The Merlot: What you Haven’t Heard about it

For more than a century Merlot adorns the winery market with its rich, fine taste dominated by black currant, plums and cherries. The Merlot variety is also known thanks to a movie Sideways. Do you know why? If not, keep reading.

Sideways did not accept Merlot

Merlot received a lot of criticism after the movie Sideways was published back in year 2004. Surely you remember the old-fashioned Miles and his friend, the engaged Jack, who went to celebrate Jack's last days of freedom on a trip together. In the middle of one scene, when Miles and Jack  went on date with two attractive women, Miles said a sentence which became bounded with Merlot ever since: „I´m not drinking f**king Merlot.” The consequence of this scene was downfall of Merlot’s sales by 2%.

Despite of a negative impact of Sideways movie on Merlot itself, the wine survived the wave of criticism and today enjoys great production and popularity. Jack Nickles, the wine specialists praise the Merlot and lists a few facts you should know about it.

Born in French Bordeaux

The first records of the Merlot variety are comming from 14th century, but the full scale description of this dark blue – colored wine grape was made by by the wine specialist Victor Rendu in 19th century. The biggest plantations of Merlot are in French town Bordeaux. Although a quality variety of Merlot can be found also in South America, Australia, Balkan or even in Slovakia.

It tastes like...

The wines from this category are characteristic by their sweet taste and hint of berries which gives the wine its dark blue colour and delicacy. A smooth taste is caused by the fact that wine is not rich in acids and tannins.

Delicate variety of Merlot is destined for combination with more striking varieties of wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Franc. Taste the balanced flavour of Merlot and other varieties and join the other wine-lovers who adore this great wine.

Serving the wine properly

The Merlot wine, as any other, should have the right temperature. In this case it is 17-20 °C but it may vary depending on the exact type. If you want to look „classy“ do not hold your wine glass by the top end. Apart from the fact you would warm the wine up, the right way of holding the glass is to grab the glass by its stem or bottom part. However do not try to do so if you already had few, it takes practice and sober condition. 

What meals pair well with Merlot

Merlot can represent a fine dinning experience. It pairs well with more dominant flavours. E.g. it goes well with lamb or venison. What about cheese? Well, we highly recommend blue cheese! If you fancy a fish, you will make no mistake with grilled salmon.