I’m writing this post drinking a glass of Chateau Cheval Blanc. Last night I had Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Dominus Estate. No, I haven’t won the lottery or joined Bob Parker’s tasting staff, I have been experimenting with the Crushpad Fusebox.
Of course my wines aren’t the real thing but blends based upon these famous wines. I’m not sure if any one of these actually tastes that close to the real thing but that doesn’t really matter since the wines are very good examples of what can be made from Bordeaux varieties in California. Of the three wines I’ve blended so far, I’ve only had Dominus for real and the home blended version is pretty close to the mark, if a bit less concentrated.
Crushpad sent me this Fusebox back in 2007, no doubt hoping I would blog about it before now. It never really occurred to me to open the 7 half bottles in the pack by myself as the Fusebox is a natural center point of a wine party. Their idea is to gather friends together and have a blending party using 5 of the 6 Bordeaux varieties to create your own custom wine.
They have provided everything you need to do this properly with a graduated cylinder and 4 pipettes to create your blends. Easy to follow instructions, blend recipe cards and tasting aids are also included. In all, Fusebox is a complete wine blending course in a fun package that just might induce you to try your hand at winemaking.
I’m having so much fun I wish they sold a recharge kit with just the 6 half bottles you really need to create your blends. But their “mystery bottle” is a stroke of genius as it encourages you to blend up the entire kit in order to compare and figure out which blend they have put in that bottle.
The Fusebox is available at their website for $120. For what you get, that seems to be a fair price and it would make a great gift for any wine geek. Excuse me while I mix up some Niebaum-Coppola Rubicon…
Disclosure: Crushpad send me this Fusebox as a sample.
This is one of those innovations that leaves me completely befuddled!! Part of me is thinking "genius" and part of me is thinking "Oh for pity's sake"!
I hope they ship to the UK because I just have to have this!
Gavino1: I don't think they can ship to you unfortunately. Once you start using it, the genius of the idea is clear. Hope other wineries follow the lead as this is great for education, branding and selling more wine.
Agreed. I am so impressed with the creativity driving this brand idea. The packaging looks great and it already invites a social element by the very nature of the mixing. This translates into greater word of mouth and more people trying this for themselves. Very neat. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
i just went to a fusebox tasting class last week at crushpad. and, i have to say, they did a really nice job. the wines they include in the kit are nothing to write home about on their own, but they provide a really clear and distinct contrast to what you get when you start blending them. my wife and i are making our first barrel at crushpad this year and it helped nail down some thinking for us as we head into blending later this year.
very cool and a great thing to do with a good group of friends.