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Health & Fitness

Much Maligned Merlot

Did you know sales of Merlot plummeted after one single movie? If you're thinking of "Sideways," you're right. But you shouldn't be so quick to toss Merlot aside for another red.

Ah the power of media and movies!

Few wine grapes are more misconceived and misunderstood than Merlot.  Personally, I love a good Merlot, and so did much of the wine drinking U.S. public until about 2004 when a film called “Sideways” was released. 

For those who haven’t seen it, it basically about two losers who head to California wine country to get away, tour some wineries and have a little fun.  What the movie does do very well, is describe the beauty, elegance and overall awesomeness of Pinot Noir (probably the best red grape going) but at the expense of the villain, Merlot.  The most famous line from the film must be from the protagonist Miles,  “I am not drinking and F'ing Merlot!”  Merlot sales in the U.S. plummeted and were promptly replaced by a batch of new, cheaper, low quality Pinot Noir brands looking to capitalize on the sudden popularity of this latest discovery for the U.S. consumer.

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The negative connotation of Merlot still exists even though some of the best wines in the world, like Chateau Petrus are nearly 100% Merlot. Few things drive me more nuts that when I am at a consumer tasting and someone says “Oh, I don’t care for Merlot” or Riesling or anything for that matter.  '

You are at a wine tasting, the whole idea is the try something new and expand your horizons.  Not to mention that just because you may have had a bad Merlot in the past, does not mean anything about the quality of the one I have at my station.  So wake up and try some damn wine!

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Recently, I was at Charley’s Steakhouse in Tampa for a wait-staff training with one of my wines, Palarea Merlot (which they have on the list for an amazing price by the way.)  Before we even tasted the wine, some of the waiters commented that they had a difficult time selling Merlot and that “Charley’s was a steakhouse and Cabernet was king!” 

“No problem” I said, “just try this wine and tell me if you don’t think it will match well with steak, and that you can sell it for this tremendous price.”  Suddenly their tune changed and within a few days, the wine was flying out the door.   So even wine pros sometimes forget to check their misconceptions at the door.

I am especially proud of the Palarea Merlot.  For starters, only 2000 cases were made and the quality is tremendous.  I would put that wine up with any Merlot from California at 3 times the price and still be confident that Palarea is better.

Oh and by the way, at the end of the film “Sideways”, when Miles is alone and decides to crack open the treasured bottle he has been saving for years, that was a 1961 Chateau Cheval-Blanc, a wine made from Merlot and Cabernet-Franc!

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