red blend ideas

[winemaker81]

Since I can no longer edit the last post listing the blends, I've copied and updated the contents.

Commercial Wines:

• McGregor Winery - Rob Roy Blend: 8 parts Cabernet Franc, 5 parts Cabernet Sauvignon, 3 parts Merlot
• San Acacia Cellars - Caballo Muerto: 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 8% Cab Cabernet 2% Malbec, 2% Petite Verdot
• Justin Vineyards - Isosceles: 11% Cabernet Franc, 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot

WMT Wines:

• Kraffty: 50% Zin, 20% Merlot, 20% Malbec, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon
• Winemaker81: 67% Merlot, 33% equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, & Malbec
• Winemaker81: 40% Merlot, 40% Zinfandel, 20% equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, & Malbec
• Chuck E: 50/50 Carmenere and Malbec
• Chuck E: 75% Zinfandel/25% Petit Syrah
• DistanceRunner: 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc
• Meadini: Bordeaux - 50% Cab Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 20% Syrah
• Meadini: GSM- 50% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 25% Merlot
• Mainshipfred: 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Petit Verdot, 8% Tannat
• Mainshipfred: 60% Sangiovese, 20% Nebbiolo, 20% Alicante

The post listing the above blends is updated on my web site.

 

[winemaker81]

The last post is now locked, so on to the next one!

Last updated 07 August 2021

We're getting enough choices that I've re-organized, sorting by the dominant grape in each blend, or the first grape listed if there are equal proportions.

WMT Wines:

• tullamore – 60% Alicante, 40% Muscat
• tullamore – 60% Barbera, 30% Dolcetto, 10% Nebbiolo
• tullamore – 85% Barbera, 15% Petit Sirah
• DistanceRunner – 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc
• Meadini – 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 20% Syrah
• Mainshipfred – 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Petit Verdot, 8% Tannat
• Chuck E – 50% Carmenere, 50% Malbec
• Meadini – 50% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 25% Merlot
• Winemaker81 – 67% Merlot, 8.25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8.25% Cabernet Franc, 8.25% Petit Verdot, 8.25% Malbec
• Winemaker81 – 40% Merlot, 40% Zinfandel, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot, 5% Malbec
• Buzi – 40% Sangiovese, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot
• tullamore – 60% Sangiovese, 20% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Syrah
• Mainshipfred – 60% Sangiovese, 20% Nebbiolo, 20% Alicante
• tullamore – 85% Sangiovese, 15% Sagrantino
• Kraffty – 50% Zinfandel, 20% Merlot, 20% Malbec, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon
• Chuck E – 75% Zinfandel, 25% Petit Syrah

Commercial Wines:

• McGregor Winery – Rob Roy Blend – 50% Cabernet Franc, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot
• Justin Vineyards – Isosceles – 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot
• San Acacia Cellars – Caballo Muerto – 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Malbec, 2% Petite Verdot
• Latitud 42 – Rioja Reserva – 95% Tempranillo, 5% Graciano

The post listing the above blends is updated on my web site.

 

[Meadini]

I’ve had to change up my plans already this year. Two of my varietals aren’t coming in. Fortunately, I found another company that brings in grapes and got to piggy-back on an order of Sangiovese and PS.
My new blend will be a Super Tuscan with Sangio-60%, CS-25% and Merlot-15%.
Sorry about that, @winemaker81.

 

[winemaker81]

@Meadini, no problem! We are not in charge, Mother Nature is, so our plans WILL change according to her dictates!

The Super Tuscan sounds good, so it looks like Plan B is solid.

My plans also changed, in a positive way, as the grapes available to me changed. As long as I get to ride the ride, I'm happy.

 

[NCWC]

Tuscans
Double Gold San Fran
Sang based
42% Sangiovese 21% Cab Sav 26% Merlot 5.5% Syrah 5.5% Petit Syrah
Gold San Fran
Cab based
51% Cab Sav 26% Merlot 13% Syrah 10% Sangiovese
The trick was some of the above wines were two years in french oak makes a huge difference

 

[Mac60]

Got our order placed for 2021 vintage 80 Lugs were doing the Zin vintage and our Super Tuscan We changed it up this year and instead of doing the split fermentation with D80 and D256 we are using Avante for everything. We ordered 500G cube we actually need about 300G so we have 200G left if someone is looking for smaller amount of Avante. The only problem is we are expecting the grapes 2 week of OCT, might be too late for everyone?
Zin Blend

• 75% Old Vine Zin Amador Gold
• 13% Syrah Lanza
• 7% Petite Sirah Lanza
• 5% Merlot Lanza

Super Tuscan

• 45% Sangiovese Brunello Clone Lanza
• 35% Cabernet Sauvignon Lanza
• 15% Merlot Lanza
• 5% Petite Sirah Lanza

 

[Nebbiolo020]

Got our order placed for 2021 vintage 80 Lugs were doing the Zin vintage and our Super Tuscan We changed it up this year and instead of doing the split fermentation with D80 and D256 we are using Avante for everything. We ordered 500G cube we actually need about 300G so we have 200G left if someone is looking for smaller amount of Avante. The only problem is we are expecting the grapes 2 week of OCT, might be too late for everyone?
Zin Blend

• 75% Old Vine Zin Amador Gold
• 13% Syrah Lanza
• 7% Petite Sirah Lanza
• 5% Merlot Lanza

Super Tuscan

• 45% Sangiovese Brunello Clone Lanza
• 35% Cabernet Sauvignon Lanza
• 15% Merlot Lanza
• 5% Petite Sirah Lanza

Nice blends I think they will turn out well, though keep the PS low in the blends as it can really add a lot of tannins and throw a blend out of balance unfortunately that happened to one of the blends at the winery where I work.

I’m a fan of Super Tuscans though interested in hearing afterwards how everything goes.

 

[CDrew]

You know, every year I make a blend. And the ingredients and proportions comes from whatever is left over at bottling. I try hard not to overthink this. So every year it's different and a surprise. It will be a gallon or five of syrah, Zinfandel, Primitivo, Sangiovese, Petite Sirah and it's always in proportion to what I have left after the main body is bottled. I've bottled 3 of these "blends" over the last few years and uniformly they have been delicious. My 2018 was some of the best wine I've ever made and it was a total accident. It's roughly 60/40 Primitivo and syrah. 2019 is good and I'm drinking it now once or twice per month. It's heavy on the Tempranillo and syrah which is a strange combo I know but it's good. 2020 is headed to the bottle in a few weeks. The 2020 blend will be Primitivo heavy, but with significant contributions of Syrah, Sangiovese, and Barbera. I'm expecting 15-20 gallons of this blend. And since the individual components are tasting good right now, I think the 2020 blend will be a big hit.

I suspect "red blends" coming from many wineries are similar to mine, ie accidents, leftovers and happenstance in the leftover tank, and every year is an adventure.

Anyway, I appreciate everyone being quite serious about the amounts, the styles, and blending trials and the like. I've taken the opposite tack on blends and it's an additional source of enjoyment in the wine making endeavor for me.

Cheers!

 

[Khristyjeff]

I like this approach and the results a lot! Thanks for sharing your experiences, @CDrew.

 

[winemaker81]

I've ordered grapes for 2 blends. The first is a GSM, 5 lugs Grenache, 2 Syrah, & 1 Mourvedre. No surprise there.

Due to this year's odd growing season, we have access to 5 Italian varietals (grown in CA) that were not previously available. I researched the 5 varietals, which originate from different areas of Italy and are not normally blended, looking at their characteristics, and decided on this: 4 lugs Sangiovese, and 1 lug each of Montipulciano, Nebbiolo, Nero D' Avoia, Sagrantino. I have no idea how it will turn out, but on paper it looks really good!


BTW: I'll update the blends list in a week or two; the last post is locked and I'm waiting for other folks to post ideas before making a new post.

 

[Jbu60]

I've been making straight cabernet sauvignon for a few years and wanted to change it up a little so I decided to go with a merlot "heavy" bordeaux "field blend" of central valley lugs in the following quantities. All thrown together into the fermentation barrel. I'm not a big fan of Merlot by itself, but I figured I might try to tame it with the other varieties, as well as try to bring in some complexity, if possible:
5 boxes Merlot
3 boxes Cabernet Sauvignon
2 boxes Petit Verdot
1 box Malbec
1 box Cabernet Franc

 

[winemaker81]

Here's the updated blend list, including some pulled from the Italian blends thread. The lists are sorted by the dominant grape or the first one listed if amounts are equal.

Of the 28 blends (so far), 9 are Sangiovese based.

WMT:

• tullamore – Alicante 60%, Muscat 40%
• tullamore – Barbera 85%, Petite Sirah 15%
• tullamore – Barbera 60%, Dolcetto 30%, Nebbiolo 10%
• Mainshipfred – Cabernet Sauvignon 80%, Petit Verdot 12%, Tannat 8%
• DistanceRunner – Cabernet Sauvignon 70%, Merlot 20%, Cabernet Franc 10%
• NCWC – Cabernet Sauvignon 51%, Merlot 26%, Syrah 13%, Sangiovese 10%
• Meadini – Cabernet Sauvignon 50%, Merlot 30%, Syrah 20%
• Chuck E – Carmenere 50%, Malbec 50%
• winemaker81 – Grenache 62.5%, Syrah 37.5%, Mourvedre 12.5%
• Meadini – Grenache 50%, Syrah 25%, Merlot 25%
• winemaker81 – Merlot 67%, Cabernet Sauvignon 8.3%, Cabernet Franc 8.25%, Petit Verdot 8.25%, Malbec 8.25%
• Jbu50 – Merlot 40%, Cabernet Sauvignon 30%, Petit Verdot 20%, Malbec 10%, Cabernet Franc 10%
• winemaker81 – Merlot 40%, Zinfandel 40%, Cabernet Sauvignon 5%, Cabernet Franc 5%, Petit Verdot 5%, Malbec 5%
• justsgm – Nebbiolo 90%, Petite Sirah 10%
• CDrew – Primitivo 60%, Syrah 40%
• tullamore – Sangiovese 85%, Sagrantino 15%
• justsgm – Sangiovese 75%, Merlot 10%, Cabernet Sauvignon 10%, Alicante 5%
• Meadini – Sangiovese 60%, Cabernet Sauvignon 25%, Merlot 15%
• tullamore – Sangiovese 60%, Merlot 20%, Cabernet Sauvignon 15%, Syrah 5%
• mainshipfred – Sangiovese 60%, Nebbiolo 20%, Alicante 20%
• winemaker81 – Sangiovese 50%, Montipulciano 12.5%, Nebbiolo 12.5%, Nero D'avoia 12.5%, Sagrantino 12.5%
• Mac60 – Sangiovese 45%, Cabernet Sauvignon 35%, Merlot 15%, Petite Sirah 5%
• NCWC – Sangiovese 42%, Cabernet Sauvignon 21%, Merlot 26%, Syrah 5.5%, Petite Sirah 5.5%
• buzi – Sangiovese 40%, Cabernet Sauvignon 40%, Merlot 20%
• Dom1950 – Zinfandel 75%, Alicante 25%
• Chuck E – Zinfandel 75%, Petit Syrah 25%
• Mac60 – Zinfandel 75%, Syrah 13%, Petite Sirah%, 7%, Merlot 5%
• Kraffty – Zinfandel 50%, Merlot 20%, Malbec 20%, Cabernet Sauvignon 10%

Commercial Wines:

• McGregor Winery – Rob Roy Blend – Cabernet Franc 50%, Cabernet Sauvignon 30%, Merlot 20%
• Justin Vineyards – Isosceles – Cabernet Sauvignon 79%, Cabernet Franc 11%, Merlot 10%
• San Acacia Cellars – Caballo Muerto – Cabernet Sauvignon 79% Merlot, 9%, Cabernet Sauvignon 8%, Malbec 2%, Petite Verdot 2%
• Latitud 42 – Rioja Reserva – Tempranillo 95%, Graciano 5%

 

[Mario Dinis]

@ibglowin posted a wine he recently had, and the blend of grapes caught my attention: 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec, 2% Petite Verdot

Wow. 2% makes a difference. If this was a 5 US gallon / 19 liter batch, 2% is adding a 375 ml bottle each of Malbec and Petit Verdot.

Last fall I purchased sixteen 36 lb lugs, a total of 576 lbs of grapes. If I did a field blend of this ratio, it would have been (in lugs):

12.64 - Cabernet Sauvignon
1.44 - Merlot
1.28 - Cabernet Franc
0.32 - Malbec
0.32 - Petit Verdot

Can Petite Sirah be used in a Meritage along with the noble ones?

 

[winemaker81]

Can Petite Sirah be used in a Meritage along with the noble ones?

Petite Sirah was developed in France from Rhone grapes, but AFAIK, it's not legal to grow in the Rhone (or Bordeaux). However, it's considered to be a Rhone grape by the Rhone Rangers group.

It's not a Bordeaux grape, so (AFAIK) it's not a Meritage grape, either.

How tightly you want to adhere to "Meritage" is up to you.

EDIT 1:

I go back-n-forth on "purity". Part of me wants to be a purist, while another part says, "Who cares?".

A year ago I planned to make a Bordeaux/Meritage blend. The plan was 12 lugs Merlot and 1 lug each of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot (Vinifera Blend). At the last minute I subbed 4 lugs of Zinfandel for 4 lugs of Merlot. I have 2 blends -- Meritage: 66.7% Merlot / 33.3% Vinifera Blend and Meritage Plus: 40% Merlot, 40% Zinfandel, 20% Vinifera Blend.

At this time, I love both blends. They are distinctly different, but I cannot say I love one more than the other. They are what they are and I have no regrets.

If you think it will produce the result you want, use Petite Sirah. Anyone who disagrees does not have to drink your wine!

EDIT 2:

Super Tuscan is taking Sangiovese, an Italian grape, and blending it with Bordeaux and/or Rhone grapes to make a superior blend.

IMO it's tough to blend Bordeaux, Rhone, Italian, and Spanish grapes and produce a bad blend. Go for it!

EDIT 3:

The definition I gave for Super Tuscan is not correct. See below.

 

[Mario Dinis]

Petite Sirah was developed in France from Rhone grapes, but AFAIK, it's not legal to grow in the Rhone (or Bordeaux). However, it's considered to be a Rhone grape by the Rhone Rangers group.

It's not a Bordeaux grape, so (AFAIK) it's not a Meritage grape, either.

How tightly you want to adhere to "Meritage" is up to you.

EDIT 1:

I go back-n-forth on "purity". Part of me wants to be a purist, while another part says, "Who cares?".

A year ago I planned to make a Bordeaux/Meritage blend. The plan was 12 lugs Merlot and 1 lug each of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot (Vinifera Blend). At the last minute I subbed 4 lugs of Zinfandel for 4 lugs of Merlot. I have 2 blends -- Meritage: 66.7% Merlot / 33.3% Vinifera Blend and Meritage Plus: 40% Merlot, 40% Zinfandel, 20% Vinifera Blend.

At this time, I love both blends. They are distinctly different, but I cannot say I love one more than the other. They are what they are and I have no regrets.

If you think it will produce the result you want, use Petite Sirah. Anyone who disagrees does not have to drink your wine!

EDIT 2:

Super Tuscan is taking Sangiovese, an Italian grape, and blending it with Bordeaux and/or Rhone grapes to make a superior blend.

IMO it's tough to blend Bordeaux, Rhone, Italian, and Spanish grapes and produce a bad blend. Go for it!

Thanks for tip. Couldn't get PV so I'm going to use PS with the "regulars".

 

[BMarNJ]

I just bottled last fall’s zinfandel/barbera (75/25) blend. It is a nice easy drinking red. I think it will be pretty tasty in another year or so.

 

[Swedeman]

On the commercial front, they only need 75% of the varietal to call it that and don't have to list the 25% blending information on the bottle.

On a side note, the rules in EU are somewhat different from the US ones; they need at least 85% of the grape variety mentioned. If they use the name of two or more varieties on the label, they must add up to 100%.

 

[winemaker81]

Super Tuscan is taking Sangiovese, an Italian grape, and blending it with Bordeaux and/or Rhone grapes to make a superior blend.

I was wrong. Super Tuscan is made from French origin grapes grown in Italy. While all the blends I'm familiar with use Sangiovese, it's not a requirement.

Technically speaking, unless the grapes are grown in Italy, it's not a Super Tuscan. The wine is simply a blend of French origin grapes, and it doesn't have to be a blend. One Super Tuscan is 100% Merlot ...

My take-away is research before I post ...

 

[cmason1957]

It can certainly be called Super Tuscan Style or maybe Uber Tuscan.

 

[distancerunner]

This year's plan is two blends:

The first is a Chianti. Or maybe it's a Super Tuscan. You decide. We sure can't.

Sangiovese 80% Merlot 20%

The second one is a Meritage.

Merlot 75% Cabernet Sauvignon 15% Cabernet Franc 10%

The varietals are fermenting separately. They will be bulked separately and blended later. All percentages subject to change when blending.