I don’t know about you, but I spend much of summer longing for Europe’s strong UV and flirty sidewalk wine sessions. On days like today, we can pretend we’re in Biarritz by enjoying a glass or two of a blouge, the chilled wine made from co-fermented red and white grapes.
As your nattyhead friends already know, blouge is having a moment. But these refreshing wines, which are technically called co-ferments, have been right under our noses for a while: Gemini Bottle Co. has been stocking releases of this realm for a while, as has Bar Part Time. Many champagnes also combine red and white grapes, but with minimal skin contact to maintain that golden glow.
Currently, Gemini Bottle Co. has a few in stock, including Las Vivas’ 2022 Mountain Cuvee, made from co-fermented Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Gris. Arcana and Frenchie Wine Bar are also carrying co-ferments right now.
Jess Bell, the owner of Fat Cat on Mission, is a co-ferment enthusiast. Currently, Fat Cat has a few chilled red co-ferments, i.e. blouges, that the team says are perfect for tanning in Dolores Park or for simply sticking a straw into. “You'll get the aromatics of the whites, but you're also going to get the body and the tannins and the richness of the reds. It's nice and pretty,” Bell said. Blouges also pair well with light, bright food, such as the Vietnamese fare by the bar’s roommate, Claws of Mantis.
“When I started working with [Claws of Mantis chef and owner] Kevin [Tang], all of his food is so aromatic, really high acid and uses a lot of really delicate herbs. I've just been really focusing on light body wines that won't overpower his delicate food,” said Bell. “Co-ferments seem like a really obvious option for us… Plus, I just think they're cool.”
Birba in Hayes Valley also carries blouge. “Especially during hot weather, having a chilled red on the menu is just always a lot more of a palatable and desirable wine for people,” manager Nahiel Nazzal said. In addition to being rather tasty, Nazzal said these wines are attractive for their lower ABV compared to heavier reds. “Especially when you’re drinking on a hot day, it's not going to put you over.”
Unlike rosé, which is made by letting the skins of red grapes macerate with the juice for a short period of time, or orange wine, which is when the skins of white grapes macerate with the juice for a couple of weeks, blouge is made by fermenting both white and red grapes together. The result is a crispy and bright wine, often served relatively young.
Blouge involves at least two varietals but can accommodate more. The grapes could be grown together on the same plot, which would make it a field blend, but they’re just as likely to be grown separately. Typically, this term does not apply to grapes that are fermented separately and then mixed together; that would make it a “blend.” However, given the term’s unofficial nature, some blends have slipped into the zeitgeist, such as the The Blouge from Swiss winemaker Lucas Madonia, a blend of Gamay and Chasselas fermented and aged separately and then combined before bottling.
It’s worth noting that “blouge,” a portmanteau of blanc and rouge, is not new, though its cheeky name might be. Wine can get rather technical, and the general public might not yet possess the right terminology to ask about co-fermented wine. Blouge, on the other hand, seems to have caught on as an easy-to-use, easy-to-understand word.
“I think it's really important not to obfuscate what something is, right?” said Bell, who says she would know exactly what someone wants if they ask for blouge, but she might also use it as an opportunity to talk about co-fermentation. “When you give people the toolkits to start describing what wine they like, I think it just helps them navigate other wine spaces that can be a little bit more stuffy.”
To get to the bottom of blouge’s name, I consulted Aaron Ayscough, who has been writing about the world of natural wine on his blog, Not Drinking Poison, for over 15 years. Ayscough, who lives in Paris, heard it for the first time in 2022. He believes the French neologism dates back to around 2010.
No matter how you call it, blouge seems to be gaining momentum. Aubert & Mathieu, a label in France’s Languedoc region, released a blouge wine called Boogie Woogie in 2023. Last year, they sold 20,000 bottles, a 40 percent increase over 2024, co-founder Anthony Aubert told The Economist.
When I confronted wine bar owners and bottle purveyors around SF with my inquiry, one could sniff out their dismay for my perpetuating the term “blouge.” To many in the industry, it’s a gimmicky handle for a well-established niche. Others were confused by blouge, having not yet heard co-ferment’s new nickname. It seems some find it impossibly cringe if not totally crude.
“The simplistic, improvised nature of the portmanteau seems to suggest a simplistic, improvised vinification, suggesting the winemaker just threw everything together in haste. In reality, this is not always the case,” Ayscough told me over email.
However, while different bottles will possess their own unique notes, the consensus on blouge is that it’s great warm weather glou glou, a perfect porch-pounder. Blouge is the drink of the summer: It just needed to ferment a bit.
