The name Merlot is derived from ‘Merle or Merlau’, which in French means ‘The Little Blackbird’. The earliest recorded mention, in 1784, of Merlot was in the Bordeaux region of France, from notes of a local Bordeaux official labeled his wine as one of the area's best. No one is quite sure if the name is reference to the dark skin of the grape, or to the French blackbirds that have a veracious fondness for eating the grapes off the vine. Merlot is the offspring of Cabernet Franc (the father) and Magdeleine Noire des Charentes (the mother). As a classic Bordeaux wine, Merlot is mixed with Cabernet, and is capable of making some the world’s most hedonistic, opulent tasting, and most expensive wine on the planet. Here’s an oversimplification of how it all started: When the grapes first began to be grown in Bordeaux, people on the left bank of the Gironde River, France, felt their land was better suited for growing Cabernet, that then translated into Cabernet becoming the dominant grape in their Bordeaux blends, thus resulted in the creation of ‘left bank’ Bordeaux. The vintners living on the right bank felt their land was better suited for Merlot, so that’s the grape they made dominant when they made Bordeaux, thus creating ‘right bank’ Bordeaux. So, if you are more a fan of Cabernet or Merlot, just ask your wine shop for their left bank, or right bank, correspondingly. Like all reds, Merlot wine has an ideal temperature range. The notion of serving reds at “room temperature” is outdated because people’s modern homes vary drastically in temperatures compared to the past. The average house at 70-75°F is still too warm for red wine. And when Merlot is too warm, the alcohol tastes hot while the flavors are muddled. Too cold, and the aromas and flavors are muted. The ideal temperature range to serve Merlot is 60–65°F, which can be achieved by 15 minutes in the refrigerator. If you don’t finish a bottle of Merlot, replace the cork and stick it back in the fridge. he flavors will stay fresh for a mere 2–4 days. While, beyond that, the wine will start to oxidize, and I guess it’s time to cook with it, or open another.
