Merlot Wine: Taste, Regions and Food Pairing

Merlot is a dry, medium- to full-bodied red wine with soft tannins and flavors of cherry, plum and chocolate. It is the most planted red grape in Bordeaux and one of the most planted grapes in the world, made everywhere from Washington State to Chile. If you find Cabernet Sauvignon too firm, Merlot is the smoother, rounder option, and it goes with a wide range of everyday food.

What it tastes like

Bordeaux’s wine council describes Merlot as deeply colored, often with violet-blue tints, with aromas of cherry, plum, fig and violet that turn toward chocolate or coffee with age. On the palate it is “supple, rounded” and velvety.

Wine Folly calls Merlot a chameleon, because climate changes it so much:

• Cooler regions give fresh red plum and cherry.
• Warmer regions give riper, baked blackberry and fruitcake flavors.
• Oak aging adds vanilla and spice.
• Age brings earthy, meaty and chocolatey notes.

Trait	Typical Merlot (Wine Folly)
Sweetness	Bone dry
Body	Medium-full
Tannin	Medium-high, but softer than Cabernet
Acidity	Medium
Alcohol	13.5–15%
Main flavors	Cherry, plum, chocolate, bay leaf, vanilla

Tannin is the drying, grippy feeling a red wine leaves on your gums. Acidity is the fresh, mouth-watering tang. Bordeaux’s wine council notes that Merlot ripens early and tends to give wines with generous alcohol and moderate acidity.

Is Merlot sweet or dry?

Merlot is dry. Wine Folly lists it as bone dry. In our view, the “sweet Merlot” question comes from its ripe, plummy fruit and soft texture: a wine can taste fruity without containing noticeable sugar. If you want a genuinely sweet red, look for a bottle that says so on the label, because a standard Merlot won’t be.

Where it grows

Merlot is planted all over the world. Wine Folly, citing University of Adelaide data for 2021, ranks it the second most planted wine grape in the world, behind Cabernet Sauvignon, with about 266,440 hectares in total.

Country (2021)	Merlot area
France	108,483 ha
Italy	24,057 ha
United States	21,251 ha
China	16,700 ha
Spain	12,852 ha
Chile	12,057 ha

Bordeaux, France

Merlot comes from south-west France, and Bordeaux is its historic home. The name comes from merle, French for blackbird, a nod to the dark berries. Bordeaux’s wine council says Merlot makes up about 60% of the region’s AOP plantings and about two-thirds of its red grapes.

• Right Bank. Wine Folly calls the Right Bank Merlot’s heartland, where it is often blended with Cabernet Franc. Bordeaux’s council names Saint-Émilion, Pomerol and Fronsac as places where it is especially planted. Wine Folly describes Pomerol, on clay-rich soils, as black cherry and plum with a velvety texture, and Saint-Émilion, on limestone and clay, as blackcurrant, dark cherry, chocolate and spice.
• Left Bank. Here Merlot is usually the supporting grape in blends led by Cabernet Sauvignon.

Bordeaux also uses Merlot for rosé and occasionally for white sparkling Crémant, according to the council.

Washington State

Wine Folly highlights Washington’s Columbia Valley, including the Horse Heaven Hills, Yakima Valley and Walla Walla Valley, for Merlot with ripe black fruit, fresh acidity and an herbal edge. We’d start here if you want Merlot that is ripe but still lively.

California

California grows Merlot mostly alongside Cabernet Sauvignon. Wine Folly describes Napa Valley Merlot as full-bodied and velvety, sometimes with a minty note.

Chile

Chilean Merlot ranges from fruit-forward to more structured. Wine Folly notes a twist in its history: many vines once believed to be Merlot were identified in 1994 as Carménère, a different Bordeaux grape.

Italy

Italy has the second-largest Merlot area in the table above. Wine Folly points to Super Tuscan blends with Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese, and to wide plantings in north-eastern Italy, including Friuli-Venezia Giulia.

Merlot vs Cabernet Sauvignon

Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon are Bordeaux’s two great red grapes, and they share a parent, Cabernet Franc, which makes them half-siblings.

	Merlot	Cabernet Sauvignon
Texture	Softer, rounder, less astringent	Firmer, more grip
Why	Thinner skins and fewer seeds, so less harsh tannin	Thicker skins, more tannin
In Bordeaux blends	Brings fruit and softness	Adds structure and tannic backbone
Heartland	Right Bank (Saint-Émilion, Pomerol)	Left Bank

Wine Folly explains the texture difference: Merlot’s grapes have thinner skins and fewer seeds, so less harsh tannin ends up in the wine. Bordeaux’s council describes the partnership the other way round: Cabernet Sauvignon adds structure and tannic backbone to Merlot’s natural softness. In our view, that is the simplest way to choose: Merlot when you want comfort, Cabernet when you want grip. For Cabernet that scores well for its price, see our best Cabernet Sauvignon under $20.

Merlot’s other well-known relative is Malbec. Argentina’s wine institute describes Malbec as a cross of Magdeleine Noire and Prunelard, so the two share a parent. Read our Malbec wine guide if you want a darker, fuller cousin.

The Sideways effect

The 2004 film Sideways mocks Merlot and praises Pinot Noir. Economists have since studied whether that changed what Americans bought and planted:

• A 2009 paper in the Journal of Wine Economics by Steven Cuellar, Dan Karnowsky and Frederick Acosta studied US consumption of Merlot and Pinot Noir before and after the film, including differences by price point.
• A 2022 study in the same journal by Sarah Consoli and colleagues looked at California vineyards using USDA data from 1999 to 2012. It found that growers responded after the film’s release: Pinot Noir supply rose, Merlot supply fell, and the Pinot Noir increase was larger than the Merlot decline. Much of the extra Pinot Noir came from lower-value Central Valley vineyards.

Wine Folly says Merlot sales dipped after the film and that the effect has largely faded. We’d treat the “Sideways effect” as a real but limited shift, not a verdict on the grape. If the film sent you toward Pinot Noir, our best Pinot Noir under $20 list is a good next stop.

How to read the label

• Varietal labels. Wines from the US, Chile and much of the New World usually print “Merlot” on the front, along with a region such as Columbia Valley or Napa Valley.
• Bordeaux. French labels name the place, not the grape. A Saint-Émilion, Pomerol or Fronsac is very likely Merlot-led, given how widely it is planted there. A Left Bank wine is usually Cabernet-led with Merlot in support.
• Italy. A Tuscan red blend may contain Merlot with Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese; check the back label for the grapes.

Food pairing

Merlot’s soft tannins and ripe fruit make it one of the most food-friendly reds. Wine Folly matches pairings to style:

Merlot style	Wine Folly’s pairing ideas
Everyday, fruity Merlot	Pizza, BBQ chicken, pasta with mushrooms
Merlot-led Bordeaux	Roast turkey, beef short rib, ratatouille, grilled beef with chimichurri
Full, warm-climate Merlot (for example Napa)	Rack of lamb, roast veal, filet mignon with peppercorn sauce

We’d pour an everyday Merlot with a weeknight roast chicken or a mushroom pizza: its softness won’t overpower lighter meat the way a tannic Cabernet can.

Good-value bottles to try

We haven’t named specific Merlot bottles here yet. Each pick on Wine Blue Book needs a published critic score for a named vintage and a US shelf price checked at two or more retailers, under our rating method, and that check isn’t complete for a Merlot.

What to look for meanwhile: Merlot is widely planted, so there is plenty of choice at everyday prices. Under our thresholds, a Merlot with 88 or 89 points at $15 or less, or 90 to 92 points at $20 or less, is a Great Value. Washington’s Columbia Valley and Chile are good places to start looking. See our best wine under $20 and best cheap wine lists for bottles that already passed the test.

How to serve it

Step	Wine Folly’s advice
Temperature	60–68°F (15–20°C)
Glass	A large, wide red wine glass
Decanting	About 30 minutes
Cellaring	Many age well 3–7 years; the best can improve for 15+ years

A wide bowl gives the aromas room, so large red wine glasses are worth having if you drink a lot of red.

Tip: Wine Folly’s serving range tops out at 68°F, and many homes are warmer than that. If your kitchen is warm, give the bottle 15 to 20 minutes in the fridge before serving.