What is MERITAGE?

by Tim Gregory

You may have seen the word “Meritage” on a wine label. Do you know what it means?

Meritage is pronounced like “heritage”. It is an invented word that combines “merit” and “heritage” to define a category of wines blended from the traditional noble Bordeaux grape varieties.

In 1988, a group of American vintners established this new wine category of Meritage to help consumers identify wines that represent high quality blends. Blends have been made by winemakers for years, and some call them “the highest form of the winemaker's art”. Yet blends had an image problem due to the legal requirements for labeling.

By U.S. law, a blend must be legally identified by the generic name, “table wine”. Or, if the blend is composed of 75% or more of one grape variety, it may be labeled as a specific varietal. French law frowns on wines labeled Bordeaux that are made outside of Bordeaux. The dilemma: how to distinguish a high quality American-made blend without identifying it as a varietal or getting sued by France?

Thus the Meritage moniker was invented. Though not a legal requirement (that would take a change in federal law), it is a useful and meaningful description for high quality Bordeaux-style blends.

What’s in a Meritage?

Red Meritage wines must be a blend of at least two of the following varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, or Petit Verdot (or the rarer St. Macaire, Gros Verdot and Carmenère).

White Meritage wines are blends of at least two of the following: Sauvignon Blanc, Semilon, or the rarer Sauvignon Vert.

Meritage blends may not contain any other variety than those mentioned above, nor can any single grape variety comprise more than 90% of a Meritage. Each grape variety is kept separate during winemaking and aging; afterward it is evaluated to see how much of that variety will be used in the Meritage. The actual blending occurs shortly before bottling.

Meritage is a registered trademark of the Meritage Alliance. A winery must be a member of the association before it can legally use the word Meritage on a wine label. Locally, wineries that make Meritage wines include Casa Larga, Young Sommer, Glenora and Heron Hill, among others. Hundreds of other wineries across the U.S. and in other countries also make Meritage blends.

See www.meritagewine.org for more information.

Photo © John Evans/www.sxc.hu