This Napa Valley Winery Will Help You Create Your Own Blend — Over Zoom

When it comes to drinking blended wines, it’s pretty rare for you to have the opportunity to not only try the blend, but also all of the components that went into making it. The Vice Napa Valley Wines is offering consumers the unique opportunity to do just that through its “The Tri” Tasting kit and virtual tasting experience.

The Tri was named and inspired by the small-batch winery’s founder and winemaker Malek Amrani’s passion for not only wine but also triathlons. Get it, Tri. Just like a triathlon contains three parts, the blend contains three different varietals of wine.

The kit includes a bottle of The Tri as well as bottles off the single-varietal signature wines that were blended together to create it, specifically St. Laurent, “Majorelle” 2019; Malbec, Oak Knoll 2019 and Cabernet Franc, 2019. 

The winery kept just 40 cases of each of the single-varietals for the experiment, with the rest going into creating the blend. The kit allows you to sip through those components on their own along with the blend, as well as try your hand at creating your own unique “Tri” blend from the three wines.

Even better, you’re doing that tasing on a Zoom alongside not only Amrani, but also Olympic triathlete Joe Maloy. Keeping with the Tri theme, Maloy and Amrani are hosting a series of Zoom sessions to taste through the wines, three of them, obviously. If you buy the kit, then they’re free to attend.

Why Maloy specifically you might ask? The percentages of each varietal included in the blend happens to match up perfectly with Maloy’s 2016 Rio Olympic swimming, running, and cycling time percentages: 18% Cabernet Franc, 52% St. Laurent and 30% Malbec. Maloy is a longtime friend of Amrani, who created the wine intentionally using those percentages.

The winery says that each varietal was picked at its peak ripeness, fermented and aged separately. The Cabernet Franc and St Laurent grapes come from its Carneros vineyard with a microclimate that is mainly influenced by the water of the San Pablo Bay. The Malbec is from Oak Knoll District, in the heart of Napa Valley. Its vineyard is known for common temperature swings of 40°F between days and nights. The wine is ahed 18 months in French oak barrels.

The third and final installment of the series is happening on September 22nd. That Zoom session will allow you to try all 3 wines, and Amrani promises to also offer some tips on how to enjoy wine better, not just from a taste but from an actual drinking perspective.

When you buy a kit you’re also doing a little good in the process — Proceeds from each tasting kit will benefit the USA Triathlon Foundation, whose mission is to make the sport accessible to people of all backgrounds and abilities, so the pleasure of enjoying a glass of wine will contribute to someone’s healthy lifestyle, participation in sports, or even Olympic dreams.

If you want to get in on the next one, you can snag a kit and sign up for that Zoom session on the US Triathalon Foundation’s website.