Was I Crazy for Making a Cabernet Sauvignon/Tannat Blend?

I recalled that Bob Biale of the Robert Biale Vineyards in Napa said I was crazy to consider blending Cabernet Sauvignon with Tannat. Other California winemakers had raised eyes when I mentioned my plans a year ago. There were also those who said unenthusiastically to “go for it.” So I recently bottled my experimental wine, […]

Bottling Day

I’ve been collecting bottles for the past few months. After finishing the wine, the bottles are rinsed and then placed in a wine rack. However I am paranoid about cleaning the wine bottles. After retrieving the bottles from the wine cellar, I placed them in the dishwasher and ran the SaniWash cycle. I did not […]

Chemical Analysis Before Bottling

After blending the California Cabernet Sauvignon with Virginia Tannat, I wanted to run a couple of tests on the wine. At home I measured the pH. My meter measured a pH of 3.8, which I thought was higher than I expected. Since Kathy and I were going to go to Vint Hill Craft Winery to […]

Blending the West Coast/East Coast Wine

I’ve waited for ten months to blend my west coast, California, Cabernet Sauvignon with east coast, Virginia, Tannat. Having family home for my youngest son’s wedding afforded an opportunity to get feedback on potential blends. The wine was to be Cabernet Sauvignon based so I set up four trials with a 10 percent Tannat influence, […]