More to Merlot in the Toronto Star

That article doesn't really tell me much about why there is more to merlot.

I have to say I'm rather fascinated by the wholesale degradation of merlot in North America, with Miles in Sideways probably speaking for many perceived wine snobs.

Is it as simple as the article says, that fact that it is often a juicy jammy fruit bomb. Ive often heard that people prefer merlot because it is easy to pronounce. As American merlot doesn't make it to NZ, can someone explain what else there is about it that makes it so spurned by wine geeks. I'm assuming it is pretty popular to everyone else.

Here in NZ, merlot seems to be treated quite differently by winemakers who are trying to make it into a serious, complex, long-keeping style with the price to match. It is not considered an everyday quaffer . That honour goes more to well-priced Aussie shiraz and of course soft seductive pinot noirs are now at afforable prices.

So just why has merlot, in the words of the article, had "such a bum rap?"

Sue, I think that mainly the bum rap comes from the archetypal goopy warm-climate style that perhaps typified many West Coast examples of the wine - a style that is so very unlike the highly structured, venerable Bordelais style or by all accounts, the NZ style that you mention. It's also unlike the style of Merlot made here in Ontario, which is much more in the Old World style than that of California ... when the vines aren't killed by our winters, that is - Merlot is not especially winter-hardy.

Having said that, Sideways was a blast but I'm like, "Come on, people, it was just a film and just one line in a film" - I can't understand why people would take what they see on the big screen and copycat it in their drinking habits. I really haven't had my view on Merlot or Pinot Noir affected in any way by Sideways. I have become more Pinot-friendly in recent years after trying to make an effort to understand the variety better. My views on Merlot haven't changed at all; I like a nicely structured one with complex flavour and aroma development.

Merlot can make fantastic wines in the right terroir, and there is no reason to diss it as a variety - only perhaps some of the styles which, through recent history, have been foisted upon it.

[James Roscoe]

Where are the Spanish merlots?

Not the most enlightening article. I will agree with Sue. Sue is always right.

Having said that, Sideways was a blast but I'm like, "Come on, people, it was just a film and just one line in a film" - I can't understand why people would take what they see on the big screen and copycat it in their drinking habits.

Paul, I don't think that the movie caused the reaction from scratch. I think that geeks felt the way that Miles did but just never had the stage to make the strong statement. Miles just sparked the expression of what most geeks felt subconsciously. And as we all know, folks look for symbols to differentiate themselves from others for ego purposes.

I told the story before that I took a young woman to a NYC restaurant after the movie gained popularity. When the waiter said he only had Merlot by the glass, the girl launched into a tirade against Merlot and for Pinot Noir, just like Miles did. I was embarrassed by her copycat behavior, and after the waiter retreated, I asked her if she had felt that way before the movie. "What movie?" she asked earnestly.

I am only a geek in that I am obsessed with certain wines; I know very little about wine in general. But I wouldn't touch a Merlot, the New World varietal, if I had a choice (I'll drink it if there is nothing else available). I can't say that it is bad, but it never did anything positive for me. Why, I could only rationalize; but Merlot is only good to me when it comes from Bordeaux.

Covert

I am only a geek in that I am obsessed with certain wines; I know very little about wine in general. But I wouldn't touch a Merlot, the New World varietal, if I had a choice (I'll drink it if there is nothing else available). I can't say that it is bad, but it never did anything positive for me. Why, I could only rationalize; but Merlot is only good to me when it comes from Bordeaux.

Covert

Covert, that's a bit of a sweeping statement when 'New World' is considered to be everywhere else other than Europe. Have you tried any merlot other than from Bordeaux and from the USA?

That article doesn't really tell me much about why there is more to merlot.

So just why has merlot, in the words of the article, had "such a bum rap?"

Hi Sue,

The article is a bi-weekly review of the wines released by LCBO (the wine and liquor store for the entire province of Ontario) and is not meant to be an article on Merlot per se. It just happens that yesterday's release of wines featured 20 some merlots as its main theme.

As to why North Americans are down on Merlot. My own disdain comes from drinking too many insipid merlots from California or where ever. I do buy them occasionally but only if I taste them first and like them. I also do not particularly like the typical flavor profile of most merlots, so it may be a personal taste thing with me.

I am only a geek in that I am obsessed with certain wines; I know very little about wine in general. But I wouldn't touch a Merlot, the New World varietal, if I had a choice (I'll drink it if there is nothing else available). I can't say that it is bad, but it never did anything positive for me. Why, I could only rationalize; but Merlot is only good to me when it comes from Bordeaux.

Covert

Covert, that's a bit of a sweeping statement when 'New World' is considered to be everywhere else other than Europe. Have you tried any merlot other than from Bordeaux and from the USA?

Not that I can remember, but I love a challenge; so if I come across the opportunity, I will try one. Tried a lot of cab from all over the New World, however, and only a bottle from South Africa came close to being enjoyable to me (and it had some Merlot in it).