AlliTherrien

Merlot

History :

  • Some say “merlot” was given to this varietal because of its dark blue color and others say it’s because the from the black birds love of the grapes.
  • Merlot mean “young black bird”
  • The earliest recorded mention of merlot was in the notes of a local Bordeaux official who in 1784 labeled wine made from the grape in the Libournais region as one of the area's best.
  • In the 19th century it was being regularly planted in the Médoc on the left bank of the Gironde
  • French authorities in Bordeaux banned new plantings of Merlot vines between 1970 and 1975 due to a severe frost in 1956 and thousands of vintages were lost to rot between 1970 and 1975
  • Merlot is an offspring of the Cabernet Franc which is the major black grape varieties worldwide.
  • Merlot was first discovered in France and now grows in Italy, Mexico, Switzerland, Greece, Slovenia, Romania Argentina, The United States (California, Washington, Long Island) , Canada, Africa, and Hungary.
  • They are cultivated in the cooler parts of the areas above.
  • If it’s too warm Merlot will ripen to early
  • Merlot is the most commonly grown variety, in 2004 France grew over 280,000 acres of merlot, France still has the largest growing plantation of merlot.

Merlot Characteristics:

  • Outer skin color is black
  • Medium size body
  • Smooth acidity
  • Soft tannins
  • Grape origins from France
  • Prefers growing in clay soil
  • Makes red wines and red wine blends

Merlot Flavors:

  • Berry
  • Blackberry
  • Plum
  • Chocolate

Food Pairing:

  • Shellfish
  • Mushrooms
  • Salmon
  • Camembert
  • Gouda

Cuisines to eat with Merlot:

  • French food
  • Italian food
  • Spanish food

Merlot Growing Conditions:

  • Grows in a clay soil
  • Grows in a cooler climate

Preferred Growing Conditions:

  • It can only grow in certain areas depending upon the temperature
  • Budbreak is fairly early and is thus susceptible to frost in the spring
  • Merlot ripens in mid- season compared to other varietals which have a longer season then merlot
  • Their mainly grown in dry moderate climates like Long Island N.Y., Napa Valley California , and roughly about two dozen other countries including the United states
  • They need to ripen slowly and need to be picked before their acidity declines
  • Rainy and cool, damp regions do not produce a healthy grape
  • Damp air makes grapes rot sooner and mold faster
  • Merlot has medium-high vigor and a trailing growth habit
  • Excess vigor quickly creates a dense canopy
  • Merlot does well on deep, sandy loam or well-drained soils that have good moisture-holding capacity
  • This vine is susceptible to winter injury

Wine Process for Merlot:

  • Merlot can make soft velvety wines
  • They tend to mature faster compared to other wines
  • Some of the fruit note commonly associated with merlot
  • Black & red cherries
  • Blackberry
  • Blueberry
  • Boysenberry
  • Mulberry
  • Ollalieberry
  • Plum
  • There are three main styles of Merlot
  • Soft fruity ,smooth wine with very little tannins
  • A fruity wine with more tannic structure
  • A brawny highly tannic style
  • White merlot is made the same way as white zinfandel
  • The grapes are crushed, after a very brief skin contact, resulting pink juice is run off and they must be fermented.
  • They normally have a hint of raspberry.
  • White merlot began to market in the late 1990’s

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