Notes From the
Vintner
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Welcome
to our column. We hope that you will return to
learn interesting notes on wine, and related
subjects. Wine is a great gift from God to be used
for the enjoyment of man. It is a food, and should
be treated as such. It is meant to lift up the body
and lighten the soul. 3/1/02
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Blending
the wine … Now
is the time to see if any of your wines need to be blended
to improve the flavor or to improve the overall quality of
the wine. The first rule of blending is this: Never blend a
good wine with a poor wine to try to improve the poor wine.
This is a practice that can get you into big trouble, and
you will lose both wines. Poor and good do not
blend…only good wines are to be blended.
It is a pure
pleasure to enjoy an evening of tasting and working on a
good blend. It is not a job, but a joy to the wine maker. It
is better if you have some friends taste and blend with you,
as this allows you to receive views from different
directions and tastes.
Friends will enjoy
doing this with you, and the evening can be great
fun.
The main rule of
blending is to improve the wine by creating a balance in the
wine. Sometimes the wine is too high or too low in acid or
has a dull taste. There may be too much oak in the wine or
not enough oak in the wine. By blending with the different
wines that you have, you can find what tastes best to you.
AND YOU--
You are the boss.
After all it is your wine, correct…?
When you blend,
you may want to add different additives. It is at
this time that you adjust the sugar if you want to make a
sweeter wine. The acid may be low, and you may wish to add
acid. The wines should be clean; by that I mean that they
should not be cloudy or not settled out. Always blend clean
wines.
So, call some
friends, invite them over, and start blending some of your
wines. Blending is an education; you will find that some
wines stand very well on their own two feet. So lets get
started…my number is 479-963-3990; I am waiting for
your invitation.
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