WHY MERLOT?

Firstly, Alhona Vineyards grows Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and a small portion of Zinfandel. But, why Merlot as our first vintage? That’s easy – it’s one of the finest grapes in the world. Pomerol is the smallest of the great appellations in Bordeaux and red wines are the dominant wines of this area. Merlot is the dominant grape in Pomerol and is also the dominant grape in St. Emillion. Wines produced from this wonderful grape are soft, full of fruit and with great flavor and color. You may have heard of some of the famous wineries of this region – Château Petrus, Chateau Petit-Certan, Le Pin, Chateau LaFleur. These are just a few of the wine houses that use the Merlot grape in their world-class wines.

Typically, the Merlot grape is thin skinned, plump and of medium to small sized bunches. The Merlot grapes grown at Alhona Vineyards are small bunches of petite sized individual grapes. When we crush the bunches at least 1/2 of the grapes fall through the rollers and escape the crush, thus, we ferment whole grape clusters as well. The juice is colorless to slightly pale pink, almost unnoticeable. When fermented in our stainless steel open top fermenters, the juice takes on the color of the skin, which is deep blue to almost black. Therefore, when finished, the wine is deeply colored.

I chose Merlot because I love the grape and the wine it produces. At this point, however, I must add, I have a great appreciation and affinity for all red wines. This year we will be producing our first vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon. My early estimate is that we will produce perhaps 3 barrels of wine, or 75 cases. But, If you are a first time wine consumer, I suggest to begin with a Merlot – it’s soft, luscious, a great mouth taste, and with easy tannins.

Unitil next time . . . . . Rick Alhona

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