From our Harvest 2006 Newsletter
Blending
Grapes Varieties
This is the best looking crop of grapes
we have had in many years. Due to the mild winter we had minimal winter damage and
we missed problems with spring frosts. The vines have set fruit
and will increase in size and ripen in the fall.
I was recently working out in the vineyard on my tractor and
was thinking about the different combinations of grapes I have
used for wine. Since we have more than 20 varieties there is
a lot of experimenting to do.
Here are some of my favorite combinations:
- Someone once gave me a bottle of white Steuben-Buffalo, it
had a slightly sweet finish and it was delicious. Last year
I made a red wine with Buffalo-Steuben-Concord. It also had
a slightly sweet finish and it was a very pleasant wine.
- DeChaunac blends very well with many grapes. I have used
it many times with foch. If you are making a concord wine it
is also very nice to moderate the strong labrusca taste with
something like DeChaunac.
- Baco (Good crop this year) is great by itself but sometimes
the acidity can be reduced by blending it with DeChaunac or
Foch. Many or our rows of red grapes have Dechaunac at one
end and Baco at the other end.
- We also have a good crop of Cayuga this year. Unlike other
grapes, cayuga can benefit by picking them before they are
overripe. Very nice with a slightly sweet finish.
- Vignoles is often made as a very sweet dessert wine. Vignoles
has a lot of body that blends well with many lighter wines
such as Seyval or St. Peppin.
- Niagara is another grape that can add to a white wine blend.
Although very nice by itself, it's fruitfullness is a nice
addition to other whites.
Related pages:
Home wine making
Winemaking pictorial
List of varieties
available
Conversion
Chart For Use With Hydrometers
