You know the deal, the more some folks learn about a topic, the more shortcuts/slang/acronyms/initials/technical jargon can be tossed around.  So whether you seek wine terminology enlightenment, or ….I’m here to help you understand those sometimes mysterious words and phrases, thus – Wine Words Demystified!

This week’s term is “field blend”…

According to Karen MacNeil‘s The Wine Bible: (Um..this one’s not in the Wine Bible – To Wikipedia then!)

 A field blend is a wine that is produced from two or more different grape varieties interplanted in the same vineyard

That’s because back in the day vineyards were rarely planted to a single variety of grape.  Rather Zinfandel, Carignan, and Petite Sirah, for example, would be planted all together.  They would be picked together, and fermented together too.  Because vineyards were planted to various grapes way back when, they are also considered to be “old vine”.  For example, the Bedrock vineyard, originally planted in 1854 is a 152-acre vineyard with at least 18 identified grape varieties (though it’s primarily planted with Zinfandel) interspersed throughout the property.