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Northwest winemakers get creative with red blends

By Great Northwest Wine on March 8, 2015

Rhône grape varieties are one of the most exciting categories in the Pacific Northwest.

Grenache has become a favorite grape for making red blends in the Pacific Northwest. (Photo by Andy Perdue/Great Northwest Wine)

One reason that winemakers from Europe enjoy coming to the West Coast to make wine is freedom of expression.

Not just what they can say, but also what wine they can make. A winemaker in Alsace, for example, could never legally produce a Cabernet Sauvignon – or any other red wine that isn’t Pinot Noir. So when winemakers from regions arrive in the New World and are able to expand their thinking beyond the traditional, a lot of fun can happen.

But this isn’t just for winemakers steeped in tradition. Here in the Pacific Northwest, winemakers are crafting delicious red blends that include both traditional grapes for such styles as those found in Bordeaux or the Rhône Valley, for example, but also intermingling the two regions or even tossing in varieties from Spain or Italy.

It’s a potpourri, and it makes for exciting, delicious wines.

Here are a dozen red blends from Washington and Oregon we’ve tasted in recent weeks and can heartily recommend.

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About Great Northwest Wine

Articles credited to Great Northwest Wine are authored by Eric Degerman and other contributors. In most cases, these are wine reviews that are judged blind by the Great Northwest Wine tasting panel.