No research for this one - shooting straight from the hip.
If you rule out what they are doing with Pinot Noir nowadays, there are basically two types of red blends coming out of California. The kind I grew up with and still remember fondly is what is loosely called a field blend. It is a mixture of blue collar grapes like Zinfandel, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Carignan and others that just happen to be available for that purpose. It's kitchen sink wine. The second type of red blend is the classic Cabernet-Merlot blend that may include the other three Bordeaux grapes and now, acceptably, Syrah.
Let's dig deeper.
What was so charming about the historic field blend was the naturalness of the product. You took from the vineyard what it gave you and made a wine out of it. For the consumer, it seemed to just happen. You could enjoy the wine in a number of settings as long as your pretentions were held in check.
Fifty years ago one of the great sellers on store shelves everywhere was Gallo Hearty Burgundy. It was a field blend, we were told, that was mostly Zinfandel. In the trade this off-dry, muddy mess was jokingly called Hardly Burgundy. With the right promotional prompting, however, it would become a most successful subterfuge.
Since Gallo created this model and other large players jumped on the bandwagon, we now have a style of red blend that is a direct descendent of Hearty Burgundy. Advancements in winemaking technology and the advent of wine laboratories along with promotional efforts keyed to social media and elsewhere have made this model ubiquitous across America. Needless to say, we are not a fan.
Meritage or Bordeaux blends, the Cabernet-Merlot blends mentioned above, are a completely different project. Field Blends are wine for the people; Meritage wines, with their structure and breeding, seem to be intended for the aristocracy. And since Cabernet Sauvignon is, after all, one of the half dozen noble grapes of the world, it seems to make sense.
The Meritage wine category was officially created in 1988 in California. It was intended to approximate the Bordeaux model that has been around since the 18th century. This kind of wine shows breeding, refinement and structure from nose to finish.
The Parings (Central Coast), Matthews Claret (Washington) and Girard Artistry (Napa) are Meritage wines currently in the store. Angels & Cowboys (Sonoma) and True Grit (Mendocino) are a couple of reputable field blends in the store. All are to be recommended.
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