Merlot is well known as an approachable and incredibly food-friendly wine that can be paired with all kinds of things. This reputation makes it fairly popular as a table wine, and as an accompaniment to various snacks and meals.
Vine Vera also happens to have a collection inspired by and themed around Merlot. Well-balanced and excellent for multiple skin types, including combination skin, the luxurious Merlot collection, like all Vine Vera products, is sure to keep your skin looking and feeling great.
So, in honor of the tasty, versatile wine that is Merlot, we decided to put together a little list of fun and interesting facts about Merlot you probably didn’t know.
Merlot Means “Young Blackbird” in French
There are a couple theories as to why this name was chosen. For one thing, it could simply be a reference to the grape’s color: deep, blackish-blue reminiscent of a blackbird’s plumage. The other theory is that the grape was named after blackbirds because of how much blackbirds enjoy eating grapes.
The Flavor Depends on Climate
Specifically, Merlot has a fluctuating flavor profile that’s dependent on the temperature in which it’s grown. If grown in the searing heat, Merlot tastes of cheesecake and chocolate. Colder-climate Merlot, on the other hand, tends to have prevailing notes of berries and plum, and sometimes even tobacco.
Food Friendly
What makes Merlot pair so well with so many foods? It’s high in sugar and not very acidic; this allows it to be incredibly versatile, and the range of flavor profiles available, depending on climate and aging process, mean that there’s probably a Merlot for just about every meal.
The Secret to Merlot’s Popularity
The main reason Merlot is so ridiculously popular is that the wine has a distinct ability to please a variety of palates, especially if you’re willing to hunt around for a particular Merlot that you especially like. Some Merlots are simple, fruity and on the sweet side, while others will be more robust and oaked.
Origins
The Merlot varietal has been around and used in winemaking for quite some time. The earliest recorded mention of Merlot, in fact, was from 1784, in the Bordeaux region of France.
Widespread and Ridiculously Popular
Did you know that the Merlot grape is the most commonly planted wine grape in the entire world? It’s also the most commonly planted grape in Bordeaux, the French region it originated from. It’s used commonly in Italy, United States, Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Long Island, Chile, Argentina, Romania, Turkey, Switzerland, South Africa, Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia, and Montenegro.
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