Meritage Red Wine Definition

Macaire gros verdot and carmenère.

Meritage red wine definition. The wines must be made from at least two of the permitted grape varieties in the red or white wine categories with no single variety making up more than 90 percent of the final blend. Meritage pronounced like heritage is a term they created to describe high quality wines made from new world grown noble grapes using traditional blending techniques and methods. Meritage is a term for white or red wines from a california winery that incorporate a blend of varieties traditionally used in bordeaux france. In order to include meritage on a wine label a winery must show that the wine meets the criteria and they must obtain permission from the alliance.

Winemakers must license the meritage trademark from its owner the california based meritage alliance. A red meritage is a blend of two or more of the red noble bordeaux varieties cabernet sauvignon cabernet franc malbec merlot petit verdot and the rarer st. If the blend includes any other grape variety it is by definition not a meritage. A red meritage wine must contain at least two bordeaux grapes from the following varietals.

It rhymes with heritage. Meritage can be both red and white and traditionally has to contain the best of a vintage. Meritage is a term used to describe bordeaux style red and white wines made by members of the meritage alliance. Cabernet sauvignon cabernet franc merlot malbec and petit verdot.

These wines are routinely named. Member wineries are found principally in the united states though increasingly elsewhere.