Blogger Blend-off at Conn Creek Winery

Would you pay $95 for a bottle of wine? How about if that bottle of wine was one which you custom blended for your own tastes? Yesterday, I participated in a very unique experience in Napa Valley. Thea Dwelle (@winebratsf) organized a dozen wine bloggers, including myself, @FrankLovesWine, @DanicaSattui, @DrncPno, @BrixChick_Liza, @marcygordon, @spiritandwine, @DreamWildly, and others to blend a bottle of wine at Conn Creek’s AVA Room & Blending Experience.

Using Cabernet Sauvignon from 15 different single-vineyards from 14 of Napa Valley’s AVAs along with Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petite Verdot, each of us tried our hand at creating our perfect wine blend.

My final blend consisted of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon from 4 different vineyards, 12% Conn Creek (Rutherford), 28% Hozhoni (Rutherford), 26% Clos Du Val (Stags Leap), 22% Loyal Hughes (Howell Mtn.) with 9% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petite Verdot. Although it wasn’t perfect—it needed a softer initial taste on the palate—it was still quite good and had a pleasant aroma, strong mid-palate and long finish. I named it, 1st Attempt, since I ended up using my first attempt of 4 blending trials. It was great fun and along with blending wine, it was nice to reconnect with and meet other bloggers in the area.

If you’d like to try your hand at being a winemaker and blending your own wine that you get to take home, check out Conn Creek’s web site for more information. The blending experience costs just $95 per person, $65 for wine club members, for a two hour seminar and includes a 750ml bottle of your own blend.