Blends seem to be popular currently, and I took it upon myself to try some new ones.

The first one I tried was by Rosenblum. Chistened: "Chateau La Paws, Cote Du Bone Roan" This wine has a bit of humor to it, but the backstory is this: Kent Rosemblum is the founder of Rosenblum Cellars. He is a vaterinarian, and has been for almost 40 years. This wine helps to contirubute to some animal charities and reflects his dedication to animals.

The wine itself is a very interesting blend: Carignane, Syrah, Zinfandel, and Mouvedre make up the Cote du Bone. Ripe fruit is apparent on the nose, and the spice and black cherry comes through on the palate. It needed some time to open up, but it was an '05 so it's understandable. Overall, I was pleased with this wine and it's ability to pair with food from its nice acidity. I recommend that you try it. Available at Tamura's for a very reasonable price, under $20.

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My next sampling was from Beckmen Vineyards. The "Cuvee Le Bec" is a great traditional blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Mouvedre, with a 5% Counoise addition. The Beckmen Vineyards are in Santa Ynez valley, and they provide a great variety of yields that allow Beckmen to churn out some great wines that are reminiscient of Cote du Rhone varieties.

Beckmen Vineyards has a total of 365 acres of land from which they pull their fruit. The entire vineyard has been farmed 100% biodynamically since 2006, allowing nothing but natural elements to come through in the fruit from this method.

This wine was great. A deep ruby, almost maroon color, it had great legs. After it received some air, we picked up scents of ripe berries and a light earth scent. A few more minutes allowed the wonderful pepper/spice aroma to take over. This wine had great structure and was lush in the mouth. Paired with some bruschetta, it stood its ground with the robust flavor of tomato and basil. One of my favorite blends so far.

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