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joeswine
joeswine
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HERE’S MY TAKE ON BLENDING, THE FIRST ITEM OF BUSINESS IS TO ESTABLISH WHAT IT IS IN A TASTE PROFILE, YOUR TRING TO ACCOMPLISH AND WHAT TYPE OF FINISH YOU WANT YOU’RE PROFILE TO HAVE.
NOW THAT YOU HAVE ESTABLISHED THE PROFILE AND FINISH LOOK FOR BLENDS THAT REALLY GO WELL TOGETHER, THAT MAKES WINE BLENDING A WHOLE LOT EASIER.
EX: MAKING A CAB AND MERLOT BLEND IS EASY RIGHT? BUT IF YOU’RE A KIT PERSON NOT SO. A WINEMAKER WHO USES GRAPE AND OR FRESH JUICE HAS THE ADVANTAGE OVER US, WHAT TO DO? UNDERSTAND? SO, WHAT DO WE NEED TO KNOW AND HOW DO WE GET THERE?
BLENDING CONSISTS OF TWO DIFFERENT WINES OR MORE HAVING SOME OF THE SAME CHARISTERICTS YET DIFFERENT ENOUGH IN THE BLEND TO STAND OUT ON ITS OWN WITH RESPECT TO THE OTHERS ROLL IN THE MIX.USUALLY, THIS IS ALL DONE AFTER THE WINES ARE COMPLETED AND READY FOR BOTTLING.
KIT MAKERS CAN DO ALL THE SAME MOVES ONLY GOING DOWN A VERY DIFFERENT AVENUE, IF YOU THINK OF ALL THE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS, WE HAVE TO WORK WITH THERE IS NO REAL DIFFERENCE. WE HAVE THE BASIC CONCENTRATES TO WORK WITH AND DEPENDING ON THE VALUE OF THE KIT A LARGER AMOUNT OF VARIETAL JUICE THEN CONCENTRATE, ADDING FRESHLY MADE FPACS TO THE BASE OR ZEST TO THE SECONDARY ALONG WITH THE ADDED AMOUNTS OF OAK, OAK DUST AND TANNINS ADDED ALL ALONG THE WAY. OUR VOLUMES ARE SMALL ENOUGH TO TAKE CORRECTIVE ACTION AS LONG AS WE ARE PAYING ATTENTION TO THE BASIC WINE RULES AND SANITATION THAT ARE REQUIRED, WE CAN CHANGE PRETTY MUCH ON A DIME AND DO WHAT IS NECESSARY FOR OUR PRODUCT.
LET'S SAY I WAS GOING TO MAKE A BLACKBERRY PINOT NOIR, THE FIRST QUESTION I ASK IS WHAT THE PRIMARY FLAVOR IS AND WHAT THE SECONDARY. DEPENDING ON WHAT PROFILE I WANT THE WINE TO HAVE (TASTE) WILL LET ME KNOW WHO IS THE LEADER IN THIS DANCE, THE PINO OR THE BLACKBERRY, IF I USE THE PINO AS THE BASE AND THE BLACKBERRY FPAC IN THE PRIMARY THEN THE BLEND SHOULD BE A PARTNERSHIP OF FLAVORS, IF I USE THE PINO AS MY BASE AND THE BERRIES IN THE SECONDARY THEN THE BERRIES BECOME THE BACKGROUND.
I want to make a pinot Gris, from California and wanted to create crispness and a better bite to the wine's finish, I would finish out the wine by making sure I first had good abv. At the finish then either in the secondary or as a closing step a couple of weeks before bottling I would add the zest of 1 grapefruit or lemon to the wine and allow it two sit to infuse its acidity and freshness into the wine, then rack and bottle.
Making your own fpac from fresh grapes whenever and wherever you find them adds a better mouthfeel to the finish.
There are a lot of different ways kit winemakers can infuse, enhance and create our wines to have a touch of our own hand in the making but you must take the time to plan your work and work your plan, and always think outside the box.
at least that's my view
NOW THAT YOU HAVE ESTABLISHED THE PROFILE AND FINISH LOOK FOR BLENDS THAT REALLY GO WELL TOGETHER, THAT MAKES WINE BLENDING A WHOLE LOT EASIER.
EX: MAKING A CAB AND MERLOT BLEND IS EASY RIGHT? BUT IF YOU’RE A KIT PERSON NOT SO. A WINEMAKER WHO USES GRAPE AND OR FRESH JUICE HAS THE ADVANTAGE OVER US, WHAT TO DO? UNDERSTAND? SO, WHAT DO WE NEED TO KNOW AND HOW DO WE GET THERE?
BLENDING CONSISTS OF TWO DIFFERENT WINES OR MORE HAVING SOME OF THE SAME CHARISTERICTS YET DIFFERENT ENOUGH IN THE BLEND TO STAND OUT ON ITS OWN WITH RESPECT TO THE OTHERS ROLL IN THE MIX.USUALLY, THIS IS ALL DONE AFTER THE WINES ARE COMPLETED AND READY FOR BOTTLING.
KIT MAKERS CAN DO ALL THE SAME MOVES ONLY GOING DOWN A VERY DIFFERENT AVENUE, IF YOU THINK OF ALL THE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS, WE HAVE TO WORK WITH THERE IS NO REAL DIFFERENCE. WE HAVE THE BASIC CONCENTRATES TO WORK WITH AND DEPENDING ON THE VALUE OF THE KIT A LARGER AMOUNT OF VARIETAL JUICE THEN CONCENTRATE, ADDING FRESHLY MADE FPACS TO THE BASE OR ZEST TO THE SECONDARY ALONG WITH THE ADDED AMOUNTS OF OAK, OAK DUST AND TANNINS ADDED ALL ALONG THE WAY. OUR VOLUMES ARE SMALL ENOUGH TO TAKE CORRECTIVE ACTION AS LONG AS WE ARE PAYING ATTENTION TO THE BASIC WINE RULES AND SANITATION THAT ARE REQUIRED, WE CAN CHANGE PRETTY MUCH ON A DIME AND DO WHAT IS NECESSARY FOR OUR PRODUCT.
LET'S SAY I WAS GOING TO MAKE A BLACKBERRY PINOT NOIR, THE FIRST QUESTION I ASK IS WHAT THE PRIMARY FLAVOR IS AND WHAT THE SECONDARY. DEPENDING ON WHAT PROFILE I WANT THE WINE TO HAVE (TASTE) WILL LET ME KNOW WHO IS THE LEADER IN THIS DANCE, THE PINO OR THE BLACKBERRY, IF I USE THE PINO AS THE BASE AND THE BLACKBERRY FPAC IN THE PRIMARY THEN THE BLEND SHOULD BE A PARTNERSHIP OF FLAVORS, IF I USE THE PINO AS MY BASE AND THE BERRIES IN THE SECONDARY THEN THE BERRIES BECOME THE BACKGROUND.
I want to make a pinot Gris, from California and wanted to create crispness and a better bite to the wine's finish, I would finish out the wine by making sure I first had good abv. At the finish then either in the secondary or as a closing step a couple of weeks before bottling I would add the zest of 1 grapefruit or lemon to the wine and allow it two sit to infuse its acidity and freshness into the wine, then rack and bottle.
Making your own fpac from fresh grapes whenever and wherever you find them adds a better mouthfeel to the finish.
There are a lot of different ways kit winemakers can infuse, enhance and create our wines to have a touch of our own hand in the making but you must take the time to plan your work and work your plan, and always think outside the box.
at least that's my view
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joeswine
joeswine
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Made the Wild Grapes Shiraz in August 23. Not bad at all. Better than 2 buck, now 4 buck Chuck. Wife likes it.
That is what I would call "damned by faint praise" if I ever heard it!
By the way, in these parts, it is not even 4 buck Chuck now, more like 6 buck Chuck. But my Bride likes the Sauvignon Blanc and I get the bonus of clear bottles!
Thank you for your answer. and damned by faint praise is better than damned!!That is what I would call "damned by faint praise" if I ever heard it!
By the way, in these parts, it is not even 4 buck Chuck now, more like 6 buck Chuck. But my Bride likes the Sauvignon Blanc and I get the bonus of clear bottles!
The wine has only been aging in the bottles since Sept 2023. So still new. and a kit. We opened a bottle Sunday night and wife and daughter stated that it's not bad at all. Admittedly it is not a $20+ bottle, but it beats Yellowtail or TJs as it ages IMHO. What we are surprised about is that our own grapes (being very hot and dry in Texas this summer), at first were disappointing when first bottled in Sept. But Dec 2, a bottle tasted good. We opened one we made 2 years ago, our first from our own grapes, and were very surprised at how good it really was. The grapes we grow are Black Spanish, Tempranillo, and Shiraz and we mixed them together to get about 150 lbs. of picked and destemmed grapes.
I have not made wine from grapes for many years. I mostly go with kits or juice buckets augmented with a lug or two of fresh grapes. I am pleasantly surprised at how well this works out for us. I don't miss the extra mess created by grapes and the year to year variation that we experienced. We made our wine as a blend of Zinfandel and Muscat.
An important aspect which I guess I knew intuitively was how aging affects the wine in a positive way. We made wine every year back home in the late 40's to early 80's and the wine was consumed before it had aged more than a year or two. In an earlier posting, I talk about a 5 year old Nero D'Avola made from juice and fresh cabernet sauvignon grapes. It is still improving and I am down to my last 60 or so bottles.
I am familiar with Tempranillo and Shiraz but I not with "Black Spanish." Is that grape similar to anything better known, e.g. Cabernet, Merlot, Zinfandel, etc.? With 150 lbs. of grapes, I would guess you net out 10-11 gallons. I am sure you enjoy it.
Black Spanish (also known as Lenoir and Jacquez) is a black-skinned grape variety native to Texas. Black Spanish (Lenoir) - Red Wine Grape Variety | Wine-Searcher for the info.
Very seedy and super sweet. It basically grows from San Antonio westward through the Chihuahuan desert. Very prolific in my landscape. My grandkids love to pick it directly off the vine and eat it
joeswine
joeswine
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2007
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- Reaction score
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good info ,thanks
