Vancouver Sun - Merlot makes a sexy comeback

By: Anthony Gismondi, Vancouver Sun August 19, 2011

It was not all that long ago, 2004 to be exact, when merlot had become the whipping boy of the wine industry. Overproduced and underflavoured, it was infamously damned in the movie Sideways during a pre-dinner scene when would-be novelist and pinot noir snob, Miles, informs his pal Jack, “If anyone orders merlot, I’m leaving. I am NOT drinking any f— ing merlot.”

In the months that followed, merlot’s image took a battering, as did sales. Fortunately for merlot producers, what goes around comes around, and just when it seemed the grape was doomed, its modern-day competitor, shiraz, began losing its lustre... / Read More