The other day, I was evangelizing about wine, as I tend to do from time to time, and I was excitedly telling a woman about a new red blend that I thought was a good value. (For those of you curious, the particular wine that I was referring to was the Cameron Hughes Lot 348 California Field Blend.) As I was explaining the origins of the term "field blend," the woman stopped me. "Oh, that's okay," she said. "I don't really like blends."

I was somewhat stunned for a moment, but regrouped and asked the woman why she disliked blended wines. She replied that she preferred to understand what individual grape varietals taste like, as opposed to tasting a bunch of grapes that were thrown together. I sighed, and told her that as much as Americans like to focus on specific grapes, and specific grape varietals, blending is an integral part of winemaking. Even wines that are labelled as single varietals (e.g. Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay) are allowed to have a certain percentage of other grape varietals in the final makeup of the wine. The percentage that is allowed varies by country. Although there are a few appellations that forbid blending, and insist on the use of a single grape varietal, most winemakers will tell you that they appreciate the creativity and freedom afforded by being able to create a blended wine. Most will also say that having the freedom to blend generally results in a better product.