Has anyone mixed their own blends?

I was enjoying a 2008 Gnarly Head Cabernet Sauvignon (a great value at $12) with a steak the other night but the tannins were just a touch harsh. I was thinking that a bit of Merlot might soften the tannins then it occurred to me that I could make my own blend by blending in some Merlot!

Has anyone mixed their own blends? I could see this as a fun way to experiment.

Dave

I was enjoying a 2008 Gnarly Head Cabernet Sauvignon (a great value at $12) with a steak the other night but the tannins were just a touch harsh. I was thinking that a bit of Merlot might soften the tannins then it occurred to me that I could make my own blend by blending in some Merlot!

Has anyone mixed their own blends? I could see this as a fun way to experiment.

Dave

David,
Several years ago, I used to give dinner parties most weekends. My wife would cook, I'd put out several good bottles and our friends would come.
One guest would taste every wine and then would blend according to his taste. I was taken aback at first but soon realized that, I had put the wines out to be enjoyed and that he enjoyed them best this way. He didn't hog any wine, he didn't get drunk and some of his blends were quite good.
A lesson in blending for me.
And a lesson in life.
Best, Jim

Quite a bit, over the years.

I had an advantage since I was in the biz, hung around with a lot of winemakers, did a lot of professional seminars, etc., etc. so had lots of occasions to blend.

It was always interesting, intriguing...and suprising!

From the beginning I realized that blending was not as easy as one might think it would be...it's almost never the expected "this + that should equal THIS.

Yes, it's easiest with one admixture to another, but after that it becomes devilishly difficult at times, as what you think will happen often doesn't.

One thing I specifically remember quite well was when I had a rough, young, overly tannic Cabernet that desperately needed softening, and added a softer, lusher Merlot...but it still wasn't quite right, so I added a small amount of a lighter, thinner, and more acidically driven Sangiovese I had on hand. It was perfect! Just what the aggressive Cab and fat Merlot needed.

And I like Florida Jim's attitude toward wine, and a friend's enjoyment thereof!

Several years ago when we were still running the inn up in Maine, my brother who is a bit of a geek would stop by when he was in the area. He was on the lecture circuit for improving public schools. On one trip I served him an Australian Cabernet/Shiraz that he loved. Some time later, he was coming back with another chap, and I went out to get some more of the wine. Couldn't find it, but did find a Cab and a Shiraz from the same producer. Naturally I mixed them together. He said it was better than the last one!

Frequently, especially when visiting wineries to do barrel tastings from components and exploring the potential of various blends, sometimes done with the winemaker, sometimes on my own. Agreed with what Hoke's observation that it often amazes to see what a very small percentage of a second varietal can do to flesh out a wine.

Best
Rogov

This is my bail-out wine at cocktail parties, when they have a "Cab" and a Merlot. Usually about 2/3's Cab and 1/3 Merlot, but I often taste both to get a preview. I have always thought that Cabernet (particularly California) was too much by itself and likewise, Merlot was a bit flabby. I think the varietal labeling laws have shot us in the foot. You will notice that the Cali producers routinely blend in up to 25% of "other" varieties to alter their wine, but in most cases it is not enough. It is a shame that we are hung-up on the varietal labeling. Cab needs a little softening, and Merlot needs a little "umph", I think I just made that up! The Bordelais figured this out years ago.

Hillebrand Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario have a 'Art of the Blend Experience' session every weekend. It is great fun and tremendous learning.

You get a bottle each of Cab Sauv, Cab Franc and Merlot, measuring tubes, jug, funnel & tasting glasses. Plus an empty bottle.

Idea is to experiment making the best blend. You learn how just a very small amount of one variety can make a big impact on another*.

When you have made your perfect blend (with much tasting, spilling and jolliment) you scale it up to a full bottle, they'll help you cork it and they print a label for it with the name of your choice for you to take away.

My blend had 60% CF, 30% CS 10% Merlot. It was delicious

If you're in Niagara, do go to Hillebrand -- good restaurant there as well. www.hillebrand.com

(thus the so called varietal wines legally sold with 25% or 15% of other varieties cannot truly reflect the named variety)

There are three golden rules to blending;
(1) Never blend a “faulty” wine with a good wine (this just yields more “faulty” wine)
(2) Always set a “goal” or “target” for the blended wine.
(3) There is no such thing as a “bad” wine (you can always blend it).
When dealing with finished, sound and stable wines as blending components the blending process becomes much more controllable and in some cases even predictable compared to say doing a co-fermentation with the same exact composition and percentages. When looking at things like “structural” components of a blended wine (things that could be measured, such as percentage of ABV (alcohol by volume), RS (residual sugar measured in g/L or as a percentage), TA (acidity measured as g/L expressed as tartaric acid or a percentage), etc) can be approximately predicted using a very simple tool called Pearson’s Square. If I take 1 part of a 15% ABV wine and blend it with 2 parts of a 12% ABV wine the blended wine should yield a wine with approximately 13% ABV. A wine that one believes is “over-oaked” could be tamed by blending it with an un-oaked wine.

Salute

Of course, you can always make your own blend this way:

http://www.crushpadwine.com/

These guys are in Bordeaux too.

All the best,
Alex R.

My experience with home winemaking has me agreeing completely with Victor's post. He is dead on with all three points.

I do think that everyone who really likes wine ought to do some blending, even if that just means buying a couple of cabs and a couple of merlots and playing around with different mixes of them. It can be fascinating to see how different wines go together (and how they don't).

I have: Added a mall quantity of Vidal to Foch. Vidal seems to stabilize Foch's colour, and the two together make a wine that's not unlike a nice Chianti in flavour.

I think that Howie makes a similar blend to this? It's been years and I don't remember the details. Howie?

Yes Paul, I did that in the past, but I no longer can get Foch from my grower, as he had to tear it out due to crown gall. I think it's been about 6 years since I made that blend. Another blend I've made the past few years is a bone dry blend of Vidal and Cayuga. It's been well received by most folks who have tasted it, however, I entered a bottle in the NY State Fair and one of the judge's comments was "Not a good blend - you would have been better off leaving them as separate varietals". Oh well.

Howie, I don't know what the judge's thinking was, but in my experience Vidal does have a varietal profile, whereas Cayuga is pretty neutral.

Personally I would use Cayuga as a stand-alone, or to blend with perfumey labruscas such as Niagara.

Still, I am sure that your Cayuga and Vidal blend was good, just going on everything else I tried from you in the past.

Someone better tell some of the commercial wineries out east. Bully Hill’s, Harbor Lights is a Vidal /Cayuga Blend and they seem to be able to market it. I want to know what the judge’s is reasoning is for saying such a statement; he/she surely didn’t have the opportunity to drink the blending components (the exact blended components) separately.

Salute