Fresh picks that defy the cloying, heavy stereotype prevalent in the mass market

If you’ve heard people talk about “red blends” anytime lately, chances are they’re referring to a particular type of wine: an inky, dark, richly flavored cuvee that’s inexpensively priced, usually under $15 a bottle. These days, the term most commonly refers to a wine engineered for a mass-market palate, which typically means it has a not-insignificant amount of residual sugar.

Megahit wines like the Prisoner, 19 Crimes and Apothic — each of them a kind of kitchen-sink concoction of grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Merlot and more — popularized the category. These big wines have conditioned a whole new set of drinkers to wander into a wine shop and say, “Where are the red blends, please?”

Despite the specific connotation that the phrase has taken on, however, red blends are a wine tradition as old as time, and these industrial cuvees are sorry representations of the larger category. If you’ve ever drunk a red Bordeaux, a Cotes du Rhone or Chateauneuf du Pape, you’ve had a red blend. Any red wine that’s not a varietal wine — that is, composed of a single grape variety, like Pinot Noir or Sangiovese — is a red blend. And there are much, much better red blends to drink than the heavy, sweet-tasting examples you’ll find at the big-box store.

California winemakers are getting especially creative now. Many are combining grape varieties that aren’t typically seen together, making a compelling case for some unorthodox pairings. A far cry from the mass-market versions, many of today’s most exciting red blends are exceedingly delicate — light on color, texture and alcohol. In fact, vintners here are increasingly experimenting with blending red and white wines together, creating “red” blends that may veer closer to pink.

Here, I’ve highlighted six of my favorite California red blends right now. They vary in weight, and I’ve listed them roughly in order from lightest-bodied to fullest-bodied. All are ideally suited to this time of year — as warming and satisfying as a pumpkin spice latte but far less cloying. So make yourself a salad with the last gasp of summer tomatoes or fix up a bowl of squash soup and dig into these beauties.

As I recently reminded my readers, all reds — these six included — may taste better with a slight chill.

Tessier Soul Love California NV ($26, 12.8%): This wine from Bay Area winemaker Kristie Tacey presents as a light red, though it is actually half made up of Riesling, a white wine. It has some peach and honeysuckle flavors from the Riesling, and the remaining half — Mourvedre and Trousseau, a red grape most closely associated with France’s Alpine growing regions — adds a little bit of bite and a pleasant earthiness. From the moment you first smell it, taking in its aromas of apricot and cherry pie, you’ll know: This is a very fun wine. (Available from Flatiron and San Francisco Wine Trading Co.)

Broc Amore Blendo Mendocino County 2020 ($30, 12%): Broc’s Love red seems to be everywhere these days, and for good reason: It’s an exuberant, quaffable wine at an affordable price. This other cuvee, Amore Blendo, is a great alternative to the Love red that’s a little bit lighter — and, yes, a little bit funkier. The blend of Barbera, Primitivo and Sauvignon Blanc tastes like blood-orange peel, red cherries and even hints at sour Warheads candy. Give the wine a few minutes to open up in your glass after you’ve poured it; though tightly wound at first, it opens up as it gets to know you. (Available from Broc.)

Idlewild Flora & Fauna Red Wine 2019 ($24, 12.9%): Perennially one of the best values in Italian-inflected, California-grown wines, Idlewild’s Flora & Fauna red mixes Dolcetto, Barbera and Nebbiolo, three grapes that grow in the northern Italian region of Piedmont. Dusty tannins frame flavors of strawberry and salami, finishing with a little bit of that rustic astringency that Piedmontese wines often convey. It’s a young wine that has some bite to it, with enough acidity to stand up to a rich meal. (Available from Bottle Barn and Idlewild.)

Land of Saints GSM Santa Barbara County 2019 ($22, 14.3%): Here’s a red blend cut from a tried-and-true recipe: Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre, three grapes known to harmonize so beautifully together that they’ve become a widely used acronym, GSM. Grenache dominates here, imbuing the wine with suggestions of vanilla and strawberry buttercream. It’s silkier and more immediately gratifying than many of the other wines in this list, generous with its charms. (Available from Flatiron and Solano Cellars.)

Whitcraft Rojo Grande San Luis Obispo County 2017 ($30, 12.83): The obscure grape Lagrein comprises half of this blend. Rarely seen in California, Lagrein is native to far-northern Italy’s Alto Adige region. Whitcraft Winery, located in downtown Santa Barbara, has bought Lagrein grapes from a vineyard in Paso Robles for years, but winemaker Drake Whitcraft stopped buying the fruit after 2018, reasoning that Lagrein was just a little too tannic for his tastes. Despite its aggressively tannic nature, he managed to eke out some lovely wines that are squarely in the medium-bodied camp, blending Lagrein with Syrah. This, the penultimate vintage of the Rojo Grande, is floral and plummy, with a refreshing bitterness and a jolt of acidity that carries across the palate. (Available from K&L, Flatiron and Whitcraf.)

Alma de Cattleya Red Wine Sonoma County 2019 ($27, 14.1%): This is the big wine of the bunch. By combining Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, winemaker Bibiana González Rave has created a zesty, spicy, peppery wine, full of dark-fruit flavors like blackberry. Its plush texture and woodsy accents make it great with grilled meats. (Available from Bottle Barn, Wine.com, Vintage Wine Merchants and Alma de Cattleya.)