red blend ideas

[bstnh1]

I purchased 2 bottles of Antonio Federici's Roma Rossa 2019, and opened one last night. WOW! It's a Montepulciano (60%) / Cesanese (40%) blend. I've never heard of Cesanese before, although that's not a surprise, as there are so many grape. It's grown in the Lazio region, on the west coast of Italy, half way down the "boot".

While I doubt I'll ever lay hands on a USA-grown version, I can always dream!

This has been added to my database of blends, and will be in the list the next time I publish an update.

From what I read, Cesanese grapes are not grown anywhere on the planet other than Italy.

 

[winemaker81]

From what I read, Cesanese grapes are not grown anywhere on the planet other than Italy.

That is a bummer. I'm thinking of ordering a case of this wine -- it is that good.

 

[BarrelMonkey]

Since we now have a white wine blend category: I'm currently making a white 'field blend' from grapes that Mrs. Monkey and I picked at a local vineyard. I'm guessing ~50% chardonnay, 40% (white) pinot noir and 10% viognier.

I expect I'll bottle this in spring 2023 so will report back then as to how it worked out!

 

[Guasto-IS]

My grandpa's wine blend from 1956 - 1986, back in the ironbound section of Newark, NJ was 12 boxes Muscato (42lb/box) and 4 boxes Alicante (36lb/box). Wine grapes sold by a guy named "Chief" on South Street.

Adjusting for box weights, the blend would be roughly 78% Muscato 22% Alicante. Boy that vino put people on their butt!

 

[winemaker81]

My grandpa's wine blend from 1956 - 1986, back in the ironbound section of Newark, NJ was 12 boxes Muscato (42lb/box) and 4 boxes Alicante (36lb/box). Wine grapes sold by a guy named "Chief" on South Street.

Adjusting for box weights, the blend would be roughly 78% Muscato 22% Alicante. Boy that vino put people on their butt!

I'm going to classify this one as a white wine, as it's mostly white.

Thinking back to the late 80's, the grapes my mentors purchased often came in at 26 to 30 brix, and one guy chaptalized everything to 32 brix. He judged a wine by how few glasses it took to knock him down!

 

[distancerunner]

Alicante is a tenturier grape. Red skins, red juice. It's used for color.

My grandfather's was 13 Muscat to 11 Alicante. It was inky purple-red.

My guess is Guasto's grandfather's wine would be ruby red.

 

[winemaker81]

Alicante is a tenturier grape. Red skins, red juice. It's used for color.

My grandfather's was 13 Muscat to 11 Alicante. It was inky purple-red.

My guess is Guasto's grandfather's wine would be ruby red.

Were the Muscat fermented on the skins, like reds? If so, I'd call it a "red" due to body. If it was all juice, I'd call it white. If it was white juice and red grape, I have no idea what to call it.

This test question was NOT in the class material!!!

 

[Guasto-IS]

Alicante is a tenturier grape. Red skins, red juice. It's used for color.

My grandfather's was 13 Muscat to 11 Alicante. It was inky purple-red.

My guess is Guasto's grandfather's wine would be ruby red.

Alicante is a tenturier grape. Red skins, red juice. It's used for color.

My grandfather's was 13 Muscat to 11 Alicante. It was inky purple-red.

My guess is Guasto's grandfather's wine would be ruby red.

Spot on distancerunner!

I took my 1st try to make grandpa's blend this year using juice and it's a beautiful ruby red, just like I remember it.

We'll see if the tastes is close on 11/11 (St. Martino Day, when the must 'magically' turns to wine)! .....Like Italians actually need an excuse to drink wine!

 

[Hazelemere]

I'm going to classify this one as a white wine, as it's mostly white.

Thinking back to the late 80's, the grapes my mentors purchased often came in at 26 to 30 brix, and one guy chaptalized everything to 32 brix. He judged a wine by how few glasses it took to knock him down

32 BRIX SOUNDS LIKE ***** WINE

 

[Kitchen]

Just started a 8:6 Cab Sauv to Pitet Sirah field blend this week. Hopefully it turns out good.

 

[winemaker81]

I'm making a barrel of Grenache and another of Tempranillo, plus a carboy of Syrah, Petite Sirah, and Mourvedre (Rhone blend). A year from now I'll bench test adding 5% to 20% the Rhone blend to the other two, but won't know what the final percentages are until then.

NOTE -- as folks post their blends, I'm adding them to my database. I'll probably post an updated list every other month or so, depending on how many additions we get. The list is already big enough that I don't want to post updates too frequently.

I will probably update the copy on my web site more frequently, as I can update the original post.

 

[Kitchen]

I'm making a barrel of Grenache and another of Tempranillo, plus a carboy of Syrah, Petite Sirah, and Mourvedre (Rhone blend). A year from now I'll bench test adding 5% to 20% the Rhone blend to the other two, but won't know what the final percentages are until then.

NOTE -- as folks post their blends, I'm adding them to my database. I'll probably post an updated list every other month or so, depending on how many additions we get. The list is already big enough that I don't want to post updates too frequently.

I will probably update the copy on my web site more frequently, as I can update the original post.

In that case, I also have a 72:28 blend of Cab Sauv and Merlot in two barrels right now. Grape from Mendocino county and I let them macerate for 32 days. One barrel is a 3:1 mix of free run to pressed, while the other is 3:2 pressed to free run. The barrels are neutral so I added a medium/medium+ oak blend to the former, and a med+ heavy blend to the latter.

I also did a 2:1 Chenin Blanc to Sauv Blanc (CA source) blend this year with the intention to turn to brandy to fortify some of the CabSirah blend for a tawny. Thankfully I have more then I need because it turned out to be a very nice blend too.

 

[Hazelemere]

In that case, I also have a 72:28 blend of Cab Sauv and Merlot in two barrels right now. Grape from Mendocino county and I let them macerate for 32 days. One barrel is a 3:1 mix of free run to pressed, while the other is 3:2 pressed to free run. The barrels are neutral so I added a medium/medium+ oak blend to the former, and a med+ heavy blend to the latter.

I also did a 2:1 Chenin Blanc to Sauv Blanc (CA source) blend this year with the intention to turn to brandy to fortify some of the CabSirah blend for a tawny. Thankfully I have more then I need because it turned out to be a very nice blend too.

taste grenache with a bit of syrah and a bit of mourvedre

 

[Mac60]

This seasons Grapes we got from Gino Pinto were the best we have ever got, really outstanding.
We Pressed on Tuesday and got a preview of the wine, I think we have a 2. real winners of a epic vintage year with these blend. 11 days on the skins fermented dry at 9 Brix or .99
Not sure why it took me 20 years to use a Refractometer vs Hydrometer to monitor progress.
I started out using both to check accuracy. I used a spreadsheet to adjust for alcohol, I found it much easier and just as effective using the Refractometer with the spreadsheet, once I knew what number I needed to hit on the Brix scale is was so much faster and easier.
How many of you use a Refractometer measure your progress?
We got 216 Gallons of Vino out of 77 Lugs
46 Gallons of Barbera Blend

81% Barbera​

13% Sangiovese Brunello​

6% Petite Syrah​

170 Gallons of Super Tuscan Blend

44% Sangiovese Brunello​

40% Cabernet Sauv 169 Clone​

10 % Merlot​

6% Petite Syrah​

 

[Donz]

77 lugs is no joke Mike!

 

[Mac60]

77 lugs is no joke Mike!

Donz, I converted my 20 year old manual crusher/destemmer to motorized and what a joy and time saver. Just a little over 2 hours to process the 77 lugs and no sore shoulders/arms. The new Lanceman Bladder Press was also a pleasure, load it and sip wine as it presses grapes dry.
This was the most we have spent on grapes it better make the best wine. We spent $89 a lug on the LMP Cab Sauv Clone 169 Crazy, But the taste off the press was impressive. We are looking forward to the finished wine next year.

 

[CDrew]

Outstanding. What are you going to do with all that wine? I hope you have many thirsty friends!

 

[Mac60]

There are 3 of us who get together and share the expense and time. We divide it 3 ways. we each get roughly 350 bottles, that we enjoy and give a small amount away, everyone is happy as long as the wine taste good. Yes we do have a bunch of thirsty friends who like to beg us for a bottle or two, they always offer to buy it from us.
We missed last year, I got a nasty COVID bug one week before the planned crush. That made this year a real pleasure.

 

[Donz]

Donz, I converted my 20 year old manual crusher/destemmer to motorized and what a joy and time saver. Just a little over 2 hours to process the 77 lugs and no sore shoulders/arms. The new Lanceman Bladder Press was also a pleasure, load it and sip wine as it presses grapes dry.
This was the most we have spent on grapes it better make the best wine. We spent $89 a lug on the LMP Cab Sauv Clone 169 Crazy, But the taste off the press was impressive. We are looking forward to the

That's awesome Mike. It must have been quite the job crushing in the past manually. My machine looks like yours with a motor of course but we're still pressing with 2 old school rachet presses. $89 a lug is certainly expensive... I'm sure the results will reflect the cost.

Interesting blends that you are doing this year, especially the Barbera. I am considering a Barbera for next year so let me know how it turns out.

 

[winemaker81]

For a change of pace, the following list is what has been submitted by members, sorted by member name:

BarrelMonkey

Chardonnay 50%, Pinot Noir (white) 40%, Viognier 10%

buzi

Sangiovese 40%, Cabernet Sauvignon 40%, Merlot 20%

CDrew

Barbera 80%, Sangiovese 15%, Aglianico 5%
Primitivo 60%, Syrah 40%

Chuck E

Carmenere 50%, Malbec 50%
Zinfandel 75%, Petit Syrah 25%

DistanceRunner

Cabernet Sauvignon 70%, Merlot 20%, Cabernet Franc 10%

Dom1950

Zinfandel 75%, Alicante 25%

Guasto-IS

Cabernet Sauvignon 78%, Merlot 8%, Cabernet Franc 8%, Petit Verdot 4%, Malbec 2%
Muscato 78%, Alicante 22%

Hazelmere

Petite Sirah 74%, Regent 26%

Jbu50

Merlot 40%, Cabernet Sauvignon 30%, Petit Verdot 20%, Malbec 10%, Cabernet Franc 10%

justsgm

Nebbiolo 90%, Petite Sirah 10%
Sangiovese 75%, Merlot 10%, Cabernet Sauvignon 10%, Alicante 5%

Kitchen

Cabernet Sauvignon 72%, Merlot 28%
Cabernet Sauvignon 57%, Petite Sirah 43%
Chenin Blanc 67.70%, Sauvignon Blanc 33.30%

Kraffty

Zinfandel 50%, Merlot 20%, Malbec 20%, Cabernet Sauvignon 10%

Mac60

Barbera 81%, Sangiovese 13%, Petite Sirah 6%
Sangiovese 45%, Cabernet Sauvignon 35%, Merlot 15%, Petite Sirah 5%
Sangiovese 44%, Cabernet Sauvignon 40%, Merlot 10%, Petite Sirah 6%
Zinfandel 75%, Syrah 13%, Petite Sirah 7%, Merlot 5%

Mainshipfred

Cabernet Sauvignon 80%, Petit Verdot 12%, Tannat 8%
Sangiovese 60%, Nebbiolo 20%, Alicante 20%

Meadini

Cabernet Sauvignon 50%, Merlot 30%, Syrah 20%
Grenache 50%, Syrah 25%, Merlot 25%
Sangiovese 60%, Cabernet Sauvignon 25%, Merlot 15%

NCWC

Cabernet Sauvignon 51%, Merlot 26%, Syrah 13%, Sangiovese 10%
Sangiovese 42%, Cabernet Sauvignon 21%, Merlot 26%, Syrah 5.50%, Petite Sirah 5.50%

Nebbiolo020

Cabernet Franc 85%, Merlot 5%, Carmenere 5%, Alicante Bouschet 5%

ratflinger

GewurztramineR 50%, Piesporter 50%

tullamore

Alicante 60%, Muscat 40%
Barbera 90%, Petite Sirah 10%
Barbera 85%, Petite Sirah 15%
Barbera 80%, Sangiovese 15%, Petite Sirah 5%
Barbera 60%, Dolcetto 30%, Nebbiolo 10%
Sangiovese 85%, Sagrantino 15%
Sangiovese 60%, Merlot 20%, Cabernet Sauvignon 15%, Syrah 5%

winemaker81

Grenache 62.50%, Syrah 37.50%, Mourvedre 12.50%
Merlot 67%, Cabernet Sauvignon 8.25%, Cabernet Franc 8.25%, Petit Verdot 8.25%, Malbec 8.25%
Merlot 40%, Zinfandel 40%, Cabernet Sauvignon 5%, Cabernet Franc 5%, Petit Verdot 5%, Malbec 5%
Sangiovese 50%, Montipulciano 12.50%, Nebbiolo 12.50%, Nero D'avoia 12.50%, Sagrantino 12.50%Syrah 33.30%, Petite Sirah 33.30%, Merlot 33.30%