Cabernet Franc and Shiraz

[Giovannino]

As many of you will know by now, I use a BOP facility using kits - mostly WineXpert.

I would like to blend the Cabernet Franc and Shiraz to make a, welllllll, a blent of me own.

Would you blend the wines at the point of bottling or at the juice stage?
I was thinking 70% CF and 30% Siraz.

What do you think?

Of course this, always if my BOP allows it.
Thanks

 

[Arne]

Take a small amount of each, mix em together and see how you like it. If good you can make a bigger batch that way, if not, try a different blend. Arne.

 

[pete1325]

Last year we made a Merlot/Shiraz blend from grapes, I think it was a 60/40 blend (Merlot/Shiraz). We blended at the crush stage and fermented them together and it turned out great. My buddy has also blended different wines AFTER fermentation (from grapes) and prior to bottleing and they turned out pretty good as well. Bottom line.......not sure if it matters. Like stated above, let your taste buds be the judge.

 

[PCharles]

When to Blend

IMO blending should be done after wines have matured with aging. This way you can control the blending through bench trials and control the final product. Should you blend you would loose control of the process and have to accept the outcome. With bench trials, you could prepare a variety of blends that others could test. Determine your final blend % based on the feedback of others or to your own taste.

Just my opinion,

Paul

 

[Rocky]

Giovannino, I have done it both ways. When I was young and making wine with my Father and Grandfather and later my Father-in-Law, we blended the grapes as they were crushed (and, yes, the white skins went into the barrel along with the red). The wine was great and there was a certain variation year to year due to differences in the vinatages.

This year, I blended three juices (6 gallons each of Cabenet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sangiovese) and made an 18 gallon batch which is a variation of "Rosso Fortissimo." It is in bulk aging now and tastes great. (Maybe I am just easy to please. Heck, the worst wine I ever had was "wonderful!")

I am about to find out how blending finished wines works out. I have two "too sweet" batches of wine, one a Mocato to which I added apricot puree and one which I am calling "Chi Cazzo Sa" (Capisci l'italiano?) because I don't know what it is. I thought I was blending RED Zinfandel with Muscat but I think the bucket I had was mis-marked and was acutally WHITE Zinfandel. It had a strange color and in an attempt to darken it with an f-pack and red grape concentrate, I over sweetened it. I am making 12 gallons of OVZ to blend with it.

In your case because it is the first time for the blend, I would probably say make the two wines separately and then bench test a blend that pleases you. Once you have this, in the future, I would blend up front to simplify the process. In the end, all that truly matters is that it tastes good to you, not to connoisseurs or wine "experts."

 

[djrockinsteve]

Yes technically you should blend after wines have aged. Easier to control the result. With that being said you are dealing with one of the"Fabulous 5" wines used traditionally in blending. The Cab. Franc is a hearty wine that can really enhance the shiraz. Blending is most often done as a 50/50, 25/75 or 20/80% blend, however it's all in what you like. Your blend will never be better than the worst wine you are blending. Never try to make a good wine out of a bad one.

I blend my wines after they are cleared and are ready for aging. This will allow the two or three etc. wines to react with each other over the next year. I just bottled a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 25% Syrah. I let my wife sample the half bottle of extra. She just loved it and wants to know how much I did.....and it's all hers.

Once you have blended the wine you can back sweeten it to you liking but I would presume it's going to be in the .998 range +/-

Go for it. This is how you learn.

 

[winemaker_3352]

I blend my wines after fermentation. Pretty much blend them at the end, after clearing, CS, etc.

 

[robie]

As mentioned, you can do it either way. Unless you have previously done a post-fermentation blend to establish the ratios, blending it before fermentation is only guessing about how it will turn out. There are a lot of factors, which change things, to consider when the wines ferment together.

I would blend post fermentation until I determine what blend I really like. Then you can use those same percentages pre-fermentation to get a little better meld of flavors. Bare in mind that the ratio might not end up tasting exactly the same pre and post fermentation.

When you buy a particular varietal wine, unless it specifies that it is a 100% varietal, it is likely blended. A varietal can say it is one as long as the percentage of the stated varietal is at or over a legal percentage. In many places that legal percentage is 75%, but it can vary.

An example is a Zinfandel, which often has some Petite Syrah added for darker color and slight improvement in taste.

 

[shoebiedoo]

As many of you will know by now, I use a BOP facility using kits - mostly WineXpert.

I would like to blend the Cabernet Franc and Shiraz to make a, welllllll, a blent of me own.

Would you blend the wines at the point of bottling or at the juice stage?
I was thinking 70% CF and 30% Siraz.

What do you think?

Of course this, always if my BOP allows it.
Thanks

Does your supplier have anymore of teh Cab Franc? I'm assuming you're refurring to the WE kit.

 

[Giovannino]

Unfortunately NOT. I was hoping he would.

Saw some on ebay - wonder if I should?

 

[cpfan]

Saw some on ebay - wonder if I should?

Again check with your BoP. Some will not do outside sourced kits, others will charge a premium. It may depend on the kit, and the customer (regular customers probably get more breaks than others).

If you do order from eBay...ask about the expiry date on the kit.

Did you ask your BoP about the blending experiment? When I ran a BoP, it was not something I encouraged in my customers. Why not? Cause it's a nuisance. The business was not set up to handle this kind of thing. It means extra rackings (extra charge for customer?) and it would likely be a racking that I couldn't walk away from if a customer walked in the door, or the phone rang. I did a 50:50 blend for one customer a couple of times. It was a BIG nuisance. Other blends would have been "No Way", or a BIG charge.

BTW, none of the responses above seemed to take into account that you are having the wine made in a store (BoP = Brew on Premises). If you really want to try this blend, maybe it's time to start making the kits at home yourself.

Steve

 

[Giovannino]

Steve, thanks for your input - I didn't think of that.
The more reason why I should make an attempt at starting my own at HOME.

Thanks again.