As a noob who has been trying a variety of commercial pinot noirs to
try to get a feel for what it is, I wonder does anything mix well with
pinot noir without destroying its character? I think of it as being
quite a tricky wine to pin down and can't imagine it dominating many
blends.

Jim


On Aug 31, 9:54 pm, "JB" > wrote:
> Dave,
>
> That's a good tip ---> to experiment in ounces rather than gallons. I should
> have thought of that!
>
> My primary source for wine kits stocks Ken Ridge and European Select, Bin
> 49 and Vinterra on the high end. There are other cheaper juices but I
> thought I would stick with these since the advice I'm getting here is you
> get what you pay for. Problem is, I'm not seeing cabernet franc or some
> other grapes that I typically see used in blending.
>
> Also, I appreciate the information about the Zin/Pinot. I think I'd read
> somewhere to try that but I had never seen that done before and was suspect
> of just how good it could be.
>
> John
>
> "Dave Allison" > wrote in message
>
> .. .
>
> > Well, I had a Shiraz that was kinda weak, so I put in 18% Cabernet and it
> > is a nice table wine.
> > I tried mixing Pinor Noir with Cab and it wasn't good to me.
> > Syrah is good with Cab. - I think I mixed 20% syrah to the cab.
> > Zinfandel and Pinot Noir I tried 30% Zin to the Pinot -- washed out the
> > Pinot - not good.
> > That's my experiences.
> > Have fun experimenting. Oh, and I experiment by mixing ounces, not
> > bottles, keeping track of the proportion. Like I'll have 4 glasses, each
> > with 2 ounces of one wine, then experiment by adding x ounces of another
> > wine. This saves wine. smile. DAve
> > What brand kits do you do? I"m mostly doing WinExpert - they seem a little
> > better than others. What do you think?
> > DAve
>
> > JB wrote:
> >> OK. After a positive experience on my first two kit wines I'm ready to go
> >> again. This time I'd like to get 2-3 different red wines, bottle up 2-3
> >> gallons of each and then experiment with the remainder by blending with
> >> some from the other(s). Some blends seem a natural - Cabernet/syrah, etc.
>
> >> Here's my question: Any recommendations on which wines to try and ratios
> >> to blend? Any success stories to share?
>
> >> TIA.
>
> >> John