Answers.Body: <p>I have pretty extensive experience blending wine in my winery over 15 years. There are two types of blends. Pre-fermentation and post-fermentation. The pre-fermentation is usually called a "field blend". This was the old style way of blending wines before we started doing it in the lab. Growers would plant a variety of vines, for example Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in Bordeaux, to hedge their bets on what kind of year it was going to be since they all ripen at different times. They do bring different flavor components to the blend. In Ye Olde days, they would just throw everything in the fermenter together relying on mother nature to give them a good blend.</p>
  
  <p>Today, most blending is done post-fermentation. Very few people do field blends because they want the control over the blend. This is usually done in a laboratory setting. You would ideally want a few beakers with accurate measurements on it. Taste the two individual wines. Then I would start with a 50/50 blend and go from there. If you like more Riesling, then start blending a 60/40 blend of Riesling and Gewurz. Keep doing this until you end up with a blend you like. I usually will create a series of blends and keep them in separate glasses so I can go back and forth smelling and tasting them and keeping notes as I go.</p>
  
  <p>You might dump some wine down the drain to get the blend you want, but once you figure it out, you can go straight to make that blend in the future. I would get an empty wine bottle and put your blend in there. You will have 2-3 days to drink it before it starts to go bad unless you make special effort to preserve it. In theory, you could by X number bottles of Riesling and Y bottles of Gewurz and make a blend of several bottles and rebottle it. </p>
  
  <p>Here is a good <a href="https://vinepair.com/wine-blog/how-to-make-your-own-bordeaux-style-red-wine-blend/" rel="noreferrer">article</a> on how you can do it at home</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2017-11-14T18:10:53.187Z
Answers.Text: Excellent answer @farmersteve, thank you for sharing your expertise. This is the answer I was hoping to get. The main problem is the short shelf-life of the blended wine - but that won't be a problem over Christmas for example. I think I will buy a bottle of each at Christmas and do a bit of experimentation!
Answers.UserDisplayName: Lefty
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2017-11-14T19:38:12.387Z
Answers.Text: You could in theory make many liters of your blend and re-bottle it in bottles (screw cap tops would work best here) and a small amount potassium bisulfite (preservative) and some argon in the headspace and you could keep the wine for years.
Answers.UserDisplayName: farmersteve
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2017-11-15T08:25:20.960Z
Answers.Text: That's good information too @farmersteve, thank you - but for my needs I think it makes more sense for me to just keep a supply of both the wines and mix up 2 or 3 bottles for immediate use.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Lefty
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2017-11-14T16:01:46.727Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2017-11-14T16:01:46.727Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: farmersteve
Body: <p>My favourite wine is a blend of Gewürztraminer and Riesling which (from what I can find) seems to be exclusively made in Australia by Rosemount and Hardys. This wine is becoming harder and harder to find in the UK and is therefore much more expensive when I do find it.</p>
  
  <p>On the other hand, both Gewürztraminer and Riesling wines are fairly readily available.</p>
  
  <p>I'm wondering if I could buy the two "component" wines and just mix them myself to achieve 2 bottles of the blend. Is this equivalent to how the manufacturer achieves the blend, or do they blend the juice before fermentation? Either way, will I make a reasonable version of the blend, or will I ruin two completely good bottles of wine?</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2017-11-15T17:43:27.047Z
Comments.Text: You might want to do a google search. There are several Riesling Gewurztraminer blends available.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Eric S
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2017-11-15T22:07:53.393Z
Comments.Text: @EricShain I have tried Googling it many times and the general theme is "Not currently available". On the rare occasion when someone *appears* to have it, they want around £10 per bottle. Let's put that in context; about a year ago a UK budget supermarket chain suddenly stocked it and I bought 15 bottles for £3.36 each. If you've seen somewhere that I can get it for, say, less than £7.50/bottle, can you please post a link?
Comments.UserDisplayName: Lefty
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2017-11-16T20:36:32.387Z
Comments.Text: Sorry, I'm in the US. Perhaps we have greater access. Specifically, there are several options made in the Finger Lakes region of New York which is a surprising good source of rieslings. This site might be helpful: https://www.wine-searcher.com/grape-1801-gewurztraminer-riesling
Comments.UserDisplayName: Eric S
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2017-11-16T22:26:35.230Z
Comments.Text: @EricShain It's very interesting reading that site, many of those brands; McGuigan, Wolf Blass, Hardys, these are very big sellers in the UK, all of the major supermarkets will stock their wines, but I can only assume that "GTR" is not really favoured by the British for some reason so they don't bother to import this particular variety. Actually Gewurztraminer itself is relatively rare in supermarkets but it is at least available if I look around. Riesling is pretty common.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Lefty
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2017-11-16T23:18:54.900Z
Comments.Text: You might try requesting a specific wine at your favorite wine store. If they already carry a brand it should be feasible. Better specialty wine shops in the US sometimes try to help out their good customers. Otherwise you could contact the wine brands themselves. They may be able to point you to a UK reseller.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Eric S
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2017-11-17T14:30:42.197Z
Comments.Text: By the way, I think the answer provided by farmersteve is pretty solid. If you agree, you should consider accepting it by clicking the check mark.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Eric S
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2017-11-17T21:55:00.803Z
Comments.Text: @eric shain, I've tried every avenue I can think of. Rosemount's web site allowed me to order it for shipment from Australia to the UK; total price about £30/bottle. Hardys told me about the one retailer that imports it into the UK and I had to order it through them for a few years. They would not stock it due to lack of demand. They can no longer obtain it. Basically, people who stock Hardys wines cannot obtain GTR in the UK. I haven't seen Rosemount's version for about 10 years. M&S have recently stocked another brand, but in limited supply for £9.50/bottle.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Lefty
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2017-11-17T22:16:06.493Z
Comments.Text: @EricShain I do intend to accept farmersteve' answer, I just want to give it a few more days in case anyone else has anything to add.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Lefty
Tags: <wine>
Title: How Are Wines Blended?
UserDisplayName: Lefty
ThreadText: # How Are Wines Blended?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2017-11-13)
  
  My favourite wine is a blend of Gewürztraminer and Riesling which (from what I can find) seems to be exclusively made in Australia by Rosemount and Hardys. This wine is becoming harder and harder to find in the UK and is therefore much more expensive when I do find it.
  
  On the other hand, both Gewürztraminer and Riesling wines are fairly readily available.
  
  I'm wondering if I could buy the two "component" wines and just mix them myself to achieve 2 bottles of the blend. Is this equivalent to how the manufacturer achieves the blend, or do they blend the juice before fermentation? Either way, will I make a reasonable version of the blend, or will I ruin two completely good bottles of wine?
  
  **Tags:** wine
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: You might want to do a google search. There are several Riesling Gewurztraminer blends available.  
  > **username_0**: @EricShain I have tried Googling it many times and the general theme is "Not currently available". On the rare occasion when someone *appears* to have it, they want around £10 per bottle. Let's put that in context; about a year ago a UK budget supermarket chain suddenly stocked it and I bought 15 bottles for £3.36 each. If you've seen somewhere that I can get it for, say, less than £7.50/bottle, can you please post a link?  
  > **username_1**: Sorry, I'm in the US. Perhaps we have greater access. Specifically, there are several options made in the Finger Lakes region of New York which is a surprising good source of rieslings. This site might be helpful: https://www.wine-searcher.com/grape-1801-gewurztraminer-riesling  
  > **username_0**: @EricShain It's very interesting reading that site, many of those brands; McGuigan, Wolf Blass, Hardys, these are very big sellers in the UK, all of the major supermarkets will stock their wines, but I can only assume that "GTR" is not really favoured by the British for some reason so they don't bother to import this particular variety. Actually Gewurztraminer itself is relatively rare in supermarkets but it is at least available if I look around. Riesling is pretty common.  
  > **username_1**: You might try requesting a specific wine at your favorite wine store. If they already carry a brand it should be feasible. Better specialty wine shops in the US sometimes try to help out their good customers. Otherwise you could contact the wine brands themselves. They may be able to point you to a UK reseller.  
  > **username_1**: By the way, I think the answer provided by username_2 is pretty solid. If you agree, you should consider accepting it by clicking the check mark.  
  > **username_0**: @eric shain, I've tried every avenue I can think of. Rosemount's web site allowed me to order it for shipment from Australia to the UK; total price about £30/bottle. Hardys told me about the one retailer that imports it into the UK and I had to order it through them for a few years. They would not stock it due to lack of demand. They can no longer obtain it. Basically, people who stock Hardys wines cannot obtain GTR in the UK. I haven't seen Rosemount's version for about 10 years. M&S have recently stocked another brand, but in limited supply for £9.50/bottle.  
  > **username_0**: @EricShain I do intend to accept username_2' answer, I just want to give it a few more days in case anyone else has anything to add.  
  
  ---
  
  ## 1 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_2 on 2017-11-14. Score: 6 | Accepted answer
  
  I have pretty extensive experience blending wine in my winery over 15 years. There are two types of blends. Pre-fermentation and post-fermentation. The pre-fermentation is usually called a "field blend". This was the old style way of blending wines before we started doing it in the lab. Growers would plant a variety of vines, for example Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in Bordeaux, to hedge their bets on what kind of year it was going to be since they all ripen at different times. They do bring different flavor components to the blend. In Ye Olde days, they would just throw everything in the fermenter together relying on mother nature to give them a good blend.
  
  Today, most blending is done post-fermentation. Very few people do field blends because they want the control over the blend. This is usually done in a laboratory setting. You would ideally want a few beakers with accurate measurements on it. Taste the two individual wines. Then I would start with a 50/50 blend and go from there. If you like more Riesling, then start blending a 60/40 blend of Riesling and Gewurz. Keep doing this until you end up with a blend you like. I usually will create a series of blends and keep them in separate glasses so I can go back and forth smelling and tasting them and keeping notes as I go.
  
  You might dump some wine down the drain to get the blend you want, but once you figure it out, you can go straight to make that blend in the future. I would get an empty wine bottle and put your blend in there. You will have 2-3 days to drink it before it starts to go bad unless you make special effort to preserve it. In theory, you could by X number bottles of Riesling and Y bottles of Gewurz and make a blend of several bottles and rebottle it.
  
  Here is a good [article](https://vinepair.com/wine-blog/how-to-make-your-own-bordeaux-style-red-wine-blend/) on how you can do it at home
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: Excellent answer @username_2, thank you for sharing your expertise. This is the answer I was hoping to get. The main problem is the short shelf-life of the blended wine - but that won't be a problem over Christmas for example. I think I will buy a bottle of each at Christmas and do a bit of experimentation!  
  > **username_2**: You could in theory make many liters of your blend and re-bottle it in bottles (screw cap tops would work best here) and a small amount potassium bisulfite (preservative) and some argon in the headspace and you could keep the wine for years.  
  > **username_0**: That's good information too @username_2, thank you - but for my needs I think it makes more sense for me to just keep a supply of both the wines and mix up 2 or 3 bottles for immediate use.  
  
  ---
  
  