My thought process to develop my final blend was to incorporate aromas and flavors that would resonate with my menu item. A light, crisp, refreshing blend, such as a rosé to go with the savoriness of the vegetables and fish. Although my original idea did not pan out, I decide to go for a triple white blend. A Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and a skin-on Chardonnay. Alone these grapes give are superior in on their own so combining them would be ideal for my dish. I just had to trial and error many times to get the right consistency for what I was looking for.

The process was not what I was expecting as I want to do a blend that would create a rose but that was a challenge on its own. Instead, Professor Goodlad suggested if it did not work out to have a plan B. Indeed, it did not work and decide on a white blend.

My first blend did not taste nor smelled as expected. It was too dry and just not pleasing to the palette. This was the rose blend I had in mind but did not work out. So, I switched it up to another variation of whites. The base wines all had distinct types of aromas and flavors. I thought the skin-on chardonnay by itself would have been ideal for my menu item. However, the final blend I chose was a mixture of 50% sauvignon blanc, 40% skin-on chardonnay, and 10% regular chardonnay. The aromas that gave off from this mixture were underripe green apples, a very mild citrus smell, lemon comes to memory. The taste was crisp, a bit of tartiness from green apples, subtle hints of butter, and what I thought was a nice balance amongst the three with a low body finish.

My blend was not identified as the “winning blend” by my peers, although a close second to the chosen one. The winner’s blend consisted of the same grapes just different percentages.