# #BLENDSRULE



## NorCal (Oct 21, 2020)

I have a great chat group of local winemakers (we use WhatsApp) where we can post little things we are doing or ask quick questions. I coined #BLENDSRULE, because of the direction my wine making has taken and whenever a discussion goes down the path of talking about blends, I will throw the #BLENDSRULE out there.

In my first years of wine making I was really strict on keeping all the varietals separate and pure. Then I learned that even commercially, the wine can contain up to 25% of other varieties it can still be called a "Cabernet Sauvignon" or a "Merlot'. A 25% blend can make any varietal almost unrecognizable, so that allowable % seems somewhat excessive. I did however find that the Cab Franc I would make every year benefited from a little (3%-7%) Petit Verdot and/or Petite Sirah. I would also take all my left overs that wouldn't fit into an even barrel/flex/carboy and throw them all together. You guessed it, I often liked the blended wine that was thrown together with little thought more than the individual wines themselves.

Last year, this year and my plan for next year is to make a blend by design. Last year and this year are both from the same grapes (Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot), but in different proportions. The French really got it right with these grapes (still want to find Malbec). As long as the blend doesn't contain too much Petit Verdot, I don't think you can make a bad blend with this combination of grapes. My hope is that these two vintages I made will both be good, but different.

Each of these varieties has a strong suit and when the right combination of these varieties come together, they complement each other and the sum is better than the individual pieces....#BLENDSRULE

The last time I made a Rhone Blend (2016) the blend was 5:1 more popular with Friends and Family than any of the individual wines that was predominately a single varietal. My plan is for a single barrel GSM blend in 2021.


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## Boatboy24 (Oct 21, 2020)

My journey started almost the same as yours - I was all about 'pure' wines. 100% anything was all I wanted to make. Even with kits, I tended toward things that were at least labeled as single varietal. Now, I'm pretty much all blend. I generally ferment and age separately, as I think many do. Last year, I did two 'single varietals', but both were field blends and contained about 16% of something else. This year, all blends, except for my Zin. But that'll be blended with Petit Sirah before bottling. 

Anyway, I'm with you. #BlendsRule!


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## cmason1957 (Oct 21, 2020)

I joined the #BlendRule team a few years ago. Bought four juice buckets, the varietals are fine from memory now. Wife and I bottled them all up individually and had about the same of each left over. We blended that together, tasted it, then quickly unbottled an equal number of each, blended them, into a carboy for a bit, then rebottled. Now everything we do is a blend.


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## Venatorscribe (Oct 21, 2020)

Have done similarly. It adds that extra five percent magic in the bottle. I've also been playing around with various blends in my fruit wines. I absolutely agree that blending is to be encouraged


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## CDrew (Oct 21, 2020)

I have enjoyed the the "blender" carboy(s). All the remnants eventually get to the same place and my 2 years of blenders have been very good. I have 2 carboys of 2019 Primitivo, Syrah, and a bit of Tempranillo that I'll bottle in the next few months.

The 2018 blender Pimitivo/Syrah has turned out pretty good. I'm still at the veriatial stage, but, the left over blenders are pretty good and in many ways more fun, since you blend in February and bottle in October.


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## ibglowin (Oct 21, 2020)

Every single wine I have made from fresh grapes (going back to 2009) has been a blend of some sort. My first 2 wines were just Cab Sauv (6G) and Merlot (6G).
I made two blends of course. One 75%CS--25% Merlot and the other the reverse. 

When I was first getting into wine I noticed right away that the majority of winemakers in WA State made a huge selection of blends and they were very proud and happy to put their proportions right their on the label or fact sheet.

I was more than happy to borrow their blending info.


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## Venatorscribe (Oct 21, 2020)

ibglowin said:


> Every single wine I have made from fresh grapes (going back to 2009) has been a blend of some sort. My first 2 wines were just Cab Sauv (6G) and Merlot (6G).
> I made two blends of course. One 75%CS--25% Merlot and the other the reverse.
> 
> When I was first getting into wine I noticed right away that the majority of winemakers in WA State made a huge selection of blends and they were very proud and happy to put their proportions right their on the label or fact sheet.
> ...


Yep I like it when they notate their blend ratios. You know that they are equally proud. I write them all down and dwell over them when designing my own arrangement


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## franc1969 (Oct 22, 2020)

I've been running through stores taking pics of the blend ratios, even for the wine's that don't end up in my cart. Very useful to try out.


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## Juniper Hill (Oct 22, 2020)

Totally agree. Blending has improved most of the wines I've made. Its also kind of fun to see how different blend change the flavour profile...a little Petite Sirah goes a long way


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## jburtner (Oct 22, 2020)

#BLENDSRULE !!!
I've moved towards making a number of single varietals and blending a couple bottlings at least and still keeping some pure. Tend to enjoy the blends more but maybe the singles just need time?

Cheers,
johann


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## Chuck E (Oct 22, 2020)

My first blend was 1-1/2 gallons each of Carménère & Malbec. It was clearly better than each of the wines separately. 
I now add a bit of Petite Syrah to my Zinfandels.


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## mainshipfred (Oct 22, 2020)

I'm a huge advocate of blending and always blend after the wine has aged at least 10 months. I have to say though it's not the easiest thing for me especially if I'm blending more than 2 wine which is normally the case. The problem I have is I'll get 2 or 3 blends that I think I like but can't determine which I like best or I just can't get anything I think is exceptional in the first place. Except for an 18 Meritage I have been trying to keep 75-80% of the dominate varietal which could potentially change when I get around to blending my 19s. I have had a couple wines though that no matter what I blended with wasn't as good as the single.


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## Rocktop (Oct 25, 2020)

For blending, how does everyone handle oaking, without a barrel.
I have 18 Gal cab sav, 6 gal merlot and 6 gal petit Verdot that I plan to blend all together. 
Would you A. blend them all together and then oak with spirals, cubes etc as you want or
B. age and oak each variety separately to get each variety to where you want it and then blend just before bottling?

Txs
RT


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## cmason1957 (Oct 25, 2020)

Rocktop said:


> For blending, how does everyone handle oaking, without a barrel.
> I have 18 Gal cab sav, 6 gal merlot and 6 gal petit Verdot that I plan to blend all together.
> Would you A. blend them all together and then oak with spirals, cubes etc as you want or
> B. age and oak each variety separately to get each variety to where you want it and then blend just before bottling?
> ...



I try to get each individual varietal to be is best prior to making the blend. That is, unless i do a field blend, but that's a whole nother thing.


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## mainshipfred (Oct 25, 2020)

Rocktop said:


> For blending, how does everyone handle oaking, without a barrel.
> I have 18 Gal cab sav, 6 gal merlot and 6 gal petit Verdot that I plan to blend all together.
> Would you A. blend them all together and then oak with spirals, cubes etc as you want or
> B. age and oak each variety separately to get each variety to where you want it and then blend just before bottling?
> ...



If you are going to blend the full 30 gallons I don't see it making a difference either way. But if you are going to do bench trails to fine tune the blend then yes I would oak them individually.


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## balatonwine (Oct 26, 2020)

FWIIW: Many, many years ago (as in the last century --- seriously 1995), when touring Napa, and at Sterling, I tasted one of their Cabernet/Merlot/Cab Franc blends. And loved it over all the other wines I tasted that day. I bought a bottle. At $60 a bottle (closer to $100 in today's coin) quite an extravagance for a starving graduate student as I was at the time. I drank it some years later and it only got better.

Just a little anecdotal story... Hope you liked it.


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## Juniper Hill (Oct 26, 2020)

I generally hold off blending until a couple of months before bottling. That way you can do bench trial like mentioned above. The results of blending can be really striking, and it's easy to overdo different additions. It doesn't take much Petite Sirah or Petite Verdot to dominate a blend. I assume it will be the same with Touriga Nacional - it seems like a tannic beast from my post-press tasting


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## Fencepost (Oct 27, 2020)

Newbie question..... Is there a "magic number" for a % of the blend? Should it be at least 25%? I see some of the comments that looks like they may be 25/25/50 or variations... I like blending my blackberry wine with grape wines... and, as every one says, seems to make it better than either one individually. Just not sure if 10% is enough to get the flavor or if it needs to be more like 25%. Just wanting some input from the "pros".


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## cmason1957 (Oct 27, 2020)

Fencepost said:


> Newbie question..... Is there a "magic number" for a % of the blend? Should it be at least 25%? I see some of the comments that looks like they may be 25/25/50 or variations... I like blending my blackberry wine with grape wines... and, as every one says, seems to make it better than either one individually. Just not sure if 10% is enough to get the flavor or if it needs to be more like 25%. Just wanting some input from the "pros".



Don't think any of us claim to be pros at this. Some might be better than others, for sure. But to answer your question, taste rules all. Sometimes it works out to 25/25/50, but more often it will be 12/3/85 and you (Plus hopefully some helpers) are the ultimate decider of what tastes best.


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## jmionno (Oct 27, 2020)

I have never intentionally blended before, although often when racking, will dump leftovers in a carboy. Sometimes it has worked. This year, I have in secondary fermentation 3 varieties; zinfandel, cabernet, and Muscat. Has anyone experience with blending these varieties? Ratios? Qualities of mix?


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## mainshipfred (Oct 27, 2020)

Fencepost said:


> Newbie question..... Is there a "magic number" for a % of the blend? Should it be at least 25%? I see some of the comments that looks like they may be 25/25/50 or variations... I like blending my blackberry wine with grape wines... and, as every one says, seems to make it better than either one individually. Just not sure if 10% is enough to get the flavor or if it needs to be more like 25%. Just wanting some input from the "pros".



Since we are not commercial wineries the rules do not apply. Though in the commercial market in order to call a wine by it's varietal name it has to be 75% of the varietal, as least in Virginia. So for us the magic numbers are whatever tastes the best and we can call it anything we want.


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## Juniper Hill (Oct 27, 2020)

When blending two wines I'll set up bench trials where the blend progressively increases by about 10%: 90:10, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40 and 50:50. Taste each with a friend and try to find the one you both like the best. Can make even finer blends from there if you can decide between two points.


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## bstnh1 (Oct 28, 2020)

Frontera makes a nice blend that a lot of our friends like. It's 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot. I was surprised to see on their website that it's only aged 4 months in stainless steel and concrete tanks.
*VARIETY / STYLE*

85% Cabernet Sauvignon
15% Merlot
*DENOMINATION OF ORIGIN (D.O.)*

Central Valley
*AGING*
Four months in stainless steel and concrete tanks


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## mainshipfred (Jan 10, 2021)

Some day either this week or next the winemaker at Chrysalis is going to come and help me blend some of my 19s. I don't know how much notice I will have or if it will be a weekend or weekday but if any of you NOVA locals want to join in I'm sure he won't mind.


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## winemaker81 (Jun 20, 2021)

Fencepost said:


> Newbie question..... Is there a "magic number" for a % of the blend? Should it be at least 25%? I see some of the comments that looks like they may be 25/25/50 or variations


Nope, there is no magic number. There are 3 variables that are impossible to control: the grapes, fermentation, and the taste buds of the blender(s). If you and I purchased grapes from the same vineyard, fermented with the same yeast under similar conditions, and made our own best blend -- the blends are 99.9% likely to be different.

I've seen labels that stated that one varietal was 3% of the blend. My palate is not good enough to make that determination, but the winemaker believed that 3% made a difference.

Here's a cool experiment -- 3 people purchase the same ratio of grapes from the same source, e.g., 9 lugs Cab Sauv, 2 lugs Merlot, and 1 lug Petit Verdot. Make field blends to reduce variation, ferment with the same yeast in as identical circumstances as is possible, bottle after 1 year. Then taste test the wines every year for 5 years.



Fencepost said:


> I like blending my blackberry wine with grape wines... and, as every one says, seems to make it better than either one individually. Just not sure if 10% is enough to get the flavor or if it needs to be more like 25%. Just wanting some input from the "pros".


Do a double blind tasting. Make 5 samples: 75/25, 80/20, 85/15, 90/10, and 95/5. Number them 1 to 5 in a random order, keeping track of which is which. Then have a second person change the order and relabel them A to E, keeping track of the correspondence, e.g., A = 3, E = 1, etc.

Do a blind tasting, with each person ranking the wines 1 (favorite) to 5 (least favorite), then reveal which wine is which.


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## Snafflebit (Jun 21, 2021)

My friends partner and I tried the Cuda Ridge 2017 Cab Franc and Petit Verdot. I am searching for what to plant in order to blend with Cab Sauv and Merlot.

I enjoyed the Cab Franc more, has a big nose. This Petit Verdot was higher acidity, sharp tasting and tannic but I have had much higher tannin wines. Maybe this PV needs some more age, or maybe Petit Verdot does not make a good varietal wine. I think it would work well to blend because it has potent flavor, even if I cannot quite put my finger on what that flavor is. Maybe raspberry? 

If I were to go with Cab Franc as a blender, I would want to grow more so that it could be a major component of the wine. It is quite nice on its own. 

I plan to continue to taste these, I have a Coravin so sampling is easy. I also did not let the wines open up before sampling. 
I would like to find another winery that makes CF and PV varietal wines.







And I tasted a few rosé wines for saignée ideas.
This rosé of Cabernet Sauvignon from Total Wine was a pleasant surprise. Quite flavorful for a rosé


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## Jim Welch (Jun 21, 2021)

I just read this thread, very interesting. In 2019 I was bottling a batch of Super Tuscan and a batch of Amarone. I combined the very last of each batch, IIRC it was about 67% ST and the balance Amarone but could've been the opposite. I got 5 bottles out of that and you know it was really good and I was surprised because I always thought (and now I realize I was wrong to think this) that blends were inherently faulty. My thinking, again erroneous now I see, was why else would one blend a wine except to cover a fault? I'm going to try some blends this year just not yet sure what.


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## winemaker81 (Jun 21, 2021)

Jim Welch said:


> My thinking, again erroneous now I see, was why else would one blend a wine except to cover a fault?


I believe you have that reversed -- blending combine strengths.

Conventional wisdom is don't blend a better wine into an inferior one, as the result will be no better than the lesser, and you'll have more of it. I don't know that I believe this 100%, but IME it's at least 95% true.


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## photoguy (Jun 21, 2021)

Fascinating read. Like you all I did all single wines only and by accident came to the same conclusion. Many times a blend was better.just the decisions are difficult lol.


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## Snafflebit (Jun 21, 2021)

I just had the CF and PV with food, cheeseburger macaroni hamburger helper . 

Both wines were much improved with food and I could find notes that are otherwise hidden by the tartness.
CF definitely has a more subtle version of bell pepper that I find in CS. It was pleasant to me. 
PV was more fruity, tannic and also paired with fatty, starchy food. I am still uncertain what fruit flavor is in PV but it was also pleasant.

I think either grape will make a good blender for food-friendly wines. I would aim for a lower percentage in wines intended for drinking without food.


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## NorCal (Jun 22, 2021)

@Snafflebit, I find that PV is best as a blender in small proportion. With a CS, CF based wine, maybe 1-3%. PV can prop up a lighter merlot but I try to stay below 5% or it starts to take away vs complement the other varietals. What I like about blending is the nuances that can come out and the length of the taste that can result. I would argue that there are far more high end wines that have some blending, than single varietal wines and that is because the blending improved the wine.


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## Snafflebit (Jun 22, 2021)

NorCal said:


> What I like about blending is the nuances that can come out and the length of the taste that can result. .


I noticed the long finish of the PV. That is probably where it will shine in a blend. I am trying to get that in my wines but in carboys I cannot achieve concentration. Maybe this will help.


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## NorCal (Jun 22, 2021)

Snafflebit said:


> I noticed the long finish of the PV. That is probably where it will shine in a blend. I am trying to get that in my wines but in carboys I cannot achieve concentration. Maybe this will help.


I had an opportunity for a winemaker (Stanford grad, won SF Chron Sweepstakes for best red in the entire competition one year) taste my Cab Franc. He said it is good and then came back with a pipette with wine in it. He asked me to taste again, then added his pipette of PV and asked me to retaste. The difference was significant and not so much for changing the overall flavor of the wine, but rather the lingering finish as you noted. Since then I have added just a little PV to my Bordeaux varietal wines.


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## mainshipfred (Jun 22, 2021)

There is a winery around here that does near a 50/50 PV/Tannat. Some years it's 40/60 and some 60/40 but it always turns out to be a very nice wine. I've been getting local PV, Tannat and Norton the past 2 years but never enough to try that blend. PV and Norton are not hard to get but I have to beg and plead for the Tannat.


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## AaronSC (Jun 22, 2021)

@Snafflebit I just finished blending my 2020 C. Franc two weeks ago (52% Franc, 38% Mourvedre, 10% Malbec) or I could have brought some over for you to try (I live in San Jose and I'm here most weekdays). This one was from Fiddletown in Amador county -super fragrant wine, pretty overpowering on its own but wonderful blended. If you want a couple bottles of the blend let me know -I have 305 bottles so I can spare.

-Aaron


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