Who It's For: Merlot skeptics, Bordeaux fans, comparative tasting enthusiasts, and anyone who has ever been talked out of a wine they secretly liked.
Merlot is one of the most planted and most misjudged grapes in the world. A single 2004 film convinced an entire generation to skip it, and the aftershocks are still shaping wine lists two decades later. That is unfortunate, because Merlot is capable of producing some of the most rewarding wines on the planet.
International Merlot Day is a good reason to set the record straight. We taste a comparative flight from around the wine world. The great Right Bank Bordeaux estates where Merlot has always been royalty. California and Washington producers still fighting the good fight. Chile, Italy, and other corners of the map making expressions worth reconsidering. Along the way we cover why Merlot went from the most trusted red on every list to a punchline, and why it is quietly climbing back.