I would like to enter in to the realm of blending wines. This is what
I was thinking of doing.

Pinot Noir and Shiraz blend broken down as follows

10 bottles 75% pinot 25% shiraz
10 bottles 75% shiraz 25% pinot noir
10 bottles 50% pinot and 50% shiraz

I know everyone has their own tastes, but does this blend sound
feasible? And am I blending these at the proper ratios? Thanks.

In blending, I don't think there really is any such thing as "proper
ratios" - it all depends on the character of the wines you are using,
and your personal taste. Having said that, though . . .

Pinot Noir isn't often blended with anything else, possibly because
French winemaking laws wouldn't permit it (in Burgundy), and possibly
because blending with other red grapes wouldn't result in a better
wine. In this case, I'd be concerned that the Syrah would overpower
the Pinot Noir, and you'd end up with three batches that all more or
less tasted like Syrah, with some tasting a little thinner. I haven't
done it, but my guess is that you would lose most of the delicate
flavors of the Pinot Noir somewhere between 10 and 20% Syrah, or even
before that.

Before you bottle anything along these lines, do some "bench tests."
Mix up a few ounces each of various ratios that you are interested in
trying, and see if any of them strike you as better than the Pinot Noir
or the Syrah individually. If so, go for it. If not, resist
temptation and just bottle them separately.

Doug

Agree with Doug; effecive blending is rarely achieved with recipes.
With each year, the winemaker has to assess each wine, determining what
might make a given wine better - belnding for acididty, alcohol,
flavor, etc - usually in an effort to better balance the wine, and
usually with carieties that complement each other.

Also agree with Doug that you risk overpowering the Pinot with the
stronger Syrah. I have often read that in years past, Burgundian
winemakers would blend their Pinot Noir, usually in poorer years
vintage, (illegally, and somewhat clandestinely) with Grenache taken
from the Cotes du Rhone - Gigondas, before it gained its own
reputation, was best known for being blended into Burgundy.

> wrote in message
ups.com...
>I would like to enter in to the realm of blending wines. This is what
> I was thinking of doing.
>
> Pinot Noir and Shiraz blend broken down as follows
>
> 10 bottles 75% pinot 25% shiraz
> 10 bottles 75% shiraz 25% pinot noir
> 10 bottles 50% pinot and 50% shiraz
>
> I know everyone has their own tastes, but does this blend sound
> feasible? And am I blending these at the proper ratios? Thanks.

I agree with the other posters that you should do bench trials. In the past
I have blended in some Syrah with my Pinot to add some color, but the amount
of Syrah was between 5-10%. Anything above 10% and the Syrah nose became
quite noticeable.
Tim

Thanks guys. Any ideas on doing some kind of blending. I've seen a
shiraz with a grenache before. Anyone ever try that?

Grenache is one of the most widely planted grapes in the world - and
blended with just about everything, somewhere in the world. As others
have said - try some bench trials.

Grenache blends well with mostly anything and can be made many
different ways in its own right.

Syrah usually takes over in a blend as others have said but that can be
a good thing. (I like Syrah, a lot; having more is a bonus.)

Blending is more art than science and you get to drink the less
succesful trials so it's all good. The wine does marry over time but
you can get a good feel just blending up a glass. Once you have
something you like, you can do a bottle and let it sit for a few weeks
to see what happens. It's always a good idea to let a blend sit for a
while to ensure it's stable.

Joe

Doug wrote:
> In blending, I don't think there really is any such thing as "proper
> ratios" - it all depends on the character of the wines you are using,
> and your personal taste. Having said that, though . . .
>
> Pinot Noir isn't often blended with anything else, possibly because
> French winemaking laws wouldn't permit it (in Burgundy), and possibly
> because blending with other red grapes wouldn't result in a better
> wine. In this case, I'd be concerned that the Syrah would overpower
> the Pinot Noir, and you'd end up with three batches that all more or
> less tasted like Syrah, with some tasting a little thinner. I haven't
> done it, but my guess is that you would lose most of the delicate
> flavors of the Pinot Noir somewhere between 10 and 20% Syrah, or even
> before that.
>
> Before you bottle anything along these lines, do some "bench tests."
> Mix up a few ounces each of various ratios that you are interested in
> trying, and see if any of them strike you as better than the Pinot Noir
> or the Syrah individually. If so, go for it. If not, resist
> temptation and just bottle them separately.
>
> Doug

Just for interest sake: according to Anthony Hansen (UK wine merchant
and Master of Wine) in his book "Burgundy", it was and likely still is
a common practise by many burgundian wine merchants to blend in a
certain amount of dark red wine from southern France or Italy to
achieve better colour and richer taste... He also claims that Burgundy
only gets sufficient heat units to fully ripen Pinot Noir once ever
three years.

Darin

Adding a couple anecdotes;

* Just returned from a wine trip to Fance. One destination was the
Valcluse, specifically - Gigondas. Gigondas gained it's own AOC
designation just a few decades ago, but apparently used to be known for
it's contributions to some of the lesser vinages in the Cote de Nuit.
apparently, in year where the Burgundian Pinot Noirs weren;t up to
snuff, some of the folks in Burgundy would truck up vats of Gigondas to
improve the vintage - contrary to all the AOC laws. Makes me wonder how
many Burgundy vintages had a significant Grenache blend?

* While in Burgundy this trip, my wine advisers there steered me away
from the vins blanc of 2003, saying that it was too hot; but that the
Pinot Noirs of '03 - according to them - were / are superb.

Cheers,

Ric


Darin wrote:
> Doug wrote:
> > In blending, I don't think there really is any such thing as "proper
> > ratios" - it all depends on the character of the wines you are using,
> > and your personal taste. Having said that, though . . .
> >
> > Pinot Noir isn't often blended with anything else, possibly because
> > French winemaking laws wouldn't permit it (in Burgundy), and possibly
> > because blending with other red grapes wouldn't result in a better
> > wine. In this case, I'd be concerned that the Syrah would overpower
> > the Pinot Noir, and you'd end up with three batches that all more or
> > less tasted like Syrah, with some tasting a little thinner. I haven't
> > done it, but my guess is that you would lose most of the delicate
> > flavors of the Pinot Noir somewhere between 10 and 20% Syrah, or even
> > before that.
> >
> > Before you bottle anything along these lines, do some "bench tests."
> > Mix up a few ounces each of various ratios that you are interested in
> > trying, and see if any of them strike you as better than the Pinot Noir
> > or the Syrah individually. If so, go for it. If not, resist
> > temptation and just bottle them separately.
> >
> > Doug
>
> Just for interest sake: according to Anthony Hansen (UK wine merchant
> and Master of Wine) in his book "Burgundy", it was and likely still is
> a common practise by many burgundian wine merchants to blend in a
> certain amount of dark red wine from southern France or Italy to
> achieve better colour and richer taste... He also claims that Burgundy
> only gets sufficient heat units to fully ripen Pinot Noir once ever
> three years.
>
> Darin