The Merlot Grape
Along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, Merlot is one of the primary grapes grown in the Bordeaux wine region, where it is the most widely planted grape. Merlot is also one of the most popular red wine varietals in many markets, stemming in part from the relative ease in pronouncing the wine’s name as well as it softer, fruity profile that make it more approachable for some wine drinkers.  This popularity has helped to make it one of the world's most planted grape varieties.

Merlot is a red wine grape that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to come from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, probably from the color of the grape.

Merlot is a very versatile grape. It is widely blended with many other grapes providing a soft, luscious, velvety fruit characteristic softening the harsher varieties, such as Cabernet Sauvignon.

Merlot can be traced back to the 1st Century in France; however as a noble Bordeaux varietal standing on its own the Merlot doesn't appear until the 1800s.

Characteristics of the Grape
Merlot grapes are identified by their loose bunches of large berries. The color of the grape has less of a blue/black hue than Cabernet Sauvignon grapes and with a thinner skin and fewer tannins. Merlot grapes tend to have a higher sugar content and lower malic acid than the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes as well.

Merlot vines thrive in cold soil, particularly ferrous clay. The vine tends to bud early which gives it some risk to cold frost and its thin skin increases its susceptibility to rot.

It normally ripens up to two weeks earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon. Water stress is also important to the vine, as it thrives in well-drained soil more so than at the base of a slope. Pruning is a major component to the quality of the wine, as is the age of the vine, with older vines contributing character to the resulting wine.

A characteristic of the Merlot grape is its tendency to quickly over-ripen once it hits its initial ripeness level, sometimes in a matter of days. There are two schools of thought on the right time to harvest Merlot. Some wine makers favor early picking to best maintain the wine's acidity and finesse as well as its potential for aging. Others favor late picking and the added fruit body that comes with a touch of over-ripeness.

And a Hint of….
While a ripe Merlot tends to give you plenty of fruit flavours of plums, cherry, and raspberry, with a hint of mint and subtle spice, an unripe Merlot goes towards herbaceous green flavours.

Some of the characteristics you'll pick up in various Merlots include:
Fruits - plum, cherry, blackcurrant
Lightly oaked - vanilla, coconut
Heavily oaked - smoke, tar, oak
Floral - violet and rose
Spices - mint, caramel, cloves, bay leaves
Bottle age - mushroom, earth, coffee, leather, and cigar

Where it’s Found
The Merlot’s most famous home is in the Bordeaux area of France. Even the Medoc region, famous for its Cabernets has about 40 percent planted with the Merlot grape varietal. Merlot comes in third behind Carignan and Grenache as the most planted red grape variety in France. It thrives in northeast Italy, is spreading through Eastern Europe and the new world regions can't produce enough.

Some other producers of Merlot include California, Romania, Australia, Argentina, Bulgaria, Turkey, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, Croatia, Hungary, Montenegro, Slovenia, and other parts of the United States such as Washington and Long Island. It grows in many regions that also grow Cabernet Sauvignon but tends to be cultivated in the cooler portions of those areas. In areas that are too warm, Merlot will ripen too early.

Recommended Pairings
In food and wine pairings, the diversity of Merlot can lend itself to a wide array of matching options.

Cabernet-like Merlots pair well with many of the same things that Cabernet Sauvignon would pair well with such as grilled and charred meats. Softer, fruitier Merlots (particularly those with higher acidity from cooler climate regions like Washington State and Northeastern Italy) share many of the same food pairing affinities with Pinot Noir and go well with dishes like salmon, mushroom-based dishes and greens like chard and radicchio.

Light bodied Merlots pair well with shellfish like prawns or scallops, especially if wrapped in a protein-rich food such as bacon or prosciutto. Merlot tends not to go well with strong and blue veined cheeses that can overwhelm the fruit flavors of the wine. The hotness of spicy foods can tend to accentuate the perception of alcohol in Merlot and make it taste more tannic and bitter.

Merlot wine is excellent with pasta, meats and even chocolate. It has proven itself as an excellent wine for all wine drinkers and is one of the few red wines which white wine drinkers can really appreciate.