Is "Field Blend" a buzzword now?

Maybe I shouldn’t be goofing on this, but this label caught my eye in the aisles of Costco the other day, and given my passion for old time field-blended zins, at $9 plus some change, there was no way I wasn’t going to give it a try. The wine itself was entirely quaffable and not bad for the price: soft blue and black fruit but with a hint of garrigue in the background to keep it interesting and some reasonable tannin on the finish, 12.3% ABV.

Contemplating this crazy label, I was thinking that it would be difficult to cram many more buzzwords into this space, and that’s when it occurred to me, is “Field Blend” also a buzzword? 5 years ago I can’t imagine someone marketing wines in this way. As much as I dislike the aesthetics of this label, maybe it’s a good sign that something like this could get traction in the mass market:

^This^ was the best representation I could find online of the entire label; our bottle was the 2012:
frey.jpeg

This Field Blend is a rustic mix of rich berry and hearty tannins that form a voluptuous pairing for savory, seasonal fare.

Our goal with Field Blend was to produce a Biodynamic example of terroir at its finest expression, where site, varietal character, and vintage culminate in an authentic representation of our vineyards. Field Blend succinctly expresses the Biodynamic intercropping and low-impact vinting methods employed to create this wine. Following the Biodynamic winemaking tenants of farming with nature, without pesticides, zero-manipulation in the cellar, and only native yeast used for fermentation, the results are pure, pared-down flavors with no interference between you and the grapes.

The Field Blend label was designed by Nicole Paisley Martensen. It incorporates a collage of vintage astrological charts and farmers’ almanacs, evoking the origins of Biodynamic farming and its founder, Rudolf Steiner, along with photographs of grapevines and tractor treads at Frey Vineyards. The label also features some of the animals that have a prominent place in our Biodynamic farming methods; goats, sheep, and even acorn woodpeckers are part of the natural cycle in the vineyard. The inspiration both inside and outside the bottle is to convey a true spirit of place, and mirror the richness and beauty of our land.

Alcohol: 12.3% by volume.
Total sulfite, naturally occurring: TTB analysis, 0 ppm.
Bronze: 2013 Los Angeles International Wine Competition

They forgot “Dolphin safe and cholesterol free!”…

Great point Roberto, not to mention… “Gluten Free”

I love the italian idiom for “field blend”, “cultura promiscua”!!!

What the hell, it’s not carbon neutral? I can’t believe I share the planet with these troglodytes.

It is a real shame because there are several labels, like this one, that use the term “field blend” in lieu of what the wine actually is, which is “blend.” A true field blend is where many varieties grown together are cofermented with each other in the same tank- which is something rather special and generally comes from older vineyards (though there are a couple younger examples out there). Constellation’s Besieged is another label that makes this error.

where site, varietal character, and vintage culminate in an authentic representation of our vineyards

How can a field blend express varietal character? Isn’t the whole point of a field blend that there’s no single dominant variety?

Corey, imagine a wine like Cerasuolo di Vittoria from Sicilia: it is a blend of Nero D’Avola (softer, darker fruit, lower aromatics) and Frappato (brighter, red fruit and more acidity and spice). You can immediately tell one with a 50/50 blend from one with a 70/30 blend.

It’s like listening to Miles’ Kind of Blue and on one song (Freddie the Freeloader) Wynton Kelly subs for Bill Evans on Piano. You can tell right away even within the larger band sound.

I agree, Morgan, this is a shame, if they are indeed just blending juice. The label, however, describes the wine as a result of "intercropping."As I understand it, true field blends are co-fermented together because they are actually grown and harvested together. So a Zinfandel vine is growing alongside a Petite Sirah vine. I think this is a very exciting concept, and certainly not a new one. But do we know if this is what is going on with this wine, or what their “intercropping” really refers to? Very interesting. I don’t know if “Field Blend” has become a buzz word, but I, for one, would like to see it used properly.

Interesting observations, thanks Morgan and Merrill. I admit reading this bottle I had assumed the wine was field blended/cofermented, but in hindsight I guess it means as little as any other non-regulated text, for example “old vine.”

I think Matt Cline’s “Field Blend” isn’t even from a single vineyard.

Larry: You’re more adventurous than I would be with a wine label such as this one. I likely wouldn’t buy it, precisely because it’s obvious they’re trotting out nearly ever marketing hook they can think off in order to peddle their juice. Usually a fair indicator of crappy wine inside. Though it sounds like you were able to slug this one down.

It’s irksome that something I would more normally associate with a certain style of Bedrock, Carlisle or Ridge wine, is being perverted by mass marketers who care not if they are diminishing the significance of the term. From their perspective, I suppose it’s just a clever way to turn a non-varietal labeled blend in to a more marketable product.

I recently noticed Cameron Hughes has jumped on the field blend wagon as well. I’d be far more inclined to take a flyer on one of his offering than the dolphin free one Larry tried. A quick search turned up Cam’s evolving explanation of the term:

“At its simplest, Field Blends are the result of a certain way of propagating vineyards in early 20th century California Viticulture (a technique most certainly learned from Europe however) wherein various vines were planted in a vineyard and the underperformers had their heads lopped off to be replaced by budwood from the best performers. Trial and Error or Darwinism at its best if you will.”

Roberto,
I think you’ll find that coltura promiscua is the mixing of different crops in the same field, not the mixing of different kinds of grapevines. I am visiting producers on Etna now, and many of the small vineyards show at least some of this kind of agriculture (fruit trees in the middle of the vineyard, for example, or even vegetable gardens in between vines).

As a retailer I do think that this is a bit of a buzzword due in part to the success of people like Morgan at Bedrock, and it is unfortunate to see the term co-opted by wines which do not fit the term in the literal sense. However, from a sales & marketing perspective it is a natural ‘next step’ also fueled by the success of other non-traditional blends such as Ménage a Trois and Apothic red, among others, which have had great success at similar price points, and wines like The Prisoner at a higher price point. "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,’ and all…

Please add “No Old Growth Cannabis was removed to allow planting of these grapes.”

Field Blend may be a buzzword, but most of the HVS sites, for example, are just that. Maybe we will see a surge of planting 100 year head-pruned mixed blacks [Sideways Effect] to take advantage of it :wink:

If HVS is a buzz-acronym, it’s not one I know.

This is my idea of a field blend:
Château d’Arlay Corail (Jura, France)

(text below from the website of Appellation Wines, New York)

It was in 1960 that the Count R. de Laguiche decided to revive the limestone and marl vineyards surrounding the ruins of the castle. Today there are just under 30 hectares planted with the traditional grapes of the region. The Count’s son Alain currently heads the estate, and one of his bottles, a not-quite rosé named “Corail” has particularly captured my affections.



“It is a real ‘antique’ wine” says Alain, “A unique blend of the 5 permitted red and white varieties in Jura. This ancient custom has disappeared, except here at Arlay.” Those varieties are Poulsard, Trousseau, and Pinot Noir for the reds, Chardonnay and Savagnin for the whites. The musts from the different grapes are all blended together before fermentation begins. This means that they aren’t controlling percentages to create the same flavor profile year after year; the vintage makes its own wine.



"About 10 days of maceration, to extract colour, tannins and acidity, and then [is] matured in oak barrels for about 3 years, as a traditional red wine,” the Corail drinks more like a light colored and light bodied red than a rosé. Alain declares that “the Corail has to be served at cellar temperature.” With beautiful acidity, it starts off with a bit of tobacco on the nose, then opens up into very pretty red fruit, persimmon, and tea leaf aromas around a tightly wound core of iron-like minerality.



As for food pairing, Alain says that “it is particularly recommended with smoked meat or fish” and is “ideal for midday drinking.” Here at the store, the Arlay comes up whenever we discuss wines for Thanksgiving. Turkey, and cranberry sauce both sound wonderful to me—it’s got the stuffing to stand up to whatever is paired with it.

Following the Biodynamic winemaking tenants of farming with nature

I think the proofreader may have using some “natural products” while on the job. blush

http://www.historicvineyardsociety.org/

That is correct Oliver. In the early days of Sonoma, it often meant interplanting prunes or apples in the vineyard. Some of the old-vine vineyards still have some trees left.