Ahh, the cooler weather of autumn brings brisk days and crisp nights. Fall colors are beautiful and I love red. My attention turns to red wines and in particular, red blends. I love it!

Red blends offer such a unique wine experience, much more than the standard single grape varietals because they open up the creative part of being a winemaker. Creating the blend is the moment where winemakers get a chance to exercise their skills at flavor balancing. This creativity goes beyond putting grape varieties together; winemakers go through a rigorous barrel selection process to add just the right characteristic to their cuvée.

If you made your own wine blend, what would you make? Would you experiment with something different, or would it be styled like one of the renowned blends like Bordeaux, Chianti, Bourgogne, Rioja or Port?

Other famous blends include Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Rhone (GSM) from France and Italy’s Super Tuscan and Amarone Della Valpolicella. Even the United States has developed a signature red blend. Meritage is California’s answer to Bordeaux.

Red blends are currently dominating the wine market with new releases every year and winemakers are becoming more creative with their marketing as they vie for shelf space. For example, Francis Ford Coppola Wines bought the struggling American Pioneer Wine Growers and released a series of four teaser wines individually (two reds and two whites) as hints to the name of the new winery. The White Doe, Manteo, Two Arrowheads and finally, The Lost Colony each revealed a different aspect of the Virginia Dare legend and thus Virginia Dare Winery was born on Sept. 24.

Since we are talking about reds:

The Lost Colony 2013 - a blend of Syrah (47 percent), Malbec (42 percent) Cabernet Franc (10 percent) and Viognier (1 percent) all sourced from Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County, California. After spending 12 months in French Oak, The Lost Colony offers a rich and full-bodied wine with bold impressions of smoke and spice. Flavors of blackberries, cherries and pomegranate are teamed with notes of clover and pepper plus some tobacco, earthy minerals and toasted oak.

Manteo 2012 - a blend of Syrah (28 percent), Petit Verdot (16 percent), Cabernet Sauvignon (16 percent), Cabernet Franc (15 percent), Petite Sirah (13 percent), Merlot (6 percent), Malbec (4 percent) and Zinfandel (2 percent) that offers real depth, balance and fragrant flavors of boysenberries and black cherries with aromatic spices of pink peppercorn and anise. Again, 12 months in French Oak add a hint of smoke and oak.