"dego red"

Hi jr

You can use any kind of grapes you want. In SW PA Alicante and Muscat are the typical blend. My grandfather used Alicante and Muscat grapes. He would crush and ferment the grapes together. The ratio he used was

For the first time in five years we are doing a red but this time substituted Sangiovese and Cab Sauv for the Alicante which was not available when we picked up our order. So far it's pretty interesting. We are running malolactic fermentation on it and will cold stabilize soon as it is done.

HTH

Frank

Might help if you try (dago red).

Rick

With all due respect to your grandfather, that combination sounds simply _awful_! ;^Þ

Please tell me you didn't mix those with Muscat. :^] Not that I have anything against Muscat; it makes a *wonderful* sweet white wine.

I'm not a big fan of the so-called "super-Tuscan" blends. I really like Sangiovese all by itself, and I find that Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah - even as a minority component - tends to be so dominant in such blends that I can't taste the Sangiovese.

But after all, it's _your_ wine. :^)

Tom S

Hi Jerry,

First it is Dago Red. My Dad fermented at the same time a 2 to 1 ratio of Zin with Muscat. Used natural yeasts and no sugar. I fermented concentrates of each separately and found that a 70/30 blend worked quite well. Will be bottling soon for further bulk aging. Good Luck Sal Coco Kansas City KS

Hi Tom

Respect appreciated.

This blend is pretty typical for the old timers around Pittsburgh. Most of the suppliers around here know this blend and stock Muscat and Alicante in 42# lugs. Is it an acquired taste? Probably. It's bone dry and slightly bitter, pretty atypical for Muscat. It's the taste I grew up with and it's nice to pay homage to my grandfather every few years. And of course it can't be purchased so it has to be made.

As far as the Sangiovese and Cab Sauv, the grapes we get here are all from the central valley. We usually do them as varietals or make some Merlot and blend it with the Cab. The Cabernet is a bit rough and the Sangiovese is light. They arrive in so-so condition and are of just o.k. quality. Usually takes ten minutes to cull through a box to get rid of all the bad stuff. It's not that big a tragedy to blend them this way.

We have some Vignoles and a Chardonnay from juice supplied by Arrowhead Winery (Pennsylvania). This is the first time we've done Chardonnay and it smells and tastes good so far. Pretty exciting. All of the wine is undergoing MLF right now which is a bit of a trick given the temp in the cellar. I guess if it were easy...

Frank