I have a self-inking return address rubber stamp. The ink in the ink pad is called "Cabernet" and it is indeed a nice wine color. Now I'm looking for fountain pen ink to match. I've been to the Writing Desk website, looking at ink samples, but couldn't find anything quite wine-colored. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Judybug

I've used, and enjoyed, Private Reserve's Burgundy Mist and Noodler's Burgundy. I'm horrible at describing colours, but the former is darker and more purplish and the latter is redder. But both remind me more of "red bordeaux spilled on crisp white shirt " than "red bordeaux in a glass" red.

De Atramentis wine inks come to my mind.

Maybe MB Bordeaux, Noodler/Swisher Burgundy ...

Try this comparo for some other examples:
http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/ink_cat/in...=all&colour=red

Judybug

I'd call Rohrer and Klingner 'Alt Bordeaux', which The Writing Desk has just started to sell, wine-coloured. I've just bought a bottle, and I'd say that it feels a bit more substantial than MB Bordeaux. Here's a link to the R&K page at TWD:

http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/randk/randk.php

Neil

Writing Desk's samples are usually spot on (when I look at them on this monitor, which is much better than the one I have at home), but that scan looks a little overly pink to me. Alt Bordeaux is very much the color of red wine that has dried in the glass. It has a lot of shading and complexity. It is not very saturated--the degree of saturation on Writing Desk does look right to me.

I too have both inks and think that R&K does a better job with the Bordeaux color than MB, especially after you let it dry down quite a bit. It also has some very pleasant shading going on with bits of black along the edges, the way I think of good, dark red wine, and the K&R ink is very well behaved overall in terms of drying time and feathering.

Pendemonium carries this line of inks as well.

-- Jeff

One addition to my comments about Alt Bordeaux, I think it looks much better in a broader nib. It's a bit blah in a fine nib, but wonderful in a medium or broader.

Judy, check out the Parker Penman Ruby in this ink review. It made me think of wine straight away... ^_^

In case you don't have enough choices to consider, there's Noodler's nightshade as well. The color swatch at the writing desk is right on for this ink. Lovely color.

Stephen

I have several wine color inks and will try to get a comparison up this evening if I can -- my favorite ink color or at least a tie with my many turquoise inks!

Petra

I would suggest the aforementioned PR Burgundy Mist. Or PR Plum which could pass for a dark red wine and maybe even more so if it is thinned a bit (I'm on the road now or I would try it myself--maybe someone else could give it a shot).

Or you could wait until Nathan adds Noodler's Mad Dog 20-20 to his lineup.

Bill

I'd add PR Black Cherry, but it's quite dark -- more like the color of wine in a full glass than like a few drops or a spill.

Diamine Claret is pretty nice and definitely worth looking into.

James P.

I like Nightshade a lot. I never thought of it as being the same color as a wine. But then I never drink the stuff and really have nothing to do with it.

I just wish that Nathan made a waterproof Nightshade. As it is I have to settle for mixing it with the more permanent inks in order to satisfy my lust for permanency along with my craving for an odd color.

I thought the obvious suggestion would have been Noodler's Saguaro Wine (since it even has the word 'wine' in its name ). I was surprised to see that no-one mentioned it yet

Saguaro Wine is an interesting color. I for one can't quite get used to it. It's essentially magenta, but with some added complexity. I like to read letters written in SW by other people, but I don't like writing with it. The color makes me sort of nervous.

I would not at all recommend drinking any wine of that color.

Quote: I would not at all recommend drinking any wine of that color.

You beat me to the comment, and I agree. Not even if it is the color of the second bottle of wine.

Hmm. If this color wine is not good to drink, maybe it could be used for ink. It might be a good idea to try it in a cheap pen.

Seriously, thanks to everybody for all the suggestions. When I compare my stamp pad ink to scanned samples here and on various websites, Parker Penman Ruby - as Hyper Camper suggested - appears to be a match. But where does one buy Parker Penman Ruby?

Judybug

Parker Penman Ruby

I think I'm OBSESSED with ink! Since I started this thread I've been experimenting with reds. My ink budget is shot for a while. I've finally found a match for my "cabernet" self-inking rubber stamp. It's a mix:

2 parts Sheaffer red [which, as you all probably know, is really a deep pink - at least that's how I describe it.]

1 part Private Reserve Black Cherry.

When I ordered the Black Cherry, I thought it would match the stamp - but it's too dark and - well, it's just not RED enough. This mix is a beautiful color! And after all, I don't mind mixing ink - in fact, I enjoy it.

Judy

Thanks! I'm going to try this -- can't ever have too many reds, wines or burgundies! Any chance you can post a scan?

Petra

I attend a lot of wine tastings. Sometimes we actually put a dab of wine on the paper next to our notes, especially if we are tasting very young wines. They retain much of their colour when dry.

I also recall a minor Californian maker called Frick that produced a Syrah that said on the label "A Wine to Write Home WITH!" And it was pretty darned dark!

The sad truth is that no ink manufacturer has yet introduced an ink that is the color of red wine. All of the inks that claim to be wine colored are either too brown, too red, or too purple. I'm still waiting for the perfect wine-colored ink....just as I'm still waiting for the perfect blue ink. The blues on the market come a lot closer than do the wine-colored inks at meeting my goals.

I always thought Arabian Rose was a nice wine colour.

Arabian Rose is close, but I think it's a little too purple.

Judybug

Tomorrow I'll see if I can get my husband to give me a lesson in posting a scan of my new mix.

Judybug

I once had a dialogue with Nathan of Noodler's and he asked me to give him a wine sample I liked on paper and he'd try to match it. He asked me if I wanted a Syrah, Cabernet, Zin - whatever. SO if you have a sample on a napkin you like you may try to send it to him to reproduce and see what he says. I never pursued it because I thought for sure someone like Noodler's or R and K or Herbin would come up with a wine-like ink, but alas not as far as I have found.

Sangria - I think that's what I'll call my mix of 2 parts Sheaffer red and 1 part PR Black Cherry. I had a glass of Sangria last night and it's a pretty good match. A half and half mix might give the slightly deeper cabernet or syrah. I'll try it and post a scan of both later.

Judybug