When do you blend?

[josephreese]

I've read that some people do field blends. The concept is really interesting. I imagine that different varieties ripen at different rates. How do you manage the timing of your harvest and the blending? For example, do you harvest everything at once (knowing some grapes won't be at their peak), and then start fermentation with all varieties together? Do you time the harvest of each variety independently, and then blend after fermentation?

 

[mainshipfred]

I've read that some people do field blends. The concept is really interesting. I imagine that different varieties ripen at different rates. How do you manage the timing of your harvest and the blending? For example, do you harvest everything at once (knowing some grapes won't be at their peak), and then start fermentation with all varieties together? Do you time the harvest of each variety independently, and then blend after fermentation?

IMO both ways work and this year I did my first field blend. It was based on percentages from previous post ferment blends. My normal approach though is blending finished wine and it's a personal choice. My thought is you know what the final product has to offer. A young wine will go through many changes while maturing so you don't really know what it is ultimately going to offer. Again it's a personal choice and does take more carboys and time.

 

[Boatboy24]

Depends on what and how much I'm making. 2019 was two field blends: Touriga Nacional/Tempranillo and Zinfandel/Petit Sirah. The first was based on a wine that I'd tasted from @mainshipfred . The second, based on Zinfandel I'd made in the past and experimented with pre-bottling blending. In 2020, I did 4 different varietals on their own with the intention that I'll blend most of the wine prior to bottling to make a Super Tuscan.

Harvest isn't an issue for me. I buy grapes that are harvested over a period of time and all shipped at once.

 

[winemaker81]

My 2020 reds are field blends. I went with a Bordeaux blend (Merlot heavy with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, & Petit Verdot). I've had enough Bordeaux to have confidence that any Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon heavy blend will turn out good.

I tasted a blend at Biltmore in NC that included Zinfandel, so I chanced a second blend that included Zin. Both are delicious and will be bottled in a month or so.

In my case, I get a single order from California, so all grapes available are ripe at the same time. I ferment in 4 lug batches and then blend before moving the wine to barrels. I lack the capacity to do a more selective blend, so I field blend and trust my ratios are good.

If the grapes arrived at different times? I wouldn't do anything different -- the individual wines go into carboys for clearing, then get blended.

IMO pretty much any red Vinifera can be blended with good results. Look at the labels of commercial wines for ratios, and you can look at this thread:

https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/red-blend-ideas.73908/

 

[distancerunner]

I've done both. The field blend is a traditional Italian-immigrant blend of Muscat and Alicante. Field blending is easier and simpler. The wine can bulk age in larger containers.* But you give up some flexibility in blending.

The other blends were fermented and bulk aged separately. The wines were blended a few weeks before bottling.

This year we fermented the first run wines separately and are bulking separately. However, we're thinking about blending right after cold stabilization. The idea is to see if the flavors and aromas will produce something different. We may decide to hold some back and blend right before bottling, too. Compare/contrast. Maybe learn something.

The last two years the second run wines are "field blended" from pomace.



*In the words of Andrew Carnegie, "Put all of your eggs in one basket, then watch that basket!"