Wine Grape Wednesday: Merlot

Here's another go at a post on a single varietal of the wine grape, Vitis vinifera.  This time around, we had a blend from Somontano.  Like Bordeaux etc. the name Somontano is a denominacion de origen, but the particular blend can differ between makers.  Ours was 40% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 20% Tempranillo.  

History: Merlot is the third most planted wine grape, and the second most common red, just behind Cabernet Sauvignon.  It is considered to be a descendent of Cabernet Franc and was first mentioned in writing in 1784.  For a grape that is now so popular, it almost met its demise in the early 1970's, when the French forbade new plantings after several vintages rotted in the casks.  The name itself means "young blackbird," probably for the very dark color of the grapes.    

Worldwide Production: 260,000 hectares.

Growing: About two-thirds of the world's Merlot is grown in France, with the rest spread widely.  Other common growing regions are Italy, California (especially Napa and Sonoma) and Washington state.

Harvesting: Most of us have read Grapes of Wrath, and grape harvesting remains fundamentally a work of hard labor.  However, mechanical harvesters have been around since the 1960's, and some countries, like Australia, can't even find enough human labor to do the job, so must use mechanical harvesters.  Even with the softest rubber fingers, these machines don't quite meet the same standards that discerning human pluckers can.

Processing: Close to 100% of Merlot grapes are destined for wine.  Pomerol and Saint-Emilion wines are blends of up to 80% Merlot.  Other Bordeaux region wines all tend to use Merlot but to a much lesser degree, roughly 25%.  California Merlots are commonly encountered as 100% varietals, but more blends are being made.  Merlot is characteristically soft and easy to drink, much to the disdain of the Miles' of the world. 

Health Information: One serving of Merlot (5 ounces) has 122 calories and not too much else (in terms of macronutrients), except for 10% of the RDA for manganese.  A discussion of the health benefits of wine is really a discussion of resveratrol, which I promise to write about sometime soon.

Sustainability: A bottle of Merlot from Bordeaux has the lowest carbon footprint of any except for a local wine, if you're living in the Northeast.  Just take a look at the picture.

Get Some: Extremely easy to find, as most wine stores will have a dedicated Merlot section.

Relevant Website: Dr. Vino: Much more of an authority than I, he spends a lot of time writing about the politics and environmental impact of wine.

References:
1. Wikipedia
2. Merlot nutrition facts
3. Image of Somontano from Flickr Creative Commons