Guide to Blending
Blending has become a highly respected part of the process of winemaking. Many winemakers in fact view blending as a highly evolved art form. The basic idea of blending is to mix different wines in order to create a final wine that possesses a quality that is superior to that of each of the different components singularly.
The most common type of blending involves blending at least two different grape varieties of wine. Blending has become some a popular concept that many winemakers specifically plant their vineyards for the purpose of blending by growing a variety of different grapes in order to create a blended field. Another way of achieving blending is to combine at least two different varieties of grapes that have been harvested separately but then ferment them together. This process commonly involves at least one red grape and one white grape.
Still yet, you might choose to create a blend which contains the same grape; however, different fermentation containers are used. Because the containers are different they will produce a taste that is somewhat different even though the grapes are essentially the same. You might even choose to go so far as to create a blend containing wine from a batch that has been barrel fermented and another that has been fermented in a stainless steel container.
Another way to blend wines is to blend wines that are from different vintages. If you have been making your own wine for some time, there is a good chance that you probably have a few bottles of wine in your cellar that were produced in different years.
It should be pointed out that there are some wines that do not lend themselves particularly well to blending. Chardonnays are known to not be particularly improved by blending. Red Zinfandel and Pinot Noir also rarely see many improvements from blending. There are also some wines which are too delicate for blending such as Gewürztraminer.
When properly handled, blending can help to balance the flavors as well as the levels of tannins and acids. It should be pointed out that blending can help to improve the quality of wines that already at least somewhat good on their own. Blending one good wine with a bad wine; however, will not improve the bad wine enough to create a single good blended wine. Typically, rather than the bad wine being improved, the good wine will take on the lesser qualities of the bad wine. If you have a bad wine that you wish to improve, consider mixing; a process that can take away an off flavor.
Generally, if you are new to blending it is best to start with just two wines. Many home based winemakers discover the benefits of blending when they taste a wine in order to see how it turned out and discover that it could be slightly better. Blending gives you the ability to select the best characteristics of multiple wines and then blend them together to achieve a far better flavor. While the process may seem complicated, even the most novice home winemakers can create a good blend at home.
The basic process of blending involves testing, comparing the flavors and then finding the ratio you prefer for the final blend. Remember that it is best to blend on an incremental basis, starting with small amounts and then making minor adjustments until you find a preferred blend. As you may wish to blend in the future, it is a good idea to take notes as you go along; noting how many millimeters of each wine you have used for subsequent tests.
It is also important to note that in some cases, certain blends may need some time in order for the individual components to marry and achieve a good flavor. This is commonly the case with young red wines. Tasting a blend of young reds right away can give you an inaccurate idea of what the final result will taste like. Whites; however, can usually be blended and tasted right away.
Most winemakers find that blending produces better results when it occurs as soon after fermentation as possible. Blending right after fermentation will protect the final product from oxidation and also gives the wines the opportunity to age together into a single wine rather than separately.
Word Count 717
|
A Look at the Steps of Making Wine If you are a true wine connoisseur, the next step in appreciating ...
read more
An Introduction to Making Sparkling Wines While many people who make their own wine prefer to make wine that is ...
read more
Guide to Blending Blending has become a highly respected part of the process of winemaking. Many winemakers in fact view ...
read more
Guide to Making your Own Wine Recipe After you have had an opportunity to experiment with making your own wine ...
read more
Guide to Oaking your Wine Certain wines can certainly benefit from the addition of oak chips. Just a few of ...
read more
Guide to Temperature Storage of Wine After your wine has been bottled you will need to take careful steps to ...
read more
Guide to the Basics of Winemaking Before you begin your first batch of wine, it is a good idea to ...
read more
How to Start your Own Wine Journal Many years ago homemakers made a practice of keeping kitchen journals. A lot ...
read more
How to Get Started Making Wine at Home If you have given some thought to the idea of making wine ...
read more
Introduction to Wine Grape Growing While wine can certainly be made from a variety of different vegetable matters, most wines ...
read more
Making Rose Wines The interest in Rose wine has become markedly increased. At one time this type of wine tended ...
read more
Should you Stop the Fermentation Process? In some cases you may find it desirable to stop the fermentation process before ...
read more
Testing and Adjusting your Wine Two of the keys to making a great batch of wine are testing and making ...
read more
The Different Types of Wine One of the most common questions you may have when you begin considering making homemade ...
read more
The Importance of Cleanliness and Patience in Winemaking Winemaking can be an extremely satisfying activity and hobby with a wonderful ...
read more
The Importance of Racking The process of racking involves siphoning the wine away from the sediment. Sediment is primarily comprised ...
read more
The Most Common Problems in Winemaking Whether you are a beginning winemaker or you have been making wine for some ...
read more
Timing your Racking Racking is one of the most essential parts to making stellar wine. Generally, you will need to ...
read more
Tips for Making Wine from Scratch As you go along with the winemaking process there may come a time when ...
read more
Tips for Making Wine with Concentrates One of the decisions you will need to make before you start your next ...
read more
Tips for Making Wine with Fruits other than Grapes Most people commonly associate wines with grapes however, it is entirely ...
read more
Tips for Making Wine with Grapes As you contemplate the prospect of making your next batch of wine you will ...
read more
Troubleshooting Fermentation Problems As we all know, fermentation is one of the critical stages of winemaking. Without fermentation, it is ...
read more
A Look at the Steps of Making Wine If you are a true wine connoisseur, the next step in appreciating ...
read more
Your Choices: Decisions to Make when Making Wine One of the great advantages of making your own wine is that ...
read more
|
|
|
Disclaimer:
The Publisher has strived to be as accurate and complete as possible in
the creation of this website, notwithstanding the fact that he does not
warrant or represent at any time that the contents within are accurate
due to the rapidly changing nature of the Internet.
This site
is a common sense guide to Guide to Blending. In practical advice websites,
like anything else in life, there are no guarantees of income made.
Readers are cautioned to reply on their own judgment about their
individual circumstances to act accordingly.
This site
is not intended for use as a source of legal, business, accounting or
financial advice. All readers are advised to seek services of competent
professionals in legal, business, accounting, and finance field.
Any
perceived slights of specific people or organizations are unintentional.
|