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Written by Madeline Puckette

If you made your own wine blend, what would you make?

Check out the classic white and red wine blends from around the world.

Creating the blend might just be the most creative part of being a winemaker. It’s the moment where you get a chance to exercise your skills at flavor balancing.

Famous White & Red Wine Blends

In fact, the process of blending goes beyond just putting grape varieties together. Many winemakers go through a rigorous barrel selection process to identify the best tasting wines. The top barrels go into a winery’s reserve bottlings, either reserved as a single variety or put together into a cuvée (French for ‘vat’).

Famous Wine Blends Poster Chart

Available as a poster


Wine Blends

Red Bordeaux Blend

Bordeaux

A medium to full-bodied wine with notes of graphite, smoke, plum, black currant and tobacco.

  • Merlot
  • Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Cabernet Franc
  • Petit Verdot
  • Malbec

white-bordeaux-blend

White Bordeaux

A zesty and lightly colored white wine with flavors of gooseberry and melon. A few examples are oak-aged and have a lightly creamy texture.

  • Sémillon
  • Sauvignon Blanc
  • Muscadelle

Learn more about the Bordeaux Region, the origin place of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Bordeaux Wine Region


champagne-blend

Champagne

A high acidity sparkling wine with notes of lemon, almond, honeycomb and apple.

  • Chardonnay
  • Pinot Meunier
  • Pinot Noir

Learn more about Champagne Champagne Wine Region


chateauneuf-du-pape

Châteauneuf du Pape

A medium-bodied red wine with notes of maraschino cherry, raspberry, leather and faded rose.

  • Grenache
  • Syrah
  • Mourvèdre
  • Bourboulenc
  • Cinsault
  • Clairette Blanche
  • Counoise
  • Grenache Blanc
  • Muscardin
  • Picardan
  • Piquepoul Blanc
  • Roussanne
  • Terret Noir
  • Vaccarèse

chianti-wine-blend

Chianti

A medium-bodied wine with notes of black cherry, leather, tomato, and vanilla.

  • Sangiovese 70-100%
  • No more than 15% Cabernet Sauvignon & Cabernet Franc
  • Up to 30% of Others

super-tuscan-blend

Super Tuscan

A full-bodied red wine with flavors of blueberry, clove and leather.

  • Merlot
  • Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Sangiovese
  • Syrah
  • Cabernet Franc

Learn more about Italy’s wine regions. Italian Wine Region Map


amarone-wine-blend

Amarone

A medium to full-bodied red wine with bold tannins and notes of fig, dried cranberry, clove, sweet tobacco and leather.

  • Corvina
  • Molinara
  • Rondinella
  • Other Indigenous Varieties

soave-wine-blend

Soave

A medium-bodied white wine with notes of lemon, almond, and occasionally creaminess from oak-aging.

  • Garganega — up to 70%
  • Trebbiano, Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc

cava-wine-blend

Cava

A classic styled sparkling wine with notes of white peach, granite and lemon.

  • Macabeu
  • Parellada
  • Xarello
  • Chardonnay

Learn more about Cava, a delicious alternative to Champagne All about Cava.


rioja-wine-blend

Rioja

A medium to full-bodied red wine with bold tannins and flavors of black cherry, black plums, figs and leather.

  • Tempranillo — up to 100%
  • Mazuelo
  • Graciano
  • Maturana Tinta

Know the difference between Crianza and Reserva Rioja: How to Buy Rioja


priorat-wine-blend

Priorat

A medium to full-bodied red wine with notes of raspberry, blueberry brambles, pepper, violet and wet-granite.

  • Grenache
  • Syrah
  • Carignan
  • Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Merlot

port-wine-blend

Port

A full-bodied fortified wine with notes of blackberry, black currant, graphite, figs and raisins.

  • Touriga Franca
  • Touriga Nacional
  • Tinta Roriz
  • Tinta Barroca
  • Tinto Cão
  • Others

Portugal’s underrated region The Douro Valley


meritage-wine-blend

Meritage

A full-bodied red wine with notes of blueberry, plum, violets, pepper and vanilla.

  • Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Merlot
  • Petit Verdot
  • Cabernet Franc
  • Malbec
  • Carménère

gsm-rhone-blend

GSM ‘Rhône’ Blend

A medium to full-bodied red wine with notes of raspberry, blackberry, vanilla, bacon fat and allspice.

  • Grenache
  • Syrah
  • Mourvèdre
  • Others

white-rhone-blend

White Rhône Blend

A full-bodied white wine with notes of cream, apple, lemon curd and parmesan cheese.

  • Marsanne
  • Roussanne
  • Clairette
  • Grenache Blanc
  • Bourboulenc
  • Viognier

provencal-rose-blend

Provençal Rosé

A dry rosé with nuanced flavors of strawberry, melon, lavender and orange.

  • Cinsault
  • Grenache
  • Syrah
  • Vermentino (a.k.a. Rolle)

red-burgundy-wine-blend

Red Burgundy

A light-bodied red wine with notes of cherry, raspberry, peony, and clove.

  • Pinot Noir — minimum of ~85%
  • Gamay
  • Pinot Gris
  • Pinot Blanc
  • Chardonnay

white-burgundy-wine-blend

White Burgundy

A medium-bodied white wine with notes of lemon, apple, chalk and cream.

  • Chardonnay
  • Aligote

The secrets to Burgundy Simple Guide to Burgundy Wine


prosecco-wine-blend

Prosecco

A delicately floral sparkling wine with notes of lilies and peaches.

  • Prosecco (a.k.a. ‘Glera’)

barolo-wine-blend

Barolo

A medium-bodied wine with bold tannins and notes of cherries, leather, clove and anise.

  • Nebbiolo

Barolo is a sub-region in Northwestern Italy Find out more about Piedmont

Written byMadeline Puckette

James Beard Award-winning author and Wine Communicator of the Year. I co-founded Wine Folly to help people learn about wine. @WineFolly


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