# 2020 Crush and Blends



## Donz (Sep 14, 2020)

It's that exciting time of year again. So who is making what this season? I will be doing my first white, Sauvignon Blanc. Reds are looking like potentially a Grenache - any suggestions on what to blend with Grenache? My first thoughts are Carignan and Syrah. Also maybe a Merlot dominant blend this year with Petit Syrah. Any blending suggestions with these 2 are welcome!


----------



## NorCal (Sep 14, 2020)

Mourvedre and Syrah go well with Grenache (my plan for next year). If you want to retain some Merlot characteristics, I would be cautious to add any more than 10% Petite Sirah. My experience is that PS will dominate a lighter varietal wine pretty quickly. Instead of the PS, add some Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, Malbec or maybe a little Petit Verdot and it is hard to find a bad combination.


----------



## Boatboy24 (Sep 14, 2020)

I like a Cab Franc/Merlot blend. They are both good on their own, but also play very well with each other.


----------



## Cynewulf (Sep 15, 2020)

I’m actually doing a Grenache, Carignan, and Syrah blend this year. My tastes tend toward the old world and I recently had a bottle from Fitou in Languedoc with this blend that was delicious:


----------



## Donz (Sep 15, 2020)

Cynewulf said:


> I’m actually doing a Grenache, Carignan, and Syrah blend this year. My tastes tastes tend toward the old world and I recently had a bottle from Fitou in Languedoc with this blend that was delicious:
> View attachment 65995


Very nice! Thinking of doing the same.


----------



## Donz (Sep 15, 2020)

NorCal said:


> Mourvedre and Syrah go well with Grenache (my plan for next year). If you want to retain some Merlot characteristics, I would be cautious to add any more than 10% Petite Sirah. My experience is that PS will dominate a lighter varietal wine pretty quickly. Instead of the PS, add some Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, Malbec or maybe a little Petit Verdot and it is hard to find a bad combination.



Yes I agree 100% about the petit sirah... You cannot put a large percentage as it just dominates. Small amounts 5-7% are ideal.


----------



## AaronSC (Sep 15, 2020)

Hi all,
I just moved to the foothills area in CA (Amador county) in the early spring. I'm planning on making 9 base varietals, which will go into multiple, as-of-yet undetermined blends. I'm getting 400lbs of each of barbera, tempranillo, Viognier, Mourvèdre, and zinfandel (all from Shake Ridge Ranch about a mile from my house), Cab. Franc and Malbec (both from Slate Creek Farm in Fiddletown) and Grenache Blanc and Muscat from Hawk Creek Vineyard in Somerset.

I definitely have a lot of ideas for blends -so far the Barbera, Viognier and Tempranillo are fermenting. 1/3 of the Barbera is being done as a rose. Each (non-rose) varietal is fermented with two different yeasts to add complexity to the blending stock.

Malbec and Cab. Franc are a natural blend. I'm also thinking Mourvedre (body, tannin, earth), Zinfandel (fruit) and Barbera (acid and color) would be a nice blend tooo.

Any thoughts?


----------



## MiBor (Sep 15, 2020)

This year the selection of red California grapes that we can get in SE Michigan is limited. From the list of the varietals I could buy, I chose a Sangiovese/Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon combo for a Super Tuscan blend. I'm also a little concerned about smoke taint, with all the wild fires raging in California this season. I'll raise the question but I don't think I'll get an answer. Smoke is really hard to test for and since we don't know anything about the grower-broker-distributor chain, we're stuck with buying whatever grapes make it here. I'm crossing my fingers hoping that's not something I'll have to deal with.
I also looked at some local grapes but I don't think they're worth my effort. I'm really not a fan of red hybrids and never tasted a really good wine made out of any of them.


----------



## sour_grapes (Sep 15, 2020)

MiBor said:


> I'll raise the question but I don't think I'll get an answer.



To be fair, there is not a single question in your post. What is it that you wanted to ask?


----------



## MiBor (Sep 15, 2020)

sour_grapes said:


> To be fair, there is not a single question in your post. What is it that you wanted to ask?


I apologize for the ambiguity. I wrote that post in a hurry, right before leaving work. What I had in mind was to ask if anyone knows the extent of the smoke taint problem with California grapes and what regions were most affected. I was thinking that some forum members who work in the industry may have some info they can share. 
Meanwhile I emailed the store owner where I'm buying grapes and he responded that their grapes come from the Central Valley near Lodi and Sierra Foothills and that zone doesn't appear to be affected by smoke.


----------



## AaronSC (Sep 16, 2020)

I haven't experienced in smoke taint in the grapes from the foothills this year -the fires are actually hundreds of miles away and while the smoke is not good to breathe it hasn't't seemed to impacted the grapes I have gotten. Lodi's in the same boat so far.

-Aaron


----------



## jgmann67 (Sep 16, 2020)

I’ll be doing a Sangio/Cab/Merlot blend and a stand alone Malbec. Distributor indicated that the yields are down this year, but the quality is still very good.


----------



## Ajmassa (Sep 16, 2020)

Spoke with my supplier about this smoke issue as well. They actually have been affected and Pinot Noir that was sourced from Anderson Valley AVA are no longer available. 
I view it as a good thing though. Rather than sell flawed product they chose to scrap it altogether. Hopefully this is the standard procedure and not the exception. At the time of the convo I was told they were actively seeking out another Pinot to fulfill the Anderson Pinot orders


----------



## AaronSC (Sep 18, 2020)

Here's my crush update so far.
Amador (Shake Ridge) Tempranillo .6 TA, 23.5 Brix 3.8 pH (before fermentation/4.1 after (adding tartaric) (all 400lbs red)
Fiddletown (Slate Creek) Malbec .57 TA, 24 Brix 3.9 pH (adding tartaric) (starting ferment 266 lbs red/133 lbs rose))
Amador (Shake Ridge) Barbera .8 TA, 25 Brix 3.2 pH (done ferment 266 lbs red/133 lbs rose)
Amador (Shake Ridge) Viognier .6 TA, 25 Brix 3.6 pH (adding tartaric) (almost done ferment, 400 dry white)
Fiddletown (Slate Creek) Cab Franc .6 TA, 25 Brix 3.6 pH (just starting ferment 400lbs dry red)
Saturday I'm picking up 400lbs Zinfandel and 400lbs Mourvedre both at Shake Ridge Ranch in Amador (it's about a mile from my house).

This is my first time making wine in California. All the varietals except Cab. Franc are new to me. The Franc I got from Slate Creek was beautiful (they are down the world's worst dirt road from my house...). The smell reminded me of wine making in the Finger Lakes with the wonderful aroma of freshly picked Franc -it's almost like cut cedar trees or black pepper -not like a grape smell at all. The Malbec was totally new to be so everything was discovery. The folks I bought them from were downplaying the Franc and talking all about the Malbec. These grapes seemed totally neutral to me, and other than being very dark and juicy (that's why I used a bunch in a rosé) I didn't get it. Once they started fermenting I got it -they really filled the room with blackberries and flowers -really amazing! If I can capture just a bit of these amazing smells in the final wine I'll be happy. BTW, I understand now why the Malbec family is referred to as "Fer" ("Iron") in France. I have a nice manual crusher/stemmer and I thought "why would anyone need a motorized one?" until I had to process the Malbec -iron indeed...

Tempranillo is a learning experience too. It never really had any interesting aromas, either as grapes or in fermentation. What it has in spades is tannin -wow! I can see why so many blends are based on this grape. On it's own it could be over-powering and under-whelming, but it has such structure and backbone that it will make for a great core to a blend for long aging. The winery that runs the vineyard (Yorba) doesn't generally release their Tempranillo for 8 years or so, and I can see why (don't think I will have that kind of patience).

My favorite so far has been Barbera. The winegrower contacted me last weekend with the option of getting it when it was "bright crunchy and juicy" or wait until the acids died down a bit more. Very glad I opted for the earlier harvest -the grapes were beautiful and such a deep bright purple and zippy taste. Even punching down the cap the grapes seemed to be bursting with energy. I'm having a glass of rose that I pulled for testing and it's already tasting pretty good, for a 1 week old wine. The rest is broken into two separate cuvées, one as an early maturing, Italian style old school red with no MLF and a yeast to enhance the fruit. The other is being fermented with a yeast to accentuate the body and mouthfeel and destined to add life and color to my other blends.

Oh, long message -shutting up now...


----------



## winemaker81 (Sep 19, 2020)

Ajmassa said:


> Spoke with my supplier about this smoke issue as well.


Ditto on my supplier. Certain grapes are probably not going to be available, he's apparently looking for other sources to compensate.


----------



## winemaker81 (Sep 19, 2020)

Last fall I purchased 5 lugs each of Malbec, Merlot, and Zinfandel. It was fun, but having 3 batches (plus 2 second run batches) going made for some challenges with topup and containers. I have nearly 30 airlocks and had most in use at one time. Early on I stopped worrying about "purity" and used the smallest containers to topup whatever needed topping up.

I learned a lesson from this, so I have ordered a variety of mostly Bordeaux grapes to make a Merlot-heavy Bordeaux blend. Since I won't be making enough of any of the supporting grapes to make a carboy, I'm taking my chances and going with a field blend. My order is 8 lugs Merlot and 1 lug each of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec. I intended to buy 12 lugs of Merlot, at the last moment substituted 4 lugs of an old vine Zinfandel.

The Merlot and Zinfandel are the same vineyards as last fall, and both came out fantastic. I'm still debating if I made a good decision.

The plan is to ferment in 4 batches -- 2 Merlot, 1 Zin, and 1 everything else, and blend after fermentation is complete. I'm leaning towards keeping the Zinfandel separate until the spring, then see if it blends.

Plus I'll do a second run from the pomace. Last fall I blended all 3 and am extremely pleased with the result.


----------



## Chuck E (Sep 19, 2020)

My supplier had no Chardonnay grapes on the truck. Very unusual.


----------



## TemperanceOwl (Sep 20, 2020)

winemaker81 said:


> Last fall I purchased 5 lugs each of Malbec, Merlot, and Zinfandel. It was fun, but having 3 batches (plus 2 second run batches) going made for some challenges with topup and containers. I have nearly 30 airlocks and had most in use at one time. Early on I stopped worrying about "purity" and used the smallest containers to topup whatever needed topping up.
> 
> I learned a lesson from this, so I have ordered a variety of mostly Bordeaux grapes to make a Merlot-heavy Bordeaux blend. Since I won't be making enough of any of the supporting grapes to make a carboy, I'm taking my chances and going with a field blend. My order is 8 lugs Merlot and 1 lug each of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec. I intended to buy 12 lugs of Merlot, at the last moment substituted 4 lugs of an old vine Zinfandel.
> 
> ...


Mind if I ask who your supplier is? I’m in NE Tennessee and haven’t been able to find many options for getting California grapes without paying as much in shipping as for the grapes. Do you receive them uncrushed, or crushed and frozen? I need them crushed and frozen. 
Thanks!
I’d love to try a Zin!


----------



## winemaker81 (Sep 21, 2020)

TemperanceOwl said:


> Mind if I ask who your supplier is?


*Musto*

Note that my group gets a good price as we get a large shipment -- last year our total shipment was over 6 US tons of fresh grapes plus a 55 gallon barrel of juice. I purchased 15 lugs (540 lbs) and upped it to 16 this year.

Our coordinator has a crusher so we unload the truck one day, and everyone who needs crushing meets the next day. I have a large press (bought it used on Facebook marketplace (or whatever it's called) so I press on my own.

Check out their site and see if anything works for you.


----------



## TemperanceOwl (Sep 22, 2020)

winemaker81 said:


> *Musto*
> 
> Note that my group gets a good price as we get a large shipment -- last year our total shipment was over 6 US tons of fresh grapes plus a 55 gallon barrel of juice. I purchased 15 lugs (540 lbs) and upped it to 16 this year.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the tip and info.


----------



## DPCellars (Sep 22, 2020)

I need to stop being so cheap. I have free access to all the Pinot Noir and Cab Sauv that my little Donkey heart desires. I think I need to open the wallet up and seek a little more diversity in my grapes next year.


----------



## Kitchen (Sep 23, 2020)

80% Cab Sav and 20% Merlot blend this year. 

I also have 5 lugs of Pinot Noir grapes coming in soon and was thinking about adding some Petit Syrah, but not sure. Any advice?


----------



## winemaker81 (Sep 23, 2020)

DPCellars said:


> I think I need to open the wallet up and seek a little more diversity in my grapes next year.


If you want diversity, sure. However,I admit that if I had free access to Pinot & Cab, I'd probably go at least a bit crazy.



Kitchen said:


> I also have 5 lugs of Pinot Noir grapes coming in soon and was thinking about adding some Petit Syrah, but not sure. Any advice?


Are you doing enough Petite Sirah for a carboy, either 3 or 5 gallon? If so, ferment separately and look at blending next summer or fall.

Petite Sirah is supposed to be dark and tannic, so it will dramatically change the PInot Noir. If you want more of a Pinot Noir, go light on the Petite Sirah.

OTOH, if you're not doing enough Petite Sirah for a carboy, you may not have much choice except to do a field blend. Personally, it sounds good either way, although the final result of a field blend will be unpredictable. But it will be interesting.


----------



## sour_grapes (Sep 23, 2020)

Yeah, I can agree with @winemaker81: (to mangle a phrase), ain't not a thing wrong with making Cab and Pinot for as long as the day is long. I could do that and be happy. Diversity shmedirsity (as far as grapes go).

BTW, it is probably good that you lack opposable thumbs. Else, you would have trouble wearing right-hand boxing gloves on both of your hands!


----------



## DPCellars (Sep 23, 2020)

sour_grapes said:


> BTW, it is probably good that you lack opposable thumbs. Else, you would have trouble wearing right-hand boxing gloves on both of your hands!



Your wisdom is wise. lol


----------



## sour_grapes (Sep 23, 2020)

On a related note, did you know that the hoof of an equine animal is the homologue of your middle finger? Amazing, but true!


----------



## Kitchen (Sep 24, 2020)

winemaker81 said:


> If you want diversity, sure. However,I admit that if I had free access to Pinot & Cab, I'd probably go at least a bit crazy.
> 
> 
> Are you doing enough Petite Sirah for a carboy, either 3 or 5 gallon? If so, ferment separately and look at blending next summer or fall.
> ...



Thanks for the advice. I did a field blend for the Cab and Merlot, so too late on that. Shortly after writing this post, my store called me up and told they were not able to get Pinot Noir grapes from Central Valley and offered to substitute a much high quality Pinot Noir from Central Coast. They did need to charge an extra fee, but did not add in their profit margin to the upgrade, so I jumped. 

So here, I will be going straight PN with a 7 day cold soak.


----------



## winemaker81 (Sep 24, 2020)

Kitchen said:


> 80% Cab Sav and 20% Merlot blend this year


If you want the Pinot to be a Pinot, toss the Petite Sirah in the Cab/Merlot. How many lugs of Petite Sirah you making? If you get at least a 3 gallon carboy, ferment it separately and check both the Pinot and the Cab/Merlot for blending possibilities next summer. You have many choices, all should turn out fine.

As I mentioned upstream, I'm making a field blend Merlot-heavy Bordeaux blend. Nothing wrong with field blends, only the caveat that you're jumping in with both feet and you hope the water is not too shallow ....


----------



## Kitchen (Sep 24, 2020)

winemaker81 said:


> If you want the Pinot to be a Pinot, toss the Petite Sirah in the Cab/Merlot. How many lugs of Petite Sirah you making? If you get at least a 3 gallon carboy, ferment it separately and check both the Pinot and the Cab/Merlot for blending possibilities next summer. You have many choices, all should turn out fine.
> 
> As I mentioned upstream, I'm making a field blend Merlot-heavy Bordeaux blend. Nothing wrong with field blends, only the caveat that you're jumping in with both feet and you hope the water is not too shallow ....



Thanks, but I'm just not getting the Syrah now, only the PN (5 lugs worth). Since it is now a high quality coastal grape, I want to let the Pinot be Pinot.


----------



## winemaker81 (Sep 24, 2020)

Kitchen said:


> Thanks, but I'm just not getting the Syrah now, only the PN (5 lugs worth). Since it is now a high quality coastal grape, I want to let the Pinot be Pinot.


Gotcha. It's still a fun exercise, thinking about blending.


----------



## DPCellars (Sep 24, 2020)

Last year, I did a 50/50 blend of Cab/Pinot. I have since learned that there are certain "rules" that dictate what is blended with what. Lucky for me, I am a Donkey and can get away with breaking those rules without too much thought.  At any rate, it turned out amazing!

The Pinot I have free access to sits on 80 acres of flat land, toward the southern end of San Joaquin County. The ground is such a fine dust, it is like stepping on talcum powder. The high heat, combined with the thin skin, sent the Brix from 18-26 in the span of 5 days this year. Last year was very similar, but not as drastic.

I know judging is VERY subjective, but last year's vintage earned a bronze at the 2020 WineMakers competition. All of the judges commented that it was a good representation of the varietal. I am a fan of Pinot and, although I may be biased to my own concoction, believe that it turned really well, despite where they were grown. That having been said, nothing beats a good central coast Pinot. If I wasn't so damn cheap, I would "pony up" some cash and attempt to make some of that!

YUM!


----------



## Mario Dinis (Sep 26, 2020)

This is going to be my first attempt at Pinot Noir. Just picked up my buckets of juice at Gino's.


----------



## AaronSC (Sep 28, 2020)

Wanted to update folks on my 2020 season so far. I'm learning a lot about California grapes and being worried about dealing with low acid/high pH -never an issue in the Finger Lakes.

All my grapes are done fermenting and have been pressed and moved to storage -a combination of carboys, 9 gallon Demi-johns and 100liter/27 gallon Speidel plastic storage containers (new for me).

1) I got much better yields on red grapes than I expected. Generally 11-13 lbs per gallon. I had planned my storage based on 15-17.
2) some grapes are surprising me -my Zinfandel is great but is very dark and has lots of tannin. Not what I expected. I would almost think I picked up a different grape by mistake but the winegrower is very detail oriented and would never let the happen. I was hoping it would "tame" some of the other grapes (like Tempranillo and Mourvedre) but Mourvedre may end up taming Zin.
3) I was expecting tons of tannin from Mourvedre, but it seems less tannic than Zin. It definitely has the "beef broth" taste going on. I think I'm going to like this one. Still planning to try out a Barbera/Zin/Mourvedre blend.
4) Both Malbec and C. Franc are massively fruity compared to the others. Malbec has a very strong "blueberry/blackberry taste" and Franc has a ton of chocolate and chili pepper (not sure how to describe this). Malbec is extremely dark but low in tannin. Franc is very dark too but higher in tannin. It will be tricky to get the most out of these without them being too "in your face". I'm hoping MLF will help reduce the fruitiness and blending with less aromatic varieties, like Tempranillo, will allow them to add lots of aromatic character without making the wine too monotonous.

I haven't had much experience with California grapes so blending ideas are welcome.


----------



## CDrew (Sep 28, 2020)

I would not blend at all yet. Those wines are brand new. And new wine has all sorts of early and raw flavors. Wait until MLF is over then rack again. I would not taste for blending ideas until the spring.

By the time you oak, rack a few times, and the CO2 dissipates, and the tannins polymerize, the wine will be completely different. So I would advise patience.


----------

