Meritage Wines

I have been asked regulars to give them the low down on Meritage wines. What does it mean in the wine world, how is it pronounced, is it an important wine style to know, and should I be drinking them.

Well yes, you should be drinking them. Some of my favorite wines in the world are Meritage wines and if you give them a try they will most likely creep onto your favorites list also.

First off, Meritage is pronounced as if it rhymed with Heritage. It is actually a name derived from combining the words Merit and Heritage. It is NOT pronounced as if it were a French word, Mer-it-ahhhhjje. Meritage wines are fashioning themselves after the classic blended wines of Bordeaux, France. The famous Bordeaux region uses five grapes to produce their great red wines. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petite Verdot. The white wines of this region are blends of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Muscadelle. The red wines dominate the scene in Bordeaux, getting recognition as some of the finest wines produced in the world and collected by countless wine enthusiasts whose cellars would never be complete with out these precious French masterpieces.


The wine makers of the Bordeaux region let the harvested fruit dictate the final blended product. A wine maker may blend the wines without restriction on varietal percentage, therefore giving that wine maker freedom to blend in 90% Cabernet Sauvignon if they desire, or 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Merlot, if that is the best blend for that particular vintage. Freedom in blending is a beautiful thing, and that is what many American wine makers wanted to do, and offer something different than just varietal wines (by law wines labeled with a varietal name, ex. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, etc., must contain a minimum of 75% of that varietal).

American wine makers that wanted to blend a great wine and get it on the market would have to label that wine “Table Wine”. It didn’t sound elegant and this was a term used on many cheap bulk wines. The American wine makers needed blending freedom and this is how Meritage came to be. There were all ready Bordeaux style blended reds on the market but they were using specific proprietary names that often were confusing to the general wine buying public. When wine drinkers saw bottles of Insignia or Opus One or Cain Five on the shelves they saw large price tags for one, and then were not sure of what was in the bottle if they had not drank them before or put some research into it.

This was the problem many vintners wanted to eliminate; Confusion in the market place. Americans were not savvy wine shoppers and needed guidance. So in 1988 a group of vintners held a contest to name this category of wine. Out of 6,000 entries, Meritage was chosen. The winner was supposed to win a lifetime supply of wine from all the vintners associated with the new Meritage Association, but rumor has it the supply has dwindled every year. If I were that guy, I would be pissed that my free wine supply wasn’t coming in as promised.

There are now 62 winery members of the Meritage Association and these are some of the RULES they must follow when producing their wines that will eventually be labeled and designated a Meritage wine.

1. Pay your membership dues.
2. The wine must be a blend of two or more Bordeaux grape varieties.
3. Red wine grapes permitted: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petite Verdot. Recently added: Carmenere, Gros Verdot, and St. Macaire.
4. White wine grapes permitted: Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and Muscadelle.
5. No more than 90% of any single variety may go into a Meritage wine.
6. The wine must be the winery’s best wine of its type.
7. The wine must be produced and bottled by a U.S. winery from grapes that carry a U.S. appellation.
8. Production is limited to a maximum of 25,000 cases per vintage.
9. Send one full case of wine to staff at DamnGoodWine.com each year.

O.k., I am petitioning the Association to accept number nine, but it seems to be quite an uphill battle. All in all what you are getting with these Meritage wines is quality. They are the pride and joy of the winemakers and reflect numerous hours of tasting and blending to arrive at the final bottled product. Below is a list of ten stellar red Meritage wines that you might want to hunt down, and also a list of six red blended wines that use Bordeaux varietals but do not belong to the Meritage Association.

Beware, trying all of these wines may require you to take out a second mortgage on your home.

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