Red Wines

• Merlot

Merlot wines have soared in popularity in the last decade, as they offer something for everyone: from light and simple wines to full-bodied and complex bottlings. Merlots are often less tannic and more lush than Cabernets, though still full-bodied, deep in color and fairly high in alcohol with flavors of cherry, plum and chocolate. Merlot is blended with Cabernet Sauvignon at almost all the great estates of France's Bordeaux region and is the dominant grape of St. Emilion and Pomerol; for example Chateau Petrus is almost 100% Merlot. Other areas where Merlot has been successfully grown (and frequently blended into Cabernets to produce a more complex wine) include northern Italy, California, Washington and the Rogue Valley region of Oregon.

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