If this annual exploration of Merlot’s food friendliness has taught me nothing else, it’s don’t underestimate Merlot at the table…its unpretentious, approachable fruit flavors, moderate tannin, sensual texture, balanced acidity, diversity of styles and  value make it more versatile at the table than Cabernet Sauvignon.

October is International Merlot Month! Merlot Month unites passionate wine lovers in a worldwide movement to celebrate the world’s second-most planted grape Follow the #MerlotMe hashtag in October to find out about events, and online tastings in wine stores, restaurants and homes across the world!

This year makes the 5th anniversary of  our Wine Pairing Weekend group ‘s collaboration with  MerlotMe wineries! We’ll be posting and sharing our love for Merlot throughout the month of October.

Disclosure: I received eight bottles of wine as media samples. I received no compensation for this post, and all opinions presented are my own.

The Wines

I received eight bottles of wine;  two each from Donati Family Vineyards, Duckhorn Wines and L’Ecole No.41, along with media samples from McIntyre Vineyards, and Seavey Vineyard.

Donati Family Vineyard

As a young boy, Ron Donati grew up in South San Francisco, the son of a first generation Italian-American family. His grandfather Albino Donati made his own wine for the family dinner table.   Inspired by his family heritage, the Donati Family Vineyard (“DFV”), established in 1998.  All of the fruit is sourced from our sustainably farmed estate vineyards. It is the only brand located in the new to me,  Paicines AVA. There are approximately five other vineyards located in the appellation, growing primarily Bordeaux varieties.

The 2016 DFV Merlot is an inviting wine. It pours an opaque dark ruby color with dark fruit, dried herb, vanilla and subtle oak aromas. On the palate, its medium-bodied with lively acidity, and well integrated velvety tannins and plum, blueberry, and hint of black cherry, savory spice, vanilla and a hint of espresso flavors. It’s blend of 99% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon aged 29 months in 5% new American oak and 13% new hybrid oak. 14.3% abv|SRP – $22

The 2015 DFV The Immigrant pays homage to the Donati family’s Italian-American heritage . The wine is dark ruby color with a ale orange rim and cassis, cherry, tobacco, violet, tobacco, and white pepper aromas. On the palate it’s medium-bodied with well integrated tannins with cassis, blackberry, mocha and graphite flavors with a medium plus finish. Aged 30 months in 11% new French oak, 66% new American oak, and 6% new Russian oak|15.4% abv|SRP-$35

Duckhorn Wines

Duckhorn wines is synonymous with premium Merlot. While everyone else headed down the Cabernet Sauvignon road, Dan and Margaret Duckhorn decided to take the road less traveled and focus on Merlot. Their love of Merlot as a standalone variety was inspired by prominent Pomerols they tasted in Bordeaux in the early 70s. In 1976 the couple founded Duckhorn Vineyards.

In addition to the Three Palms bottling, Duckhorn crafts several examples of Merlot in most vintages, ranging from a Napa Valley blend to various single vineyard offerings from around the valley. Drawing upon their experience with Napa Valley Merlot, they also produce the Sonoma County Merlot under their Decoy brand.

The 2017 Decoy Sonoma County Merlot pours medium ruby with blueberry, ripe red cherry, raspberry and cacao aromas. On the palate it’s medium-bodied with lively acidity and fine-grained supple tannins with generous ripe red cherry, raspberry confit, and red currant flavors with hints of blueberry and cacao. It’s a blend of 96% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon; Cooperage: 100% French oak. 14.1% abv|SRP – $25

The 2016 Duckhorn Napa Valley Merlot pours a garnet color with blackberry, plum, cassis, violets, black tea, and suede. On the palate it’s full bodied, with mouth-watering acidity and well-integrated silky tannins, with blackberry, plum, boysenberry, cassis, black tea, cacao, roast coffee and vanilla flavors and a long finish. It’s approachable now (I recommend decanting), but will reward cellaring. It’s a blend of 77% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Sauvignon, 0.5% Malbec, and 0.5% Petit Verdot aged 15 months in French oak (40% new/60% neutral) 14.5% abv|SRP – $56 

L’Ecole  No. 41

L’Ecole N° 41 is a third generation family-owned, artisan winery located in the historic Frenchtown School depicted on their label.  Founded in 1983, they were the third winery established in the Walla Walla Valley.  Their focus is one producing ultra-premium, distinctive wines that reflect the unmistakable typicity of Washington State and the unique terroir of our Walla Walla Valley vineyards.  They grow and make 100% of their wine.  Recognized as one of the most honored wineries in Washington State, L’Ecole No. 41 has garnered national and international accolades over the years for producing superior quality wines.  For examle they have been recognized by Wine & Spirits Magazine as a Top 100 Winery of the Year fifteen times.

The 2016 L’Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Merlot pours a dark ruby color with black cherry, plum, dried rose, dried leaves and warm spice aromas. On the palate it’s full bodied and dense, but nicely balanced with vibrant acidity and well-integrated dusty tannins with black cherry, plum, and a hint of pomegranate accented with cacao, and a beautiful combination of baking and savory spice flavors with a long finish. It definitely drinks above its price point for me!  It’s a blend of 78% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petite Verdot, and 3% Malbec|14.5% abv|SRP – $25

The 2016 L’Ecole No. 41 Estate Merlot Walla Walla pours a garnet color with black and red fruit, tobacco leaf, clove, sandalwood, dried herb, damp earth, and black pepper aromas. On the palate it’s is full-bodied, dense and structured with medium-acidity and firm but well integrated tannins and black and red cherry, cassis, plum, graphite, and savory dried herbs. It shows a very appealing combination of fruit and savory notes with a very satisfying finish. It was delightful paired with our Roasted Mushroom Pasta dinner. Blend of 76% Merlot/18% Cab Franc/6% Cabernet Sauvignon 14.5% abv|SRP – $37

McIntyre Vineyards

Proprietor Steve McIntyre is one of the most knowledgeable viticulturists in California.  As owner/operator of Monterey Pacific, he and his team farm 12,000 acres in Monterey County and have planted or farmed nearly one quarter of the vineyards in the renowned Santa Lucia Highlands AVA. 

The McIntyre Estate Vineyard lies in the “sweet spot” of Monterey County’s Santa Lucia Highlands AVA, a 12-mile stretch of benchland renowned for production wines of character and complexity. Originally planted in 1973, the 80-acre site (60 acres planted) boasts some of the Highlands’ oldest Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines. The winery’s other estate property is the 81-acre Kimberly Vineyard in Arroyo Seco.  The Arroyo Seco AVA produces deep, powerful, well-structured Merlot. The McIntyre Estate Vineyard was among the first properties in the Santa Lucia Highlands to be SIP (Sustainability in Practice) Certified. 

Fruit for the 2015 McIntyre Vineyards Merlot Kimberly Vineyard was sourced from 20 year old vines.  It pours a nearly opaque garnet with dark and red fruit, violets, tobacco, licorice, and a hint of cola aromas. On the palate it’s full bodied and elegant with vibrant acidity and velvety well integrated tannins. It shows ripe blackberry, black cherry, black currant, a hint of boysenberry vanilla, graphite, licorice and savory spice flavors with a hint of cacao and a very satisfying finish. 14% abv|SRP-$25. Wonderful QPR with this alluring wine.

Seavey Vineyard

Seavey Vineyard is located along Conn Valley Road in the eastern hills of Napa Valley. Officially located within the boundaries of the St. Helena AVA, Conn Valley is about 15 minutes from the Valley floor. It is best thought of as a separate enclave, almost a world of unto itself with regards to soils, microclimates and the style of the wines. In 1979 William & Mary Seavey purchased a historic property (records show that highly regarded were planted on some of the hillsides as early as the 1870’s), that at the time of their purchase this was a horse and cattle ranch; they soon planted the slopes with grapes and initially sold their fruit. Today the property is about 200 acres of which 40 acres, separated into 20+ individual blocks are planted to vine.Their sustainably grown, dry farmed vineyards are planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot and Petit Verdot. They pride themselves on an extensive wine library which enables them to pour visitors beautifully aged Napa Cab that’s in its third decade and still going strong.

The 2016 Seavey  Estate Merlot is their 23rd vintage of single-vineyard estate Merlot that comes from grapes grown on steep hillsides they’ve been farming for 40 years. It pours a translucent crimson color with lifted dark fruit, tobacco, lavender, sandalwood and dried savory herbs aromas. On the palate it’s medium-full bodied, and harmonious with vibrant acidity, and velvety tannins and cassis, boysenberry, black cherry, espresso, vanilla, and cacao flavors. This distinctive wine offers very appealing savory notes and a kiss of minerality. Long finish. Certainly approachable now, especially if you decant, but will reward cellaring. Would love to taste it in 10 years. Blend of 95% Merlot + 5% Cabernet Sauvignon raised in French oak (33% new) for 20 months. 14.5% abv|SRP – $65

The Pairings

I’m enjoying eating more meatless meals these days, primarily for health reasons.  I thought it would be fun to explore pairing Merlot with some meatless meal options.

I paired four the sample wines received with meals including Vegan Jambalaya With Beans, andPortobello “Philly Cheese Steak” Sandwich with Gruyere Cheese and finished with White Truffle Oil, Burst Cherry Tomato Sauce with Porcini Linguine, and Roasted Mushroom Medley with Tomato Cracked Pepper Pappardelle.

Hover over photos for descriptions of each food and wine pairing

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All the pairings were at least “good”.  By that I mean the food and the wine found peaceful co-existence.  There were two pairings that were very good (the food and wine elevated one another).

The L’Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley and Vegan Jambalaya was very good because the weight of the wine complemented the weight and texture of the dish (which between the brown and red rice and the beans upped the “meatiness” of the dish for me). The wine also has some earthy notes which complemented the dish.

Likewise Duckhorn Napa Valley Merlot and the Portobello Mushroom “Philly Cheese Steak” Sandwich was very good. There were a couple of things I did that I think elevated this pairing from good to very good.  The first is that I used Gruyere cheese rather than Provolone because I had Gruyere on hand, but I also think Gruyere works better with Merlot than Provolone.  The second thing I did was drizzling a bit of white truffle olive oil on the sandwich. Yum!

One of the  keys to successful food and wine pairing  is to match the wine’s weight and flavor intensity with the weight and flavor intensity of the dish, whether or not the dish includes meat.

If this annual exploration of Merlot’s food friendliness has taught me nothing else, it’s don’t underestimate Merlot at the table and simply pair it with foods you’d pair with Cabernet Sauvignon, its unpretentious, approachable fruit flavors, moderate tannin, sensual texture, balanced acidity, diversity of styles and  value make it more versatile at the table than Cabernet Sauvignon.

Thank you Seavey Vineyard, Duckhorn Vineyards, L’Ecole No.41, Donati Family Vineyard, and McIntyre Vineyards for the wonderful Merlot!

Check out my fellow Wine Pairing Weekend bloggers are dishing up with their Merlot.  You’re bound to find a pairing or three you’ll want to try!

• Jane at Always Ravenous posts Food Pairings with Merlot.
• Jennifer at Vino Travels Italy shares Merlot Pairings for #MerlotMe Month.
• Jill at l’Occasion offers Foolproof Pairing for #MerlotMe Month.
• Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla says This Food-Friendly Varietal Takes You From Savories to Sweets, Snacks to Cakes.
• Deanna at Asian Test Kitchen has 6 California Merlots Paired with Mexican Food Favorites.
• Lori at Dracaena Wines makes Onion Pastry on My Plate Makes #MerlotMe So Great.
• Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm is on A Month Long Merlot Extravaganza.
• Kat at The Corkscrew Concierge tells us Merlot is the Perfect Dining Companion.
• David at Cooking Chat matches Vegetarian Stuffed Acorn Squash with a Napa Merlot.
• Pierre and Cynthia at Traveling Wine Profs pair A Very Well-Traveled Merlot with Vietnamese Bò Kho.
• Linda at My Full Wine Glass shares It’s #MerlotMe month. Where’s the Umami?
• Rupal at Syrah Queen is Celebrating Merlot with L’Ecole No 41.
• Sarah at Curious Cuisiniere gives us Hachis Parmentier and Merlot Pairing.
• Nicole from Somm’s Table is Exploring California in 5 Merlots.
• Cindy at Grape Experiences says Game Day? #MerlotMe with Ham and Cheese Sliders.
• Gwen at Wine Predator compares California vs. France #MerlotMe with Squash, Chard, and Bow Tie Pasta.
• Susannah at Avvinare matches Brazilian Merlot with Mushroom Risotto.
• Jeff at Food Wine Click! writes Young Professionals Explore Merlot.

Please join our Twitter chat on Saturday morning, October 12th at 11:00am EDT, 8:00am PDT. You’ll find us at the double hashtags of #MerlotMe and #WinePW.