The next tasting of the Grapevine Wine Tasting Group will be May 15, 2024, at 7 pm at the Berkeley City Club. The wine to be tasted will be Merlot. Ever since the movie “Sideways” Merlot has had a bad rap. If you aren’t familiar with the film, one of the leading characters has a rant about how overrated Merlot is (It isn’t true). A lot of Merlot’s relative lack of commercial acceptance is credited to this film. I guess seeing something in a film is the next best thing to reading it somewhere on the internet!

There are plenty of red wines throughout the world that blend Merlot with other grapes, particularly Cabernet Sauvignon. There are also wine-growing areas that grow predominantly Merlot. St. Emilion and Pomerol in Bordeaux are two. Many California “Bordeaux style” wines have substantial amounts of Merlot, although usually, it isn’t the dominant grape in those blends. There are bottlings of 100% Merlot in California too.

Merlot that is included in a blend often means the presence of Merlot isn’t prominently displayed on the bottle. That, of course, makes it harder to discriminate by name only. This may mean you have to search a little more diligently to find Merlot. For this tasting any wine that is more than 50% Merlot counts. If you don’t want to spend a lot of time reading wine bottle labels in the grocery aisle buy any St. Emilion or Pomerol red Bordeaux (they don’t have to be expensive). Part of the fun of discovery though, is experimenting with wines that you may not have realized were predominantly Merlot. Give it a try and start sampling in preparation for our tasting.

As a reminder, the tastings follow a familiar format. Each person (not each couple) will bring a bottle of the featured wine to the tastings. Wine glasses, tableware, bread, cheese, and wine-tasting sheets will be provided by the Club in exchange for a fee of $20 for members and $25 for non-members. Attendees will be seated at tables of five to six people. You are welcome to specify if you wish to sit with friends. Often those requests can be accommodated.