Drink Wine With Me

Archive for the ‘Merlot’ Category

Lately I have been making more of an effort to eat healthy and pay attention to where the food I am purchasing comes from.  Organic foods seem to be catching on and are no longer just an of the moment food trend.  I am concerned with added chemicals, hormones, and antibiotics and how they are contributing to ill health so I  am making a point to add more organic items to my shopping cart.  When it comes to wine however I haven’t been paying much attention to the organic category.  I have written about wines made by producers who employ practices of bio dynamic and sustainable farming but the wines weren’t necessarily made from organic grapes.  At a recent South American themed tasting we tried Natura Merlot 2007.  Produced in the Rapel Valley in Chile by Vinedos Emiliana, they are at the forefront of organic wine  production in their region.  This merlot is comprised of 99% merlot with small amounts of syrah and petit verdot blended in.  In the glass it has a lovely dark ruby color.   The aroma consisted of sweet cherries with a hint of vanilla.  It is very fruit forward on the palate with light tannins.  Since Natura Merlot is organic this means that the grapes are grown without any pesticides or synthetic chemicals of any kind.  There are also very small amounts of sulfites compared to non-organic wines.  Some say that organic wines are sulfite free but all wines have at  least some present whether they occur naturally or are added back into the wine.  This is necessary to prevent spoilage as organic wines will need to be enjoyed fairly quickly-they will not be good a day or two after the bottle has been opened.  I really enjoyed Natura Merlot and the fact that it is good for you and the environment doesn’t hurt either.  I also love the price which averages around $12 per bottle.

I recently went on a 4 day boat trip up the Hudson River with my boyfriend.  Turns out it was the last good boating weekend we would have for the season.  As with all our boat trips we have to provision and make sure enough bottles of wine are on board to get us through the trip.  One of the selections that I brought along was The Old Field Merlot 2001.  In May we visited the wineries for my birthday on the North Fork of Long Island.  The Old Field was our first stop on our journey and what a place to begin our tasting!  This family owned and operated winery has been in business since the 1970′s and offers not only a beautiful and relaxing setting but an absolutely amazing merlot.  This wine tasted like a glass full of dark cherries and it’s smoothness carried into light notes of black pepper and spice.  It has a slightly lower alcohol content at 12% making it an easily drinkable wine and it pairs well with meat and other savory dishes.  Even though I have been drinking more full bodied reds as of late this merlot has made me love this variety again.  Overall a fabulous wine and well priced at under $20 per bottle.