I Heart Merlot, 75cl

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However, the vast majority of Merlot in Italy is grown in Friuli where it produces a range of styles from simple and fruity reds to more full bodied and tannic wines meant for aging. Pepper Bridge Winery in Washington State. USA

Outside of France, the grape is also grown in the Friuli region of Italy, as well as in Croatia, Slovenia, California, Washington State, and New York. Following the wine’s peak in popularity in the late 1990s and early 2000s, it began to decline after being overly mass-produced and saturating the market, but, as Beavers explains, Merlot is worth a second try. The grape is used in many blends on the U.S. market — especially Pinot Noir, thanks to the 75 percent rule — meaning most are already consuming it, whether they are aware of it or not. And when it is done right, Merlot can be a beautiful, soft but round wine. Listen Online

The Cowgirl and the Pilot 2017 Merlot Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley

Merlot, the world’s second most planted red grape, thrives in moderate to warm climates and varied terrains, especially clay soils. It offers a consistent profile of soft texture and ripe fruit flavors, but these can vary based on the region. Major Merlot regions include Bordeaux with rich, velvety wines; Tuscany’s full-bodied blends; California’s fruity, complex offerings; and Chile’s more restrained, medium-bodied wines. If any state excels at Merlot, Washington certainly deserves to be in the conversation. Striking a balance between old world and new world tendencies, the wines from the state and its AVAs within are capable of producing world class wines. It seems there isn’t much I don’t love from WA these days.

If you were to head north off the coast of the Basque region of Spain, you would be in the Bay of Biscay. And if you go straight north from the Basque region, the town called Bilbao, which is the capital of that region, you would hit the northwestern peninsula of France, which is called Brittany. Inland from the coast of Brittany is a town called Saint-Suliac (my French is terrible). Here, in the middle ages, was a monastery or an abbey — monks were everywhere around this time. And of course being monks, they had vineyards and it’s thought that the Cabernet Franc grape, at the time, made its way to Brittany. And then from Brittany down into the Loire Valley, then from the Loire Valley down into Bordeaux. Merlot is not bad. It doesn’t make bad wine. It’s sort of what we’ve done with it that turned it into what it was. And Pinot Noir went down that path for a while as well. The popularity of Pinot Noir, and the oversaturation of it. You can’t mass-produce Pinot Noir, so it had to be blended with other varieties like Merlot and Syrah and be called Pinot Noir because of the 75 percent rule that’s available in the New World. It was a trend. Merlot is awesome. To this day, 10 to 15 percent of all Merlot made in California goes into a California blend. It’s a blending variety. It just is. But when it’s in the right place. it can be beautifully done. And there are places, specifically in California, in Napa, that are very good for Merlots, that are often 100 percent Merlots. You have the cool climate of the Carneros region, which actually has some fun Merlots. Coombsville, Oak Knoll, and, of course, the famous Stags Leap district, which is near Carneros. Those areas have great soil and climate for good Merlot that people make, and they don’t have to blend it with other varieties. So Thing 2 (my younger son) has decided that he is a steak connoisseur ever since the entire family went to an upscale steak house for Father’s Day. Steak is now one of his favorite foods. Go figure as a year ago, I couldn’t pay him to eat beef! As he loves fried rice, he was thrilled to learn it came with something other than shrimp – beef. So on one of our takeout nights, I opted for Beef Fried Rice. And with this being a more structured and powerful Merlot, it was well suited for the beef. L’Ecole N° 41 Merlot + BLTs Outside of California — Merlot is grown everywhere, it’s all over the United States. If there’s a wine- growing region in the United States, Merlot is being grown. It was once a big deal in Washington State, and they make great Merlot over there. But, like California, it was more popular in the ’80s and the ’90s. It’s still there, but just not as popular as Riesling.

Gwen at Wine Predator shares “ California vs. France #MerlotMe with squash, chard, and bow tie pasta” And I got to thank Darby Cicci for making this amazing song: Listen to this epic stuff. And finally, I want to thank the VinePair staff for helping me learn more every day. Thanks for listening. I’ll see you next week. Merlot gains complexity with time, revealing spicy, plummy notes and undertones reminiscent of dark chocolate. Many Merlots will age gracefully for 3-7 years, while exceptional ones can continue to enhance their complexity for 15 years or more. Filet Mignon and other roasted or grilled meats work well with warmer climate Merlot. Photo by Amirali Mirhashemian. Merlot is a lot about texture, more than it is about varietal characteristics and aroma. But the cool thing about Merlot, and somebody who was part of the DNA profiling had this to say about it: From its mother Madeleine, it gets its early ripening because that grape was an early ripening variety, from its father Cab Franc, it gets it’s high-quality tannin and pigment. Also, when it’s grown in cooler climates, you can get some of this herbaceous nuance with Merlot and that is absolutely a characteristic that comes from Cab Franc.