Mivino Blending – Craft a wine that is uniquely yours.
RJS Craft Winemaking newest brand encourages winemakers to be adventurous and personalize a wine that you’ll be proud to share with friends and family. Take part in the long-established winemaking tradition of blending different varietals together. Blending is considered the highest form of winemaking, and is a great chance for you to customize a wine to your unique tastes.
The main goal of blending is to produce a wine that has improved flavour and aroma characteristics compared to each of its individual components. The Art of Blending involves many different wine parameters that play an important role in determining wine quality: Acidity, pH, Alcohol, Colour, Tannin, Varietal Aroma, Fruitiness, Oak Flavour, and Residual Sugar. Some of these parameters may in excess or in deficiency in the individual wines and blending can help correct each parameter to the desired level. The most important part about blending Mivino wines is that it should be fun!
Mivino Varietals
Chile Sauvignon Blanc Style
Pale straw in colour, this light and refreshing wine brings zesty aromas of grapefruit, passion fruit, pear, and freshly cut grass with flavours of tropical fruit and grapefruit on the palate.
Food Pairings: Pizza with grilled chicken and pesto sauce, zesty ceviche, or grilled asparagus with balsamic dressing and parmesan shavings.
Australia Chardonnay Style
This medium-bodied wine displays an enticing combination of yellow apple and lemon zest laced with vanilla and peach notes. Straw in colour, it will refresh your palate with notes of apple and melon, rounded out with an oaky finish.
Food Pairings: Roasted chicken with a creamy mushroom sauce, lobster rolls, or grilled Halloumi cheese skewers.
Germany Riesling Style
This classic dry Riesling offers aromas of citrus fruits, green apple, and white flower. Pale straw in colour, this refreshing wine brings flavours of lemon zest and apple tree blossom on the palate.
Food Pairings: Poached white fish with a creamy sauce, Thai chicken green curry, or a cheese board with blue cheese and triple crème cheese.
Italy Pinot Grigio Style
Fresh and vibrant on the nose, this dry wine presents aromas of green apples and lemon blossom. It is light straw in colour and reveals notes of fresh citrus fruits, with a crisp and clean finish.
Food Pairings: Antipasto, fried calamari, or roasted pork with roasted potatoes.
California Cabernet Sauvignon Style
This Cabernet Sauvignon presents notes of blackcurrants, black cherries, vanilla, and mocha notes from the oak. The Genuwine Winery Dried Grape Skins included with this kit contribute soft tannins and adds texture to the mouthfeel.
Food Pairing: Grilled Prime Rib Steak with garlic infused mash potatoes, roasted pheasant with caramelized onions, and old cheddar.
Australia Shiraz Style
This deep-coloured wine is well-balanced with aromas of blueberries, plums, black pepper, and a touch of vanilla and chocolate from the oak. This wine is medium-bodied and is robustly built with soft silky tannins from fermentation with Genuwine Winery Dried Grape Skins.
Food paring: Roasted Lamb with garlic and rosemary, spareribs with homemade barbecue sauce, or wild mushrooms crostini.
Chile Merlot Style
A bouquet of warm dark fruits, ripe black cherries with hints of cigar box and vanilla are present on the nose, while layers of black cherry and mocha unfold on the palate. The Genuwine Winery Dried Grape Skins included in this kit will produce soft silky tannins.
Food Pairing: Roasted duck with grilled mushrooms, grilled veal chop with roasted vegetables, or ratatouille.
Chile Malbec Style
With aromas of blackberries, cherries, black currants, and warm spices, this medium bodied wine will delight your palate. This Malbec is fermented with Genuwine Winery Dried Grape Skins, adding soft tannins.
Food Pairing: Asado with grilled corn, beef Empanadas, or a vegetarian chili.
Blending Process
Step One
Take some time to determine the style of wine you want to create and explore the characteristics that will best help you reach your desired result. For example, are you looking to make your wine more aromatic? Are you looking to add texture? More body? More tannin? More acidity? Refer to the single varietal characteristics above to help guide your Mivino blending decisions.
Step Two
First, determine whether you will do your blending before or after the primary fermentation.
Before Primary Fermentation
- If you only have one 23L (6 US GAL) carboy, then blending before primary fermentation is best for you.
- We recommend blending in 50/50 percentage ratios when blending before primary fermentation. If you could like to blend in another other ratio, we recommend you blend after primary fermentation.
After Primary Fermentation
- If you decide to create your blend just prior to bottling, then you will need a minimum of two 11.5L (3 US GAL) carboys where each of your Mivino wines will be cleared and stabilized separately.
- If you would still like to blend your wines together after the primary fermentation and you only have one 23L carboy, then we recommend that you blend your wines together just prior to clearing and stabilizing.
- Determine the blend percentage by tasting various options from your selected wine kits. Set out several glasses and blend varying amounts of each varietal. For example, try 50/50, 40/60 and 60/40 blends using each varietal you are making to decide which best represents the characteristics you are going for.
Step Three
Before Primary Fermentation
- Move forward now with Step 2 in the instruction sheets (Stabilizing & Clearing).
After Primary Fermentation
- If you are blending your wines together just prior to bottling, transfer the desired amounts into your sanitized primary fermenter, mix gently with your long handled spoon, and continue with Step 3 (Bottling & Corking).
- Any remaining wine not included in your blend can be bottled separately which will give you three delicious Mivino wines to bottle.
RJS Craft Winemaking Recommended Blends
The following blends have been recommended by the RJS Craft Winemaking team based on the following parameters: Aromatic complexity, length and texture on the palate, most different from individual wines and our perception of quality.
50/50 blends are ideal when blending before primary fermentation, and blends with any other ratio should be blended before bottling.
Outback Blend
50% Shiraz
50% Cabernet Sauvignon
Nose – Black pepper, blueberry, black currant, chocolate.
Palate – Full bodied with soft savory tannins finishing with hints of dark plum and baking spice.
Spicy Red Blend
60% Shiraz
40% Malbec
Nose – Black pepper, floral, dark cherry, very complex nose.
Palate – Full bodied with black pepper, dark fruit, and earthy flavors along with nice chewy tannins.
The Palate Puncher Blend
60% Malbec
40% Shiraz
Nose – Jammy wild blueberry, floral, earthy, more dark fruit than previous blend.
Palate – Full bodied with Jammy dark fruit and round soft tannins.
Joie de Vivre Blend
50% Cabernet Sauvignon
50% Merlot
Nose – Black currant, chocolate, baking spice, black cherry.
Palate – Medium to full bodied with well structured tannins, finishing with vanilla, clove, raspberry, plum and a juicy mouthfeel.
The Transatlantic
50% Cabernet Sauvignon
50% Malbec
Nose – Black current, blackberry, cigar box, vanilla.
Palate – Medium body with flavours of dark berries, black fruits, tobacco leaves and vanilla with smooth well integrated tannins.
Mi-Trio Red
50% Shiraz
25% Cabernet Sauvignon
25% Malbec
Nose – Black pepper, cloves, blueberry, smoky, very complex aromatics.
Palate – Full bodied with Grippy tannins, juicy dark fruit, black pepper, excellent length.
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Fumé Blanc Blend
60% Sauvignon Blanc
40% Chardonnay
Nose – Herbaceous and grassy notes complimented by ripe tropical fruit.
Palate – Medium bodied with Medium acidity, tropical fruit, rich mouthfeel, long finish.
White ‘n’ Wild Blend
60% Chardonnay
40% Sauvignon Blanc
Nose – Lemon peel, vanilla, slightly floral and perfumed.
Palate – Medium bodied with hints of vanilla, slightly more astringent than 60/40 blend thanks to the oak influence from the Chardonnay, as well as slight perception of sweetness on the finish.
Tropical White Blend
50% Pinot Grigio
50% Sauvignon Blanc
Nose – Passion fruit, grassy, green apple, apple blossom.
Palate – Medium bodied, and slightly herbaceous with refreshing acidity loaded with tropical fruit and white peach.
Summer Refresher Blend
50% Riesling
50% Pinot Grigio
Nose – Green apple, peach, pear, hints of floral notes.
Palate – Light to medium bodied with fresh acidity, finishing with lemon rind, green apple, and juicy peach.
Mi-Trio White
50% Pinot Grigio
25% Sauvignon Blanc
25% Riesling
Nose – Floral, green apple, lemon drops, candied peach.
Palate – Medium bodied with a smooth and creamy mouthfeel, juicy stone fruit leads to a long finish with excellent texture.
Pretty in Pink Rosé
90% Riesling
10% Merlot
Nose – Strawberry, raspberry, red cherry, white pepper, fruit salad.
Palate – Medium bodied with juicy acidity finishing with loads of red fruit, citrus, and nectarine.