KICKING OFF AUTUMN WITH #MERLOTME

This year again the #winepw group are having a celebration of Merlot Month. Several of us received wine samples and although I'm sure there is overlap in the bottles we all received, it should be a fun discussion of all things Merlot! Check out the wines, tastings, pairings, musings below, and join us on Twitter on Saturday, 10 October at 8 AM PST under #winepw to chat to everyone about their thoughts on Merlot, the wines, and their Merlot+food pairings.

• Andrea at The Quirky Cork shares "Three Turkish Merlots"
• Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares "Merlot: A Varietal That Plays Well with Others"
• Cindy at Grape Experiences shares "Sip Merlot with Vegetarian Favorites"
• Deanna at Asian Test Kitchen shares "Fall Vegan Menu Paired with 2016 Napa Merlots"
• David at Cooking Chat shares "Merlot Food Pairing: Tips and Favorites"
• Gwendolyn at Wine Predator shares "Meatloaf and #MerlotMe with Sonoma’s Selby and Columbia Valley’s L’Ecole No. 41"
• Jane at Always Ravenous shares "Merlot Pairing: Baked Pasta with Sausage Ragù"
• Jeff at Food Wine Click! shares "A Tale of Two Merlots at the Grill"
• Jill at L'Occasion shares "What’s So Special About Merlot?"
• Lauren at The Swirling Dervish shares "October is #MerlotMe Month: Here’s What I’ve Been Sipping"
• Linda at My Full Wine Glass shares "Kicking off #MerlotMe in the Pacific time zone”
• Liz at What's in that Bottle? shares "Make Room for Merlot!"
• Lori at Exploring the Wine Glass shares "Leaves on the Ground and #MerlotMe in my Glass"
• Lynn at Savor the Harvest shares "Next Gen Merlot From Where It All Started"
• Martin at Enofylz shares "A Meatless #MerlotMe Redux"
• Nicole at Somms Table shares "5 #MerlotMe Nights"
• Payal at Keep the Peas shares “Kicking Off Autumn With #Merlotme”
• Pinny at Chinese Wine & Food Pairings shares “#MerlotMe with Markham and L’Ecole No. 41 Merlots and Army Ramen”
• Robin at Crushed Grape Chronicles shares "Merlot from elegant to badass. Time to #Merlotme."
• Rupal at Syrah Queen shares “#MerlotMe - Best Food Pairings For Merlot”
• Susannah at Avvinare shares “Brazilian Merlot Is Always Welcome At My Table”
• Terri at Our Good Life shares "Merlot Me with Noodless Lasagne"
• Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm shares "Woohoooooooo....It is #MerlotMe month"

MERLOT + MERLOT MONTH

Merlot is a dark blue grape traditionally used for blending where it is used to add body and softness to a blend, but it is also used in single-varietal wines. Merlot wines are generally fleshy, soft, velvety, low in tannins and with juicy acidity. Aromas associated with Merlot are a combination of black and blue fruit, cherry, plum, eucalyptus, thyme, leather, wet soil, mushrooms, etc. If the Merlot is aged in oak, add chocolate, vanilla, coffee, baking spices to the mix. There are also some Merlots that are quite brawny and grippy but usually Merlot wines are very drinkable, easy to pair with a variety of foods, and quite delicious!

October has been declared as National or, depending on whom you ask, International Merlot Month. The #MerlotMe hashtag was created in 2013 to promote Merlot and perhaps counter some of the negative effect of the movie Sideways. Evidently, Sideways has the dubious distinction of turning wine drinkers in an entire country - the US - off Merlot. I've watched the movie and I can say that "I'm never drinking Merlot" was NOT my takeaway from the movie. In fact, I had no take-aways from it. I'm sure I've missed something but I haven't figured out how an average buddy film could single-handedly have such a profound effect on a wine grape that is used in acclaimed wines such as Petrus. But it has, since 2004 when the movie was released. I hope this is an MBA case study somewhere! Despite the ups and downs, winemakers have continued to produce excellent Merlot wines and for that, many of us wine lovers are grateful.

THE WINES

I've received four wine samples for Merlot Month and have reviewed only two here. The wines all arrived 3 days ago and I was quarantined so wasn't allowed in the kitchen until today. Nevertheless, I'm glad to be back and thankful that I did not catch Covid-19 or anything else during my flights and time spent working with others. 

2017 Duckhorn Vineyards Napa Valley Merlot

80% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2.5% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot, 0.5% Malbec 

14.5% ABV | Sample (SRP $56)

Vinification: 

100 French oak, 40/60 new/neutral

Colour: 

Deep ruby

Nose: 

Ripe, ripe, ripe black and blue fruit, almost jammy. A whiff of baking spices and vanilla.

Palate: 

Similar to nose: ripe black and blue fruit, a splash of red fruit, baking spices, vanilla. A refreshing juicy acidity, fine-grained tannins, a medium+ body, with a lengthy finish. The wine opened up as it sat in the glass but overall it could use a rest in the bottle. I think it would be great in 3-5 years.

2018 Decoy Sonoma County Merlot

98% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Petit Verdot

13.9% ABV | Sample (SRP $25)

Vinification: 

100 French oak, 40/60 new/neutral

Colour: 

Medium Ruby

Nose: 

Black cherry, violets, black and white pepper

Palate: 

Black cherry, cocoa, cedar, and a note of minerality at the taper. Juicy acidity, dusty tannins, medium body, medium finish. This wine may be terrific in 2-3 years but I'm not sure how much more complexity it would develop. It might be best to enjoy it now.

THE FOOD

We paired both wines with a gratin of ziti and cauliflower done in an equal mix of two classic French sauces: sauce tomate and soubise. The sauce tomate brought the acidity to match the Merlot, and the soubise brought the smooth heft from the béchamel sauce and onion purée. The parmesan-bread crumb crust added the savoury umami that really brought everything together.  And the pasta and cauliflower added a much-needed coziness. In general both wines went nicely with the gratin but the Duckhorn was the clear winner if there were one. This was a perfect stay-in for the evening and watch your favourite movie or TV show wine and food pairing. A welcome change from the hectic few weeks I've had of wilderness holiday, work travel and  project follow-up, exam prep and exam, and finally ~10 days of quarantine since I'd been out of town for work. I barely remember September!