Blending Wines?

Hello,



I was thinking of blending some of my merlot with some of my grenache. I was wondering when do you blend it? Do you blend them and put it back in a carboy to age or do you blend at bottling. Or do you blend them before you add in yeast for the primary?

I want to blend a total of 3 or 4 gallon



Thanks,

Bryan

I think blending comes right before stabilization, just before bottling.

Blending is normally done just before bottling, that way you can adjust your percentages to achieve a specific flavor. I find blends much more interesting than varietals (although few varietals are 100%, wineries rarely say what they have added).

I like to make each wine seperately and blend them after aging and bottling. It's amazing the different flavor profiles you can get blending different amounts of 2-3 differnt wine. There are literally dozens of possible combinations. 33%-33%-33%, 20-20-60, 40-40-20, etc.

Wine should be bulked stored a few months after blending otherwise you may wind up with stability issues in the bottles. For instance if the two wines react to form a precipitate.

I do mine before bottling, I use ounces of wine when tasting. Mix up several different scenarios, taste, make sure you spit it out (this is the only time I waste wine) so you dont get liquored up and think it tastes good like my first time LOL. I then convert the ounces over to larger ammounts, bottle, and let sit for a few months before drinking. I've also been told to let them bulk age together but have never tried that yet. Jack Kellers website has good recommendations to follow when blending, Ken

Is it any difference if blending takes place before or after clearing?
Administration would be easier for me if i could blend before clearing, and then let the blend settle while clearing for a few weeks.