On Tue, 04 Sep 2007 17:53:45 -0000, DaleW > wrote:

>On Sep 4, 1:48?pm, Mike Tommasi > wrote:
>> Tire Bouchon wrote:
>> > On Sep 4, 12:00 pm, Ed Rasimus > wrote:
>> >> The Geyserville discussion of blend percentages led me to suddenly
>> >> realize that I didn't know what I didn't know!
>>
>> >> We're accustomed to seeing percentage of varietals in blended wines.
>> >> My question is "percent of what?"
>>
>> >> Is this a percentage based on weight of grapes, volume of grapes,
>> >> liquid measure of pressing, mixing of vinified pure varietal, or what?
>>
>> >> Does "field blend" denote a difference from some other type of blend
>> >> of varietals?
>>
>> >> Ed Rasimus

>>
>> > A field blend is just that, a field of grapes of different varieties
>> > picked at once and vinified together, as opposed to, for example,
>> > winemaking in Bordeaux where one vineyard is composed of merlot, one
>> > of cabernet sauvignon, one of petit verdot, etc., vinified apart and
>> > then blended into the final Grand Vin.
>>
>> What you describe as a field blend may have been common practice long
>> ago, I am not aware of anyone doing this today.
>>
>> --
>> Mike Tommasi - Six Fours, France
>> email linkhttp://www.tommasi.org/mymail- Hide quoted text -
>>
>> - Show quoted text -
>
>It is pretty common in CA, especially in old Zin dominated vineyards.
>Besides Geyserville, there are several other vineyards that are
>interplanted. Thackeray's Orion is one.
>I think there are some in the Rhone, too.

So, that very discrete percentage of 77/17/6 that I see is just a
wild-guess based on the number of vines for each varietal planted in
the field to be harvested? Or would it be the percentage of acreage
allocated to each varietal? Or would it be the weight of harvest of
each type of vine?

That would lead me to conclude that one vintner's 16% might be
another's 25% or similar disparity.

"Not that there's anything wrong with that..."
Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
www.thunderchief.org
www.thundertales.blogspot.com