American winemaker Brian Carter has launched Washington State's first winery to focus exclusively on hand-crafted European-style blended wines.

Brian Carter Cellars will release four red blends consisting of two Bordeaux-style blends, a Rhône blend, a Super Tuscan blend and a white wine blend.

Carter told decanter.com that increasing interest in blended wines in the United States and the recent success of certain grape varieties – including Petit Verdot and Sangiovese – in Washington were motivating factors behind the launch.

The collection includes the 2002 Tuttorosso, 2000 Solesce, 2002 L’Etalon, 2004 Oriana, and the 2002 Byzance.

The winery is expected to produce a limited number of approximately 7000 cases annually.

Written by Emmet Cole

Emmet Cole
Emmet Cole
Decanter.com, Journalist

Emmet Cole is a freelance digital journalist who wrote several wine news stories for Decanter between 2005 and 2011. He has covered everything from the University of Milan’s discovery that wine contains high levels of the sleep hormone melatonin, to the sharp rise in the popularity of glass stoppers in 2006.