mad. It’s going to take a lot of sucking up to make it up to her. Your
going to have to put your “A” game together in order for her to forgive
you now. Let’s see…..hmm….a dozen long stem roses is a good idea. Oh,
wait, she will accuse you of being unoriginal and a putz. How about a box
of chocolates? Women love chocolate! Well, that’s a good start, but it’s
going to take more than that, my friend! Speaking of friends, diamonds
are a girl’s best friend, however, those are expensive and you have that
big car payment to make. Wait a minute…..I’ve got it! There’s
something that no sophisticated woman on earth can resist. Call it
Kryptonite to a woman’s heart. Surprise her with a great bottle of Merlot
and watch her frown melt away! Nothing says, “I’m sorry” like a
seductive bottle of Merlot. You better throw in a box of Godiva
Chocolates while you’re at it! After all, you really did screw it up this time.
Interestingly enough, until the 1980’s, Merlot was thought of as a second-
class citizen. A grape planted and grown for the purposes of blending with
Cabernet Sauvignon and other grapes. Even though it has always been
the mainstay in such powerhouse Bordeaux wines from the Right Bank of
the Gironde/Dordgne river, like the famous Chateau Petrus, it has always
been the more famous Cabernet Sauvignon biased Left Bank Bordeaux’s
that receive all the high profile attention. Other wine growing regions
outside of France to a large extent ignored the potential of Merlot as a
stand-alone wine varietal.
Well that all changed in the 80’s when a winemaker named Dan Duckhorn
of ‘Duckhorn Vineyards’ decided to ignore the skeptics and plant one of
the first Merlot vineyards for the purpose of making Merlot wines in the
state of California. The result was a huge booming fad that became all the
rage all over the country. Merlot was envogue! If you weren’t drinking
Merlot you were not in the “IN” crowd. Other countries started following
suit and began planting Merlot vines in vast acres. Now countries outside
the U.S. and France boast some wonderful Merlot wines like Italy, Chile,
Argentina and Australia. Merlot is now a giant in the wine industry.
If Cabernet Sauvignon is the King of red wines then I suppose it would be
fair to say that Merlot is the Queen. A Queen that seduces others with its
charm and beauty as well as it’s soft, supple body and flavors. Flavors
like plums, cherry, black cherry, black currant, mint, toffee and chocolate.
Although Merlot based Bordeaux wines are some of the most famous and
greatest examples of Merlot in the world, they are a blend of around 70 to
80 percent Merlot and the rest is made up of a combination of Cabernet
Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, etc… With that being said, I
believe, in my humble opinion, that California is making some of the
greatest Merlot wines in the world, and although it is not as fashionable as
it once was, loosing ground to up and coming wine styles like Syrah/Shiraz
and Red Zinfandel, it is still a big seller and most importantly fellows, it is
always a big hit with the ladies.
Because the Merlot grape has a thin skin, it has much less tannins than it’
s King counterpart, Cabernet Sauvignon, and therefore, much more
approachable in it’s youth and ready to drink when it is young. That is not
to say that it can’t age and mature with the best of them, but it does
appear to be a mellow wine with a soft elegant grace about it.
It goes extremely well with a lot of foods and is wonderful on it’s own
without food. However, you must try it with some dark chocolate. You will
not believe how well they pair together. A match made in Heaven or
perhaps the start of the perfect, romantic evening.
Gentlemen, tempt her with a nice Merlot. Trust me, all will be forgiven!
Her anger will quickly subside and a warm smile will pour all over her
face. After all, when it comes to Merlot, chicks just dig it!
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Varietal/Wine
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