This month's wine question comes
from Carl Bretling of Oakland. He writes:
Hello Brian. I’m starting to explore
and enjoy wine. Can you tell me…is
Meritage a grape? I’ve seen it a couple
of times on wine lists, but it’s hard
to find in my local wine store.
Carl, the short answer is NO, meritage
is not a grape. It’s a word used to
designate a blend of grapes. But there’s
more to it than that. The US Department
of Trademarks registered the name Meritage
in 1989 to describe wines that are blended
with traditional Bordeaux varieties. It
comes from blending the words “merit”
and “heritage.” In most wine-producing
countries, a wine has to be made with at
least 75% of a particular grape to be called
that type of wine. So, if a wine doesn’t
have at least 75% Cabernet Sauvignon makeup,
it can’t be called a Cabernet Sauvignon.
So Meritage is a name for a standardized
blend of grapes, but with particular distinctions:
It must be a blend of two or more Bordeaux
grapes, such as Cabernet Franc and Merlot
for instance. A winery is limited to producing
a maximum of 25,000 cases of Meritage per
vintage. Some of the best new Meritage wines
are the Cab/Merlot blends from the Russian
River Valley. Hope that helps…and
remember to enjoy life one sip at a time.
