This blogger blend off is by far the coolest thing I have done in the wine world thus far. As you may, or may not know I am a wine blogger (SHOCKING!) and my good friend, Thea Dwelle assembled a crew of us fellow bloggers to get together at Conn Creek for a blend-off on December 13th.

I was aware there would be lunch, and some talk about blending. What I didn’t realize was that I would get to blend and take home my very own bottle of wine!! us 12 lucky bloggers assembled in the AVA room of the winery where it was basically a whirl wind tour of what Napa has to offer. Lining the walls of the room were 15 different cabernet sauvignons, a merlot, malbec, cab franc, and a petit verdot.  Following a bit of direction from guest services manager, Paul Asikainen, I was off and tasting.

How attractive are those barrels?

From the 15 I was able to pick out 6 wines that I enjoyed the most along with a decision that I must add malbec ( I am in a malbec phase right now) . Then came the not so fun part: figuring out how much to blend! I have never given much thought to how many different vineyards went into one bottle, let alone how much to blend in them, needless to say I assumed the task would be a little dauting.

I began to go to each barrel filling up my chemistry equipment bit by bit and then tasting the glasses. My attempt #1 was nice,but a little too tannic and fell flat at the end. 2 had a great nose but was also too tannic. On my third try I added a splash of a softer cab sauv from Oakville-Stanton Vineyard. This blend was great, it tasted a bit like a berry pie, very round, smooth and with the right hint of creaminess I was looking for. I knew this was it, but wanted to try once more. The final attempt still fell short of what I was dreaming of and I bottled up #3.

We then were able to create our very own wine labels. In the end we had everything from my “E” blend to a gingerbread man, to a label-less bottle.  I now have the perfect bottle of wine to drink when I get my Masters, and a treasure trove of memories from the day.

You too can have your own wine blending experience at Conn Creek for $95(includes bottle)

Thanks to Conn Creek and Thea!

Cheers!