Greatest field blend wines?

[Jim_Stewart]

Although I made a resolution to take a posting moratorium, I’m ending it to chip on with two “field blend” wines that I have enjoyed. Marcus Goodfellow’s Whistling Ridge Blanc and Gabriele Buondonno’s Lemme Lemme. They may not be the “greatest” perhaps, but they might be among the “fieldiest”.

[David_Bu3ker]

Geyserville - full stop

But then we can get into the discussion about what exactly is a field blend. Do the grapes have to be picked all at once? Are they required to be co-fermented? Do the proportions in the finished wine have to match the proportions in the vineyard? How many different varieties are required? Two? Five? Thirteen?

That’s starting to sound like Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

An intentional reference.

[Marcus_Goodfellow]

The grape percentages no doubt vary in most of these field blend wines. As I jokingly discussed with CJ above, producers are not going to include crap grapes, just to satisfy a mythical definition of field blend.

Grape percentages definitely vary. Fruit set and cluster size are not uniform from vintage to vintage.

I sort out diseased fruit, but in my experience, great vineyards don’t produce crap grapes unless Mother Nature drops a bomb on it…which generally affects all of the grapes in the vineyard to some extent.

[jon_leifer]

+1 re Marietta OV Red and Marcus G’s Whistling Ridge Blanc as terrific tasting and great value field blends.

[Brian_Glas]

Eight Bells David’s Block is a great field blend from the Red Willow vineyard near Yakima.

[John_Morris]

Do Bordeaux properties such as Clerc Milon, Potensac and Brane Cantenac qualify? They have changing blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot and Carmenere? That’s as many varieties as Geyserville, and one more than Lytton Springs.

I guess another way to put this is: Is there a difference between a blend and a field blend? I’ve always thought of the latter referring to vineyards where different grapes were interplanted, as opposed to a vineyard where variety A is in this section and variety B is in this plot. In Bordeaux, they typically are not intermingled on the same row, so far as I know.

[Otto_Forsberg]

I guess another way to put this is: Is there a difference between a blend and a field blend?

There is.

If the blend is done in the field, it’s a field blend. If the varieties are vinified separately and later on blended at the winemaker’s discretion, it’s a normal blend.

You can have the different varieties in a vineyard on neat, separate rows, but if the varieties are still harvested all together and co-fermented, it’s a field blend.

You can also have interplanted vineyards and still pick the varieties separately to make a normal blend, but it really doesn’t sound viable.

[Andrew_A_r_n_t_f_i_e_l_d]

Giving Italian white field blends some love. Two of my favourites:

Giuseppe Quintarelli Secco Cà del Merlo
Jermann Vintage Tunina

The Quintarelli is a field blend of Garganega, Trebbiano, Sauv Blanc, Chard and Saorin.

Vintage Tunina is a field blend of Sauv Blanc, Chard, Ribolla Gialla, and Malvasia.

[Marcus_Goodfellow]

Do Bordeaux properties such as Clerc Milon, Potensac and Brane Cantenac qualify? They have changing blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot and Carmenere? That’s as many varieties as Geyserville, and one more than Lytton Springs.

I guess another way to put this is: Is there a difference between a blend and a field blend? I’ve always thought of the latter referring to vineyards where different grapes were interplanted, as opposed to a vineyard where variety A is in this section and variety B is in this plot. In Bordeaux, they typically are not intermingled on the same row, so far as I know.

I’ve always viewed a field blend as a co-fermented wine. You blend “in the field” rather than the winery. Fermenting different grapes even from the same “field” and then blending post fermentation is still a winery based blend, IMO.

A big part of the success of the Whistling Ridge field blend for me is that the varietals balance each other regardless of vintage. Co-fermenting them also, in theory, provides yeasts with a better range of metabolites helping to ensure smoother fermentations.

[todd_waldmann]

Marcel Deiss wines are often brilliant examples of field blending.

Clearly, Alsace wines are dead at retail.

Agree with both posts, Doug.

[H_Wallace_Jr]

We’ve been fans of Acorn Winery (Healdsburg) for a long time. Field blends are their specialty.

About a year or so ago, I was invited to a small trade tasting of CA field blends / heritage blends. 4 vintages of Acorn’s old vine field blend were included in a lineup of heavy hitters (about 16-20 wines), and the Acorn Old Vines showed incredibly well. On top of that, Betsy and Bill are awesome people.

[Scott_Brunson]

We’ve been fans of Acorn Winery (Healdsburg) for a long time. Field blends are their specialty.

On top of that, Betsy and Bill are awesome people.

This
We visited them last summer.

[David_Glasser]

I guess another way to put this is: Is there a difference between a blend and a field blend?

There is.

If the blend is done in the field, it’s a field blend. If the varieties are vinified separately and later on blended at the winemaker’s discretion, it’s a normal blend.

You can have the different varieties in a vineyard on neat, separate rows, but if the varieties are still harvested all together and co-fermented, it’s a field blend.

You can also have interplanted vineyards and still pick the varieties separately to make a normal blend, but it really doesn’t sound viable.

I understand the definition. Something I’ve always wondered: If the percentages of different grape varieties that end up in the finished wine is the same, how would a field blend and co-fermenting affect the finished product compared to blending after fermenting each variety separately? Is there a difference? Is it predictable? Does the effect vary in magnitude or qualitatively with different varieties? How do the differences fit in the scheme of things like terroir or other winemaking techniques?

[Otto_Forsberg]

I understand the definition. Something I’ve always wondered: If the percentages of different grape varieties that end up in the finished wine is the same, how would a field blend and co-fermenting affect the finished product compared to blending after fermenting each variety separately? Is there a difference? Is it predictable? Does the effect vary in magnitude or qualitatively with different varieties? How do the differences fit in the scheme of things like terroir or other winemaking techniques?

Well certainly quite a bit, since different varieties ripen at different times. When doing a field blend the viticulturalist should know their job, since if the decision to pick is based only on one variety, the wine can turn out quite unripe and green because so many other varieties have not reached optimum ripeness. Doing a field blend is a gamble where one should really know what is the sweet spot where all the grapes are sufficiently ripe.

Furthermore, one can do optimal vinifications for each variety, if they are picked and vinified separately. Longer maceration for some varieties, slower fermentation in cooler temperatures for others, etc.

Finally, some say some varieties are claimed to have synergistic effects on each other if vinified together. For the longest time it was believed that co-fermenting Viognier with Syrah would bind and stabilize color due to some compounds found only in Viognier, making Côte-Rôties with some Viognier in the blend come across as deeper than varietal Syrah wines. However, this seems to be debunked after several tests done with different maceration times and different percentages of Viognier in Syrah; the 100% Syrah was always the darkest and the wine color always lightened along with the percentage of Viognier in the blend.

[David_Glasser]

Thanks Otto, the first 2 paragraphs seem obvious once you’ve explained it.

[Larry_Weitzner]

+1 Sean Thackrey Orion