Winemaking Part 2: Not So Petite Verdot

This past weekend was our first step in the winemaking journey at Vino Tabi, the custom crush winery in Santa Cruz. We had previously selected Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petite Verdot as the varietals for our blend. However, this past weekend we got to taste barrel samples first hand. The good folks at Vino Tabi have conveniently already gone through the process of selecting grape sources, the harvest, crush, a good portion of the vinification process, and some of those other pesky details that novice winemakers like myself are happy to leave to others.

We are getting ready to determine what percentages of each varietal will go into our special blend. We sampled the Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot separately, then in a 50%-50% mix. Each were wildly tasty on their own, and it was interesting to see the juxtaposition of the two grapes and how they complimented each other. The next tasting was to add small percentages of Cabernet Franc to the Cab-Merlot mix to see how that impacted the wine (added wonderful complexity), and then separately adding Petite Verdot to the Cab-Merlot mix (added earthiness and strength), and finally combining all four in different ratios.

The tasting reminded me why I love a well-made Cabernet Franc. But, the most interesting part was how small doses of Petite Verdot impacted the wine. Even in the 1% to 3% range, the Petite Verdot pumped up the wine significantly and added a layer of blackberry and earth. On its own, the Petite Verdot was overly harsh and tannic, and anything more than a few percentage points made the wine change like Popeye after two cans of spinach. Too much even for a California-pallet like mine. Our winemaking team hasn’t decided on a final formula, but it will likely be something like Cab (50%), Merlot (35%), Cabernet Franc (13%) and Petite Verdot (2%). The next step in our wine making adventure is determining which oak barrels to use. Stay tuned.

Go ahead and invite a few Petite Verdot grapes to your wine party – just don’t let them bring too many friends.

Best, Joe Plonk

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