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MerlotMe Continues for Collaboration Year 8
While the #MerlotMe event has existed a bit longer, our Wine Pairing Weekend group has been pairing dishes with the Merlot wineries since 2015. We hope you enjoy the addition of a dash of sustainability to our pairings. Dealing with climate change is a high visibility concern for winegrowers, so our writers will be adding a bit of research into progress at our wineries this year. You’ll find links to all the writers’ posts along with details of our chat at the bottom of this post. My post this month is dedicated to Merlot: delicious, affordable, sustainable.

Decoy and Bonterra Merlots Paired with Chicken and 40 Cloves of Garlic
40 cloves chicken is a classic recipe, widely available online. I used a recipe from ATK’s Modern Bistro cookbook, but here’s another classic version available online James Beard NYT cooking. Don’t be put off by the garlic, it mellows wonderfully in cooking and becomes a delicious spread for your crusty baguette. Merlot might not occur on first thought as a chicken pairing, but the rich garlicy sauce provides plenty of richness and depth to pair with the bigger body of a California Merlot. Wine and winery details follow below.

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose. I purchased the wines at a local retail shop.

Bonterra Continues to Broaden Their Sustainability Mantra
The environment has been a central focus at Bonterra since they were founded in 1993. From the beginning, they have farmed their nearly 1000 acres of land in Mendocino county organically. They believe certifications are important to demonstrate one’s commitments, so they are California Certified Organic Farmers CCOF and California Certified Sustainable Winery CCSW certified. As a Certified B Corp, they are also committed to being a force for good for people, communities and the planet.

Most recently, they joined the Regenerative Organic Certification movement, achieving certification in 2021. To date they are the largest winegrower to achieve the certification with their nearly 1000 acres of estate vineyards certified.

“The goal of ROC is to promote holistic agriculture practices in an all-encompassing certification that: Increases soil organic matter over time and sequesters carbon below and above ground, which could be a tool to mitigate climate change; Improves animal welfare; and Provides economic stability and fairness for farmers, ranchers, and workers. 

From the Regenerative Organic Certification Standard https://regenorganic.org/resources/

Finally, Bonterra is committed to driving their carbon footprint for a bottle of wine (from vineyard to retail shelf) as low as possible and achieving carbon neutrality via appropriate offsets. Truly impressive is the fact they do this while maintaining an under $20 retail price for the majority of their wines.

Bonterra Merlot California AVA Made with Organic Grapes 2019 ($16 locally at Surdyk’s ) 14.2% abv
Winery and grapes certified by CCOF
Eye: Medium ruby
Nose: Medium plus aromas of ripe blueberries, blackberries, black cherries, vanilla, coconut. The alcohol shows a bit in the nose.
Mouth: Dry, medium plus acidity, medium minus fine grained tannins, medium plus body, high alcohol, medium plus flavor intensity, medium finish. Flavors were initially led by the oak – vanilla and coconut, followed by the ripe fruity blueberries, blackberries, black cherries.
Observations: On opening, this wine showed a bit of oak, typical for a moderately priced American Merlot. However, tasted on day two, the wine had achieved much better balance with the oak supporting the fruit and not the other way around. Given that extra time with air, this wine showed very nicely, especially for this affordable price point.

Duckhorn Portfolio Sustainability
Decoy Wines is one of the wine brands within the Duckhorn Vineyards portfolio. As such, sustainability efforts are visible at the portfolio level. While not as front and center as some wineries, they have documented their efforts in a comprehensive Responsibility and Sustainability Report. Some highlights from their estate and leased vineyards include:

• Zero use of Roundup/ glyphosphate
• Intense water conservation efforts resulting in 50% reduction in vineyard water use
• Integrated Pest Management with minimal vineyard herbicide/insecticide use
• Organic fertilizers, compost used in all estate vineyards
• Cover crops
• Working towards a goal of 100% California Certified Sustainable Winery for all properties
• As with several other certifications, an equal commitment to the fair and equitable treatment of their employees and workers.

Decoy Merlot California AVA 2019 ($26 locally at Surdyk’s) 13.9% abv
Eye: Medium ruby
Nose: Medium aromas of ripe strawberry, black cherry, blueberry, black plum, vanilla, toast, subtle smokiness
Mouth: Dry, medium plus acidity, medium minus velvety tannins, medium plus body, medium alcohol, medium flavor intensity, medium finish. Flavors echo the nose with ripe strawberries, blueberries with nice supporting oak.
Observations: A very enjoyable wine from opening through day two. Duckhorn bills this as an everyday wine, I would say this is a crowd pleaser whenever you want to spend $25 on a bottle.

Wine Pairing Weekend New Merlot Discoveries
Our Wine Pairing Weekend Writers never run out of new pairing ideas! Take a look below for some new ideas sure to be of interest. We’ll be chatting on the topic of Merlot Pairing and Sustainability on Saturday Oct. 8 from 11am-12pm Eastern time. Just look for us at #WinePW or #MerlotMe on Twitter. See you then!

▪Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm shares “Merlot: Smooth, Savory and Sustainable”
▪Cindy at Grape Experiences shares “Comfort Food and Wines for Fall: Savory Slow Cooker Chicken and Classic Merlot”
▪Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares “Celebrating #MerlotMe with Mushrooms, Truffles, and a Wine from a Cal Alumna”
▪David at Cooking Chat shares “Everyday Pasta Sauce with Ground Beef and Chickpeas”
▪Jane at Always Ravenous shares “Fall Food Pairings with Merlot”
▪Robin at Crushed Grape Chronicles shares “#MerlotMe with figs, cherries and a nice grilled steak”
▪Linda at My Full Wine Glass shares “Kicking off #MerlotMe month with Napa Valley wine and lasagna soup” 
▪Jennifer at Vino Travels shares “Warm up with Merlot and Pappardelle Bolognese”
▪Gwendolyn at Wine Predator…Gwendolyn Alley shares “Smoked Lamb/Beef Meatloaf Says #MerlotMe with Sonoma’s Decoy and Washington’s Pedastal”
▪Susannah at Avvinare shares “Forever A Devoted Merlot Fan“
▪Liz at What’s in that Bottle shares “Three Family-Owned Merlots for Fall“
▪Terri at Our Good Life shares “Provencal Eggplant Stew + Decoy Merlot for #MerlotMe“
▪Jeff at Food Wine Click! shares “Merlot and 40 Cloves of Garlic”

References

• Prior post on A Visit Duckhorn Vineyards
• Prior post on a visit to Bonterra Vineyard
• Framework for Regenerative Organic Certified handbook
• Duckhorn Responsibility and Sustainability report