The earliest recorded mention of Merlot was in the notes of a local Bordeaux official who in 1784 labeled wine made from the grape in the Libournais region as one of the area's best. The name comes from the Occitan word "merlot", which means "young blackbird" ("merle" is the French word for several kinds of thrushes, including blackbirds); the naming came either because of the grape's beautiful dark-blue color, or due to blackbirds' fondness for grapes. By the 19th century it was being regularly planted in the Médoc on the "Left Bank" of the Gironde It was first recorded in Italy around Venice under the synonym Bordò in 1855. The grape was introduced to the Swiss, from Bordeaux, sometime in the 19th century and was recorded in the Swiss canton of Ticino between 1905 and 1910.

In the 1990s, Merlot saw an upswing of popularity in the United States. Red wine consumption, in general, increased in the US following the airing of the 60 Minutes report on the French Paradox and the potential health benefits of wine and the chemical resveratrol. The popularity of Merlot stemmed in part from the relative ease in pronouncing the wine as well as it softer, fruity profile that it made more approachable to some wine drinkers.”

Zooming in on our vineyards here in Fair Play, our particular clone of Merlot has small blueberry-sized berries and modest yields ranging from1.5 to 3.5 tons per acre dependent totally on availability of water both natural and through drip. The Upper Block is Quadrilateral cordon in a California Sprawl where the Lower Block is bi-lateral cordon vertical trained. The Upper Block is more demanding of water and inputs. The small berries mean a high skin to volume of juice ratio which translates into intense color and flavors and the potential for lots of tannins (but I’ve got that under control with cold-soaking and cool fermentations). Merlot is more like an ugly duckling than a blackbird in its first year and a half of barrel aging. But with time it develops a delicious black cherry, blueberry, blackberry flavor combo.