suggest a blend?....

I am asuming you are sourcing from Central Valley of California (CA) and are buy in 36Lb Lug/Cases IF so you will need 3 case for 23L/6 US Gal of finished wine: OR

6-7 cases for 54l /15 US gals Notes: Cab Sav give the greatest body + berries , but needs more time to mature. The Caifornia- Central Valley Cabs generally don't have much varietal flavour(Over cropped/irrigated) Most like to be from middle aged vines 7+ years old

The Zin will give (some times) Spicyiness and Berry flavour. Also if from Cnetral Valley CA.are most like to be from older vines(15Yrs +) than Cab or Syrah , so have more favour/ concentration. Depends on specs.

-Most Homewine Makers I know have made wine with these grapes with good sucess.

The Syrah will give spiciness and more subdued fruit flavour. Will also likely be from the youngest (3-7 years old =least concentrated) vines if from Central Valey CA.

May be 1/3 of all the above.

Consider some Sangiovese in your blend.

Quote......Consider some Sangiovese in your blend. .......Please elaborate....and suggest a blend using Sangiovese ,Cab sauv.,Zin., syrah in any combination....due to Budget concerns I can only get 3 lugs this year but I do make second wine and(blush) I even pull off a third that is light but quite nice.As you guys seem to know the Central Valley Grapes quite well your input is quite valuable to me ....thanks so much.andy j.

I bought grapes from S&S in Baltimore last year. The grapes I bought were Lodi grapes and the ones I bought were a mix of Sangiovese, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. I do not know the percentages - and probably neither do they - but the numbers after crush were about 23 brix and a pH of about

3.4. The wine is now in barrel and taste pretty darn good. It is one of the few wines that I have not had to do a thing to except crush the grapes and ferment. I believe that individually the Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon probably would have been high brix but I think the Sangiovese brought it down and probably helped overall.

Cab and Syrah from the Central Valley blend really well; I never did Zin from grapes but can't imagine it being bad in a blend. I usually end up blending the cab and Syrah 50/50; personally i think the Syrah is the best of the bunch.

I usually make a rose from Grenache that comes out well; after pressing those skins go into a pail of red juice I happen to be making too.

Joe

Well....I think I might try..2 lugs ZIN to 1 lug cab Sauv....Its all a gamble anyway.with these grapes you never know what you'll get.... to paraphrase Forest Gump......any final thoughts?...and thanks for the input guys.....andy j

Go for it, just measure the acid. Central Valley grapes are often pretty ripe and low in acid. If you have high pH and low acid use tartaric only for additions, it swing pH better than malic or acid blend.

Joe

A follow-up question of similar nature. What's the thought on 100% Cab, or almost all Cab with a little petite verdot? I was unable to get Merlot as I did last year, and notice very few people stick with straight Cab.

I've done a straight Cab. More correctly, I should say I've fermented Cabernet and Merlot seperately and bottled some as Cab, some as Merlot and some as a blend. I think I prefer the blend.

IMHO, I think the best grapes being shipped to the North East are the Zinfandel.

Andy