Merlot 101

What is the concentration of Merlot and Shiraz wine?

Any other details like - where it's grown - conditions - ripeness - picking - sweetness - amount of sugar would be very helpful thanks!

Public Comments

1. they're both red
2. merlot is a grape variety mostly grown in France. It is often used to blend with other grape varieties. They have thin skins (low tannin) and a high sugar content (which usually leads to high alcohol content) It is usually picked early as it ripens early and therefore can be in danger from frost. Shiraz is also known as syrah- these are actually the same. It is a dry wine. Usually table wine (not great quality) It is also used to blend with other wines. It is mainly grown in Australia, USA and France.
3. Almost everybody grows Merlot and now Shiraz/Syrah. The Syrah or Shiraz grape is one of the oldest known and was grown in Mesopotamia. Merlot and other red/black varieties were from European and Mideast origins. The only grapes native to this continent were the Concord types, the Muscadine/Scuppernong, and the Norton. The Norton is by far the king of the bunch (no pun intended) when it comes to wine grapes. They make a great wine. To get back to the other reds, most of the vines died out in Europe during the 1800s from Phyloxera that was accidentally imported from this country,and the root-stocks used now are primarily from a resistant strain of American origin.