(YES, I know to cook with wines you only drink, blah blah.)

Please use the following format to make your list:
- Rating: 1-5 (5=best)
- Type: Red/White
- Brand: Robert Mondavi / Rosemount Estate / etc...
- Blend: Cabernet/Merlot/Red-Bordeaux/Sangiovese/etc...
- Comments: whatever...

==================================================
(Okay, here we go...)

Rate: 4
Type: Hard Liquor
Brand: Napoleon
Blend: Brandy
Comments: This had a mild sweetness when reduced with just a hint of oak flavor. GREAT for sweet cooking (just like Rum)!
This is posted here, because Brandy is made from grapes. =)

Rate: 1
Type: Red
Brand: Roesemount Estate (4 types)
Blend: Cabernet Sauvignon
Comments: This wine type in general (reduced) was very tannic, bitter, sour (like vinegar), and tobacco in flavor. VERY BAD for cooking!

Rate: 2
Type: Red
Brand: Montes Alpha
Blend: Merlot
Comments: This wine (reduced) was very sour and slightly tannic. BAD for cooking!

Rate: 1
Type: Red
Brand: Banfi (Chianti Classico)
Blend: Sangiovese Blend
Comments: This wine (reduced) was very sour, tannic, and bitter. VERY BAD for cooking!

Rate: 2
Type: White
Brand: Bella Sera
Blend: Chardonnay
Comments: This wine (reduced) was very sour (like vinegar) and tannic. Not sure if brand, but IMHO, BAD for cooking!

Rate: 4
Type: White
Brand: Alfred Merkelbach / Bauer & Foss
Blend: Riesling (Auslese / Spatlese)
Comments: Both wines (reduced) had a mild sweetness to them. The Bauer&Foss version was a little more sour in flavor, but workable in a dish. GREAT for adding complex flavor and slight sweetness to a dish!

Now it's up to you guys now... =)

With a wine reduction sauce, sometimes I will reduce all the other ingredients
and add the wine in the last minute. This will be sauces where I use
a fourth of a cup or so of wine. The sauce will then have a perfect
balance of flavors because I will adjust the balance starting with an
eighth of a cup first.

When you are doing a bigger reduction, say a whole bottle of red wine,
you will need to balance the tartness with the addition of a sweeter
wine, say a wonderful port. About a half bottle port, to a full bottle
of red wine. A sauce like this would be wonderful for strongly flavored
meats, such as venison, goose and wild duck. You would probably end
up with about 2 cups of sauce. I admit this is an outrageous
extravagance but if you are entertaining a head of state, or your
husbands first girlfriend or maybe your boss, you can do this every
once in a while.

Finally, I think the word you want is not "blend" but varietal.
"Blend" is something done to spirits. Sometimes wine are
blended and the are called a "meritage" or it is not even noted if
the amount is slight.