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Howard W. Hewitt

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Howard W. Hewitt

Tag Archives: Merlot

Let’s Talk Merlot, People!

28 Tuesday Oct 2014

Posted by Howard in Newspaper Column 2014

≈ 1 Comment

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Duckhorn Vineyards, Merlot, PJ Alviso, Rutherford Hill, Sideways

It’s time to move beyond the so-called “Sideways Effect” and try Merlot again.

It’s been documented over and over how the 2004 movie “Sideways” wrecked Merlot sales and sent Pinot Noir sales skyrocketing. The truth of the matter is a little less dramatic. Those descriptions were always overstated, but certainly true.

Actor Paul Giamatti as "Miles," Sideways

Actor Paul Giamatti as “Miles,” Sideways

Up until that fun little movie when Miles uttered, “I’m not drinking any ******* Merlot” the grape was one of the nation’s favorites. It was the biggest selling wine in America in 2000. Nielsen statistics showed Merlot consistently holding around 14 percent of overall U.S. wine sales. Merlot even out sold Cabernet in 2001. Pinot Noir was really just a blip on the map.

Grape Sense LogoAfter the movie Merlot sales dipped, not as dramatically as you may have heard described but dropped nonetheless. According to 2013 statistics Chardonnay remains the grape of choice at 13 percent, Cabernet at 12 percent, then comes revenge of Merlot at 9 percent. Pinot Noir has certainly picked up market share now at 7.5 percent of U.S. Sales. Pinot Grigio and Muscato are surprisingly also in the top five in sales.

But we’re talking Merlot here people. There was a drop, after Sideways was released Merlot sales dropped two percent.

Alviso, spoke at the 2014 Wine Bloggers Conference.

Alviso, spoke at the 2014 Wine Bloggers Conference.

“After Sideways the market got focused,” said Merlot maven P.J. Alviso, Director of Estate Viticulture for Duckhorn vineyards in Napa. “We had to develop a tolerance for no bad wine and there was a lot of it out there. The market was flooded with bad Merlot.”

It might surprise the Pinot-sniffing, Merlot-bashing wine snobs or wine snob wannabes that Merlot is the most widely planted grape in the world at 720,000 acres!

As some might expect, France plants the most Merlot at nearly a quarter a million acres. The wonderful wine blends of Saint Emilion are dominated by Merlot. More surprising, perhaps, is that Italy is the number-two Merlot producer at 93,000 acres compared to the 55,000 acres in the U.S.

Merlot is believed to date back to 1748 in Bordeaux France. The word comes from the French word “merle,’ which means “blackbird.” The grape is genetically linked to Cabernet France and a sibling to Cabernet and Carmenere.

What do you get in a Merlot? The better question is what should you get from good Merlot? The textbook characteristics are black cherry, plum, olive, cedar, blackberry, currant, dark chocolate, cocoa, peppers, and an earthiness.

Merlot of the late 1990s and early part of this century were often flabby, thin wines or terribly out of balance. Many were musty to the taste and unfocused. That’s just not the case any longer.

Growers like Alviso believe Napa has some of the world’s best terroir for growing the grape. “Merlot is relatively easy to grow and that’s why so much is planted,” he said, “but it’s not easy to make great wine.”

You can find Merlot from many different states and parts of the world. Washington winemakers are making great Merlot wine and Merlot blends. If you want to try stunning Merlot at a stunning price for some folks, pick up a Napa Rutherford Hill or Duckhorn Vineyard Merlot. If you want something light with classic Merlot flavors, see if you can find a Northern Michigan cool-climate Merlot.

It’s time to drink some ******* Merlot!

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A Classic Italian Label Delivers

26 Tuesday Mar 2013

Posted by Howard in Italy

≈ 1 Comment

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Cabernet, Cabernet Franc, Frescobaldi, Merlot, Sangiovese, Savino, Tenuta Frescobaldi Di Castiglioni, Tuscan

Frescobaldi is a name that belongs along side the Antinori label as one of the great wines from Tuscany.

frescobaldiThe Tenuta Frescobaldi Di Castiglioni 2010 Toscana is a really nice bold wine perfect for steaks, roasts, and hearty pasta. The Tuscan blend is 50 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 30 percent Merlot, 12 percent Cabernet Franc, and 8 percent Sangiovese.

The Frescobaldi delivers the typically big and bold taste of a Tuscan. It’s an inky dark red wine with notes of currant, plum and dark fruit. I get chocolate and spices on the mid palate that I really like.

The wine was pretty tannic initially but but opened nicely with a little time in the decanter.

I was taken by the wine’s balance  once it had some time to air. I loved the acidic finish as the tannics softened a bit. This affordable Tuscan is a classic example of really good Italian wine.

This wine is the flagship bottle for Frescobaldi. The grapes were hand picked and went through malolactic fermentation before 12 months in barrels and 2 months in bottles before release. It also comes in at a very reasonable 13.5 percent alcohol.

The wine has pretty consistent scores of 89-91 from top publications through recent vintages.

Tenuta Frescobaldi Di Castiglioni 2010 Toscana, SRP $25, found on the internet down to $18, Trade Sample, Highly Recommended.

savinoTesting Out New Wine Device

I’ve been talking with the developers of a new device for saving that extra wine left over when you don’t finish a bottle for a few months. The “Savino” arrived last week.

I have done a phone interview with the company founder and will share that in a future newspaper column.

Tonight’s big Tuscan wine seemed like the perfect first test for this wine saver. We’ll see!

Consider this a tease. I want to run several bottles through the Savino before coming to any judgment. There are lots of stoppers out there but I’ve not seen anything like this. And let’s face it, most of those plugs, corks, and other devices do a minimally crappy job of preserving the wine.

I did include a photo here to intrigue the curious. The product is not yet on the market but will be next week.

Stay tuned for further details!

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Merlot and Pinot Noir Knock It Out of the Park!

04 Sunday Nov 2012

Posted by Howard in Italy, Washington State

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Merlot, Peter Zemmer Alto Ridge Pinot Noir, Tamarack, Washington State

The two wines I’m catching up on tonight were big surprises for me for different reasons. One was a wine I generally find “blah” (that’s a technical term) and the other was a big surprise from an unlikely location.

Tamarack Cellars 2008 Merlot – I don’t dislike Merlot nearly as much as I often find it uneven, uninteresting, and over ripe.

I was picking wines for a big dinner at work and tasted the Tamarack and was blown away by the dark fruit, chocolate, and spice of the Washington state wine. It’s 90 percent Merlot with a splash of Cabernet and Cab Franc sourced from the Columbia Valley.

This Merlot had structure and secondary flavors of cocoa powder, maybe a slight hint of cinammon or one of those pumpkin pie spices. It was just wonderful with the steak we had at the dinner.

Wine Enthusiast liked this wine too, awarding it 92 points. Robert Parker at Wine Advocate gave the juice an 88, a bit down from Enthuisast obviously but still a good score.

I’d recommend this wine to anyone wanting a nice wine with a beef dish. It has a richness and structure that an awful lot of Merlot lacks.

This was simply one of the best U.S. Merlots I’ve tasted in a long, long time. I did buy this wine in Indiana.

Tamarack Cellars 2008 Merlot, $19-$26, Highly Recommended.

Peter Zemmer Alto Ridge Pinot Noir – Pinot from Italy! Seriously! Sure, I know the Italians grow some Pinot Noir and I’ve tasted just a few but this one was darn nice wine.

This area is up near Austria in Italy and clearly takes advantage of the higher altitude to produce very enjoyable Pinot. It was fairly light on the palate but had true Pinot characteristics for my palate. It has soft cherry and some floral hints on the nose and taste. It also had that silky quality I love in Pinot Noir!

Peter Zemmer Alto Ridge Pinot Noir, Around $20, Recommended.

Send comment or questions to: hewitthoward@gmail.com

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