Bernaltage, KC's meritage blend

OK, so it really is cool to be around all this wine. And one of the more interesting things about working this show is taking home a whole boat load of open wine bottles from the day of the show. But what do you do with multiple cases of open wine bottles? If you do nothing, they all go bad in a matter of days. You can gas them, and if you do it well, it will make them last a week or two.

Not me. I play wine maker. I invite my wine friends over and we mix our own wines. They last for months—maybe longer but I wouldn't know. And sometimes they come out really tasty. When they don't, who cares?

Of course, by the time I pull the cork on one of my blends I typically have no idea what is in the bottle. It's kind of enjoyable that way, but also a bit disconcerting. Especially when it tastes really good. If you drink wine for the pure taste experience, it's great. If you have some need to be an expert, or bask in the prestige of the pursuit of fine wine, it's really disappointing. Which is why I love it.

This year I have one blend that I made in an opened screw top bottle that I shared immediately at my blending party. We had the unique chance of tasting the two ingredients separately, then tasting the mix.

And it was good. Very good.

So I christened it Bernaltage!

I'm seriously tempted to chase these labels down and try this again. The blend was way, way better than either of the two bottles were on their own. And you tell me, when will you ever taste a blend of an inexpensive South Australian and rare Paso Robles wines? Only if you make your own Bernaltage!

Here's the mix:
2-parts Wakefield, 2004, "Promised Land" Cabernet Merlot
1-part Rotta, 2003, Paso Robles Cabernet Franc