Blending wine at home. Bath wines. The benefits of blending

By mixing the juices of various fruits, it is possible to prepare a pleasant-tasting wine that completely replaces grape wine.

By mixing different juices, the taste inherent in this or that fruit is improved: the sharpness of one is moderated by the tastelessness of the other, which is improved by this, the acidity of one is reduced by the other, the specific, characteristic taste or taste characteristic of other fruits is muffled or weakened. As a result, the wine is tastier than that made from each individual fruit.

Juice with a high extractivity of 5-6% (cherry, plum, mountain ash, blackcurrant, etc.) is reduced to the norm of 2-3% due to mixing with low-extractive juices. Deeply colored juice can be used to improve the color of slightly colored juices, etc. Water is sometimes added to reduce acidity, and almost always sugar is added to the rate of the type of wine that is intended to be made.

When compiling blends of musts, the titratable acidity should be slightly higher than the norm for the finished wine, because during sugaring and possible alcoholization of the fermented wine material, the acidity will decrease, since its volume will increase, and the quantitative acid content will remain the same. For strong and sweet wines, the acidity should be over 1% (1.1-1.4%), and for table wines - about 1% (0.8%-1%).

There are no established rules regarding what fruits and berries should be mixed, in what proportion, because everything depends on the taste and requirements of the winemaker, on the fruits available, on their quality, etc. conditions. Everyone needs to work out that mixture recipe that gives the best wine under given conditions.

Blended wines can be prepared in one of the following ways.

First way. The fruits selected and prepared for the preparation of the mixture are weighed in the required quantity separately, then mixed and crushed. Squeeze the juice and determine the content of acid and sugar in it. Correct the juice by adding sugar, water and acid, if necessary. The wort is then fermented.

But this method, which seems very simple, has a number of disadvantages: firstly, it is necessary to have all the fruits from which wine is supposed to be made, which often does not happen, since fruits and berries do not ripen simultaneously and gradually; secondly, fruits have a different ability to give juice, and a lot of it remains unsqueezed in the pulp.

The pulp of the mixture can be preheated or fermented, but these measures are not suitable for all types of fruits. So, some of the fruits may form mucus, while the juice of others may begin to sour.

The second way. It consists in the fact that the juice is squeezed out of the fruits separately in the right amount. Each juice is examined for sugar content and acidity. Then the juice is flavored, corrected and the must is prepared according to the type of wine that they intend to receive (table, strong, sweet).

All separate types of wort are combined, mixed and put on fermentation. In this case, it does not matter that there is currently no juice available. From the fruits that ripened later, the wort is prepared and added to the already fermenting one, it is possible even at the end of rapid fermentation. But it is important that the violent fermentation is not yet over.

The introduction of fresh wort resumes the fading vigorous fermentation, harmful fungi do not have time to develop and are inhibited by beneficial yeast, so the new wort ferments more vigorously, faster. No additional yeast addition is required. The recipe for making 10 liters of must from a mixture of juices of various fruits and berries is given in Appendix No. 3.

Third way consists in mixing in the desired proportion not the juices or musts of individual fruits, but quite ready-made wines that have already completed their fermentation. This method has no advantages, on the contrary, it is distinguished by very many inconveniences and disadvantages, especially in the fact that individual wines do not mix well, that is, the taste and aroma of each is heard separately for a long time. Wine aging is required for 3-5 years, and sometimes longer, to obtain the desired bouquet.

Let us give examples of a mixture of finished wine materials.

Rowan wine:

Rowan wine:
rowan wine material 8 l
apple wine material 2 l
sugar 1.6 kg

Rowan-currant wine:
rowan wine material 5 l

sugar 1.6 kg

Honey rowan wine:
rowan wine material 7 l
apple wine material 2 l
sugar 1.6 kg

Rowan-currant wine:
mountain ash vipomaterial 5 l
redcurrant wine material 5 l
sugar 1.6 kg

Honey rowan wine:
rowan wine material 7 l
apple wine material 2 l
honey 1 l

Blackcurrant liqueur wine:
blackcurrant wine material 8l
blueberry pinomatrial 2 l
sugar 2 kg

Red sweet:
cranberry winematerial 2.5 l
apple wine material 5 l
blueberry winematerial 2.5 l
sugar 1 kg

Apple-currant:
apple wine material 7 l
blackcurrant 4 l

Apple-gooseberry:
apple wine matsrial 6 l
gooseberry 4 l

Raspberry-apple:
raspberry wine material 6 l
apple wine material 2 l
redcurrant wine material 2 l

Cherry-currant:
cherry vnnomaterial 6 l
redcurrant wine material 2 l
blueberry wine material 2 l

Currant wine:
blackcurrant wine material 5 l
redcurrant wine material 3 l
blueberry wine material 2 l

It should be remembered that an important indicator of the quality of wine is its transparency. To do this, in most cases, clarified wine materials must not only be removed from the sediment, but also filtered with a glass funnel, putting gauze and cotton wool into it so that the liquid flows out slowly.

Clarified wine materials are blended only after they are removed from the sediment. After blending, they are allowed to settle for 2 weeks, removed from the sediment a second time, bottled, corked and stored, like dessert wine.

Blending opens up wide scope for creativity for every winemaker.

It is possible and necessary for every gardener to select blends, in accordance with the cultures from which he makes wines.
To do this, the finished wine materials are measured in a glass of 100 g in various combinations into bottles, these components are recorded, the contents are mixed and tasted.
The combination with the best taste is noted, and in this combination the prepared wines are mixed in the right amount.

Preparation of moonshine and alcohol for personal use
absolutely legal!

After the demise of the USSR, the new government stopped the fight against moonshine. Criminal liability and fines were abolished, and an article prohibiting the production of alcohol-containing products at home was removed from the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. To this day, there is not a single law that prohibits you and me from engaging in our favorite hobby - making alcohol at home. This is evidenced by the Federal Law of July 8, 1999 No. 143-FZ “On the administrative responsibility of legal entities (organizations) and individual entrepreneurs for offenses in the field of production and circulation of ethyl alcohol, alcoholic and alcohol-containing products” (Collected Legislation of the Russian Federation, 1999, No. 28 , item 3476).

Excerpt from the Federal Law of the Russian Federation:

"The effect of this Federal Law does not apply to the activities of citizens (individuals) who do not produce products containing ethyl alcohol for the purpose of marketing."

Moonshine in other countries:

In Kazakhstan in accordance with the Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan On Administrative Offenses dated January 30, 2001 N 155, the following liability is provided. Thus, according to article 335 “Manufacture and sale of home-made alcoholic beverages”, illegal production for the purpose of selling moonshine, chacha, mulberry vodka, mash and other alcoholic beverages, as well as the sale of these alcoholic beverages, entails a fine in the amount of thirty monthly calculation indices with confiscation of alcoholic beverages , apparatus, raw materials and equipment for their manufacture, as well as money and other valuables received from their sale. However, the law does not prohibit the preparation of alcohol for personal purposes.

In Ukraine and Belarus things are different. Articles No. 176 and No. 177 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of Ukraine provide for the imposition of fines in the amount of three to ten tax-free minimum wages for the manufacture and storage of moonshine without the purpose of sale, for the storage without the purpose of sale of apparatus * for its production.

Article 12.43 repeats this information practically word for word. “Production or purchase of strong alcoholic beverages (moonshine), semi-finished products for their production (mash), storage of devices for their production” in the Code of the Republic of Belarus on Administrative Offenses. Paragraph No. 1 states: “Production by individuals of strong alcoholic beverages (moonshine), semi-finished products for their manufacture (mash), as well as storage of devices * used for their manufacture - entails a warning or a fine of up to five basic units with confiscation of the indicated drinks, semi-finished products and devices.

* It is still possible to purchase moonshine stills for home use, since their second purpose is to distill water and obtain components for natural cosmetics and perfumes.

A mixture of several grape varieties, as a rule, has a much more diverse flavor complex.
When several varieties are mixed, the winemaker can control the sound of the future drink.

About bathing.

Blend (Blend) - a mixture of several varieties of grapes. It is used in winemaking in order to make the taste, texture and aroma of wine richer and richer.
The main purpose of blending is to combine the different qualities of several varieties, to balance them among themselves.
Almost all varieties of red and white grapes can be used for blending. There is a practice of mixing not only whites with whites, but reds with reds, but also whites with reds.
The most famous example of such a blend is Côte-Rôtie from the valley of the French river Rhone. This wine is made from a blend of red Syrah and white Viognier.

Part of the blends came from the depths of centuries, they were passed down from generation to generation.
Others were the result of creative experiments, the purpose of which was to search for new tastes and aromas. Those that were not on the market.

Vintage blends (vintage wine blends).
This term refers to the combination of several grape varieties that are harvested during the same year. For example, if Cabernet and Merlot of the same year are present in one drink. Or a whole set of 13 varieties, all of which belong to the same year (I mean Châteauneuf du Pape).

Non-vintage blends.

Some wines (for example, ports and champagne) are created from harvests of different years. The main task of winemakers is the balance of aromas, tannins and other taste characteristics. Such blends are usually labeled with the letters NV (non-vintage, non-vintage), in addition, there is no marking on such drinks indicating the year of harvest.
As mentioned above, this practice is typical for producers of sparkling wines and ports, but this technique is also not neglected in the creation of still wines.

Blends of various grape varieties

Supertuscany
The term "super tuscans" (Super Tuscan wines) was coined in the 1970s when Italian winemakers decided to create a new type of red wine, but faced heavy government regulation that prevented their new drinks from reaching the DOCG category.
This did not stop the manufacturers. They collected varieties into a single blend that were not supposed by any state standard:
-) Cabernet Sauvignon
-) Cabernet Franc
-) Sangiovese
-) Sira
-) Merlot
- Petit Verdot

The result is a blend (and, accordingly, drinks) of the highest quality with exceptional characteristics; but here's the problem - Super Tuscan wines could only be classified as the most ordinary table wines, since the Italian "GOSTs" could not imagine such improvisation.
The situation in regulation did not change for a long time: new blends received the status of table wines, but in terms of characteristics they surpassed most of the wines of the DOC and DOCG categories.
The problem was partially resolved with the introduction of the IGT (“local wines”) category, and in the first decade, individual producers of “Supertuscans” finally began to receive DOC and DOCG categories for their wines.

Blend "Bordeaux" (Bordeaux)
In France, only wine that contains combinations of the following grape varieties in various proportions has the right to carry the name Bordeaux:
-) Cabernet Sauvignon,
-) Merlot,
-) Malbec,
-) Petit Verdot,
-) Carmenere,
- Cabernet Franc.
If any other variety is used in production, then the blend cannot be called Bordeaux.
As a rule, winemakers choose two or three varieties. Very rarely (almost never) all six are included in a blend.
If a blend of the varieties listed above is made outside the province of Bordeaux, then it is called “Meritage” (Meritage).
Blend “Meritage”
The term itself is a derivative of two English words: merit (merit) and heritage (heritage). The word appeared as a result of the creativity of American wine marketers, who thus formed a whole category of wines that is not inferior in quality to Bordeaux.
Meritage comes from US vineyards. The requirements are very strict:
1) the manufacturer has the right to produce no more than 25,000 cases of this blend;
2) the wine must be the best drink of the manufacturer;
3) the producer must obtain permission from the Meritage Wine Producers Association to use the term on the label.
Once again, a meritage blend is a classic French recipe made in an American winery kitchen.
Rhone-Style Blends

French "Ronne blends" can combine up to 15 grape varieties. In addition, in blends of this type, both white and red varieties can be mixed.
The blends are based on Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cinsault and Viognier.
The region is divided into sub-regions, which have their own blends. So the blends of the Rhone type include:
-) Châteauneuf-du-Pape - a blend based on the Grenache variety, with a whole bunch of other varieties;
-) Côtes du Rhône - wines characterized by a combination of white and red varieties.
-) Côte-Rôtie - a mixture of fragrant Viognier and spicy Syrah.

Naturally, the list is far from exhausting everything that winemakers have come up with or can come up with. New World producers are especially prone to experimentation: they try new combinations of varieties in combination with the most advanced technologies.

In a word, if you are in a decent liquor store and you want intrigue, contact a consultant (always a good one), let him surprise you.

Blending is a mixing of different, but homogeneous products in order to improve the quality of the drink at the outlet, develop a new variety, and give the batch uniform organoleptic characteristics.

The blending method is most commonly used in the production of alcoholic beverages such as wine, beer, whiskey and cognac. However, mixing of different types of the same product is used to obtain original varieties of honey, tea, coffee.

Using this method, you can eliminate the shortcomings of certain types of product, give them additional nuances, and create an original drink that differs from others. In order to carry out blending of any drink, special professional training, a large amount of knowledge and practical skills are required.

Using the blending method, you can give the drink a more noble or interesting color, taste or aroma. As for wine, the use of this method allows you to smooth out such shortcomings as, for example, an excess of tannin, which gives the drink an excessively tart taste.

Before releasing blended drinks into production, a long work of professionals is carried out. First, a small amount of the mixture is made, changing the proportions and based on the knowledge of the properties of the ingredients used in the blend. As a rule, specialists make several trial versions, and the most successful of them is put into production.

Blend of wines

Blend (coupage) or blend in the professional language in winemaking means a mixture of several varieties of grape raw materials. Experts know how to mix varieties of white and red grapes. That is, with certain skills and abilities, drinks are created not only on the basis of exclusively white or only dark berries. An example of such a blend is the wine produced in the Côte-Roti appellation, the northernmost, and considered the oldest vineyard in France. A unique wine made from white Viognier grapes and red Shiraz.

The science of blending was developed specifically to create unique, vintage, recognizable drinks. Any winery faces such problems as the difference in soil fertility and physico-chemical parameters, weather disasters, a different number of sunny and rainy days a year. All these indicators affect the quality and taste of grapes.

Wine blending is a labor-intensive process that requires a specialist to know the proportions and characteristics of various wine varieties. The blender must imagine what he should get at the exit. He knows how certain grape varieties are combined, and how they change their parameters in the process of mixing.

In the process of blending wines, not only various grape components are used. Sometimes ethyl alcohol, bekmes (doshab), vacuum must and other substances are used to produce blended wine.
Winemakers distinguish between vintage and non-vintage blends. In this case, vintage means that different grape varieties for blending are harvested in the same year. A vintage-free blend involves mixing berries from different harvest years. This technology is mainly used in the production of sparkling wines and ports.

Some famous wine blends

Let's take a look at a few world famous blends in order to better understand what is at stake. Many of you have probably heard the name Bordeaux. This is a French province famous for its vineyards. There are a huge number of wineries on the territory of Bordeaux, but not all of them produce the drink known as Bordeaux blend.

Bordeaux drinks can only be produced on the basis of six grape varieties and only in Bordeaux. The inclusion of any other variety in the blend, as well as the production of wine outside the region, deprives the drink of the right to be called by this name. As a rule, winemakers limit themselves to two, maximum three varieties, but some include all six grape varieties in the Bordeaux blend, however, this is an extremely rare case. These include:

Merlot;
Cabernet Sauvignon;
Cabernet franc;
Carmenere;
Petit Verdot;
Malbec.

Vine Cabernet Savignon

If a blend based on these grape varieties is made outside the province of Bordeaux, then the drinks are called "meritage". The term was coined by American marketers. When American winemakers decided to produce wine blends from their raw materials based on the listed grape varieties, they could not call them Bordeaux. In defiance of the French, the term meritage was coined, and it must be said that American wines are in no way inferior to classic French ones. Moreover, in recent years, wines produced in the United States have outperformed the products of the generally accepted wine leader, France, in terms of quality. In "blind" tastings at wine competitions, most experts prefer American products.

The world-famous wine blends are also Super Tuscan wines. This term was born in the 1970s, and the following story is associated with it. I must say that Europe has adopted a pan-European classification of wines, but each country where wine is traditionally produced has its own classifiers. When Italian winemakers from the Tuscany region decided to create a new blend, they faced the problem of state regulation of alcohol production. Their blend, harvested from six grape varieties, did not fall under the highest category of the Italian DOCG classification, although it was of excellent quality.

This happened because the drinks were created unique, including varieties such as:

Shiraz;
Sengiovese;
Petit Verdot;
Cabernet franc;
Merlot;
Cabernet Sauvignon.

This combination did not fit any state standard. New blends could not get the highest categories and could only be sold as ordinary table wines, although they were many times superior in quality. It wasn't until the 2000s that some of the Super Tuscan drinks were finally able to achieve the highest quality ratings.

Known all over the world among wine lovers and the famous blended wines produced in one of the most significant wine regions of France - the Rhone Valley. There are many wineries here, which produce a huge amount of excellent drinks. For example, if you see the name Cotes du Rhone (Rhone coast) on the bottle, this will mean that you have a blended drink made by mixing red and white grapes.

whiskey blend

Blended whiskey is made by mixing barley malt and other grain varieties of the drink. Single malt whiskey is made exclusively from spirits derived from barley. This drink is considered to be of higher quality, and, accordingly, expensive.

Each blend contains a different percentage of malt spirits. The higher this indicator, the better the drink will be. However, not only to reduce the cost of the final product, manufacturers are engaged in blending. This method makes it possible to obtain drinks that are unique in taste. As a rule, the composition of the blend includes several (about 15) barley malt varieties, which are mixed first. Then lower quality grain alcohols are added to the blend. Usually there are no more than four.

The unique taste of blended whiskey is achieved by aging them in oak barrels. According to the technology, the mixed drink is first kept in special tanks for about a day, and then placed in wooden barrels. High quality blended whiskey is aged in oak barrels for at least six months.

The birthplace of whiskey is called two countries at once - Scotland and Ireland. Since ancient times, they have been producing this drink in neighboring England. That is, the current United Kingdom can be called the birthplace of whiskey. When buying English, Scotch or Irish whiskey, you are more likely to get a real drink.

According to the standards of the Scottish Association, there are three types of blended drink:

Standard blend;
Blend de lux;
Premium blend.

At the same time, the standards for the production of malt and grain whiskey also apply. Blended drinks are the most significant and popular share of whiskey production in Scotland.

One of the most popular and used in the world of standard blends of whiskey is a product of the Johnnie Walker brand with a red label - red label. Also, such popular drinks as "Ballantine" and "Dewars" are produced by the blending method.

The deluxe blends have a higher content of malt barley spirits. These include drinks such as the black label brand "Johnnie Walker", 12-year-old Chivas Regal and William Lawson. Blended premium whiskey is a rarity, and only a select few can afford it.

Preparation of moonshine and alcohol for personal use
absolutely legal!

Excerpt from the Federal Law of the Russian Federation:

"The effect of this Federal Law does not apply to the activities of citizens (individuals) who do not produce products containing ethyl alcohol for the purpose of marketing."

Moonshine in other countries:

* It is still possible to purchase moonshine stills for home use, since their second purpose is to distill water and obtain components for natural cosmetics and perfumes.