chefs making a stock. Both take ingredients (grapes, in the case of winemakers), do the prep (press the grapes), add seasonings (yeast), put everything in a pot (barrel or stainless steel), give it a stir now and then, watch the pot carefully (during fermentation), make sure the “stock” doesn’t spoil (add a bit of sulphur dioxide) then wait patiently until it is ready. After that, it’s strained (filtered) so the stock/wine is clear, then put into containers (bottles) for use later.
Some wines are made from just one type of grape. Others are blends.
The most classic hails from Bordeaux, where it’s called (outside the region) a Bordeaux blend. For this wine, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc and petit verdot are used in various combinations to showcase the combined talents of a winemaker and the vigneron who nurtures the grapes. In the Middle Ages, the wines of Bordeaux were called claret, or “clairet”. This referred to the clarity of the best wines, which did not contain much sediment.
White Bordeaux is worthy of mention, too. Sauvignon blanc is tempered with semillon and sometimes a bit of muscadelle to make a wine that is aromatic, crisp and dry, with generous notes of citrus peel. It’s the same base for the sweet wines of Sauternes but, in this case, the grapes are left on the vines to shrivel and to acquire the much desired mouldiness known as “noble rot” (from Botrytis cinerea) before vinification.
