This blog is based on the Spirits of New Mexico radio show that aired on April 17, 2021. We do on-air tasting of one or two wines to illustrate what is available in a particular wine region, or as a contrast of what influence a wine region has on a grape or blend. We use suitable glasses for the type of wine and do a double-decant of red wines to insure they have opened sufficiently for accurate judging.
Merlot is one of the most recognized and loved wine grapes in the world; Paul Giamatti’s Miles of Sideways notwithstanding. Nonetheless in 2004 when Sideways came out, Giamatti’s rant on no f-ing Merlot sent shock waves through California and the prices of Merlot tanked.
If that was not bad enough his rapturous psalms to Pinot Noir caused those prices to soar. What was going on here? You wouldn’t take the heath advice of Dr. Kildare would you? Or maybe you would. Some actors do think you should listen to them. So let’s first look into the movie itself and then some background of what caused such a disruptive rift in the wine world.
Sideways (2004) Paul Giamatti, Frank Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, and Sandra Oh.
What this one did to Pinot Noir and Merlot emphasizes the power of movies. Giamatti, a beer drinker managed to turn off hoards of wine drinkers to Merlot which saw sales tank, and enshrined Pinot Noir whose prices went through the roof. If only that tow-truck operator had caught up to him before he opened his big mouth.
The soliloquy to wine that Virginia Madsen gives almost repairs the wreckage, but these are two wine guys I’d be uncomfortable drinking with. Wine lovers may note that Giamatti’s beloved bottle he saved until the end of the movie was Chateau Cheval Blanc. A wonderful right bank wine, which is comprised of 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Franc, another grape he belittles in this movie. The right bank wines of Bordeaux use Merlot as their principal grape, not Cabernet Sauvignon as they do on the left bank of the Gironde River. Should we assume Miles (Giamatti) couldn’t tell his right from his left?
Sideways: the Back-story
The story behind the story of no f-ing Merlot, which we’ll call Merlot Not to avoid a slip of tongue, can be found in a well-written article; You had me at Merlot: I forgive you, Rex Pickett (By Kirsten Telander in Salon, July 8, 2018)
This is the back-story to how the movie came about and author Rex Pickett’s experiences from writing it and defending it. His wife even told him to burn the manuscript after the 200th rejection.
“Now, 14 years after the release of the movie, people still want Pickett to atone for the Sideways Effect — the tanking of Merlot sales and the creation of a love affair with Pinot Noir. The infamous line from the film, ‘If anybody orders Merlot, I’m leaving. I am not drinking any fucking Merlot,’ remains a pop culture reference”
A couple of years ago, Pickett was a headline speaker at a Merlot Celebration in Walla Walla, Washington; surely appreciating the irony of the event. Discussing the topic Rex mentioned that the line was from an earlier draft that he removed in a later version and was appalled when director Alexander Payne, having access to earlier drafts decided to use. “I didn’t set out to destroy the Merlot industry,” he says, shaking his hands in the air for emphasis. “It’s not my fault.” At one point someone from the audience said, “We forgive you, Rex.”
Rex did work with the director, consulting on wine, but was unable to convince Payne to remove that line. He did, however, convince him to give Virginia Madsen’s character, Maya, her soliloquy on wine, which was my favorite part of the movie.
“I like to think how wine continues to evolve. Like if I opened a bottle of wine today, it would taste different than if I opened it on any other day. Because a bottle of wine is actually alive.”
The winery scene was filmed at Fess Parker Winery. By the way, although it was never mentioned in the movie the novel explained that sideways means intoxicated. And we certainly saw that.
Cheap Merlot
To be fair there were a number of greedy winemakers trying to profit from Merlot’s nascent popularity in the 90s. However, choosing sites not right for the grape and utilizing a high-yield crop was not the way to treat the grape. Once most of these bad actors left, the quality producers were able to restore Merlot to its rightful place among the great wines. As Pickett said, “The five-dollar crap fell away.”
“Merlot was 9 percent of a $38.5 billion American wine market,” said Ashley Trout, owner and winemaker for Brook & Bull Cellars and Vital Wines. “It dropped $77 million in a year. We all had to sit there as experts and watch everybody get it wrong because of one line in one movie.”
Producers that treated the grape with respect held on. Jeff Bundschu of Gundlach Bundschu in Sonoma Valley said, “People would come in and refuse to taste it,” he recalls of his brand’s Merlot — a longtime staple. He panicked and suggested to his father, Jim, that they stop making it. Jim responded with his mantra, “Good wine always wins.”
What Sideways wrought
However, Pickett was only paid $5,000 for the book and did not benefit from the subsequent film so the publisher reaped the benefits. He actually used his author’s discount to sell copies of his book at various events to recoup some of his lost revenue. Boy can I relate to that!
However he did ultimately reap rewards for his “Sideways” sequel, “Vertical,” set in Willamette Valley, which won the Gold Medal for Fiction from the Independent Publisher Book Awards in 2012, and Pickett adapted the third book in the series, “Sideways Chile,” into a screenplay. He went on to write the stage version of “Sideways, which was very successful and he is now working on – wait for it – a musical version of Sideways.
How do you sing no f-ing Merlot, anyway?
The Merlot Grape
Merlot originated in the Bordeaux region of France and is the most planted red wine grape there. There are twice as many plantings as Cabernet Sauvignon and it’s the primary grape of the Right Bank of Bordeaux. Obviously it is still treated with respect in France.
Merlot characteristics
Merlot is prized for its black cherry, plum and chocolate flavors, subtle tannins and soft palate. While France has by far the most plantings, Italy also has significant holdings in places like Tuscany, followed by the US, Spain, Romania (one of the first Vampire wines was a Merlot), Bulgaria, Chile (where the Carmenere grape was sometimes mistaken for Merlot) and Australia in that order.
Bordeaux Blends
The term Bordeaux blend identifies a blend of 2 to 5 varietals per wine, but it’s not an official term like Meritage. The majority of these blends use Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. However there are many single-varietal Merlot wines, or those with less than 5% of any other grape.
What we are sampling: Duckhorn Merlot 2017 14.5% ABV, $56
Founded by Dan and Margaret Duckhorn in 1976, Duckhorn Vineyards has been crafting classic Napa Valley wines for nearly 40 years. Their inaugural vintages of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot were in 1978 with Sauvignon Blanc added in 1982. And they produce several versions sourced from many classic Napa AVAs.
The present wine is sourced from various lots in Napa: Composition 80% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2.5% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot, and 0.5% Malbec. That’s a Bordeaux blend.
What we are sampling: Milagro 2014 Merlot, 13.3% ABV, $28
Milagro hardly needs an introduction in New Mexico, and Merlot was their first wine I fell in love with. It is also the first New Mexico wine served in Albuquerque restaurants and still a very popular choice. Rick and Mitzi Hobson are also good friends to the Corrales community.
On April 24 my friends and I enjoyed wine tasting in their beautiful courtyard as we have for so many years in the past. Everything was set up properly with tables set apart from each other. Reservations are required so Milagro can control the number of people per table. We all celebrated a return to normalcy, or at least close to it. And, of course, I bought some of the 2014 Merlot home with me.
Milagro Vineyards was founded in 1999 after many years of growing grapes and making wine for themselves and friends. The wines are aged in French oak cooperage. All their wines are bottle-aged at least one year before release. I strongly advise you sign up for their newsletter as you will be alerted to Milagro’s next event and the excellent notes on each wine the Rick includes, such as the details below on this wine. Check out www.milagrowine.com
Rick’s wine notes: 2014 Merlot
Merlot is an often maligned grape and wine. Morley Safer reported in 1991 on 60 MINUTES that in France people ate a diet high in cholesterol and saturated fat with low incidence of heart disease due to consuming two glasses of red wine per day. Red wine sales jumped 40% over the next year and Merlot became the red wine of choice. Unfortunately, Merlot vineyards in California were over produced and it became a “soda pop” wine. It was dissed big time in the 2004 movie Sideways causing its reputation and sales to immediately fall. Merlot is a serious grape and makes some of the most sought after wine in the world. Today Merlot is recovering, is being re-discovered and being produced, if you will, responsibly.
So you can see that winemakers are well-aware of the Sideways Effect. I don’t think it affected sales of Milagro Merlot because it already had a solid reputation and Duckhorn is known for their Merlot as well, but some people still need to be convinced. For others, No F-ing Merlot is so 2004, get over it!
Rick’s notes continue
Our Merlot comes from the Dehlinger, Old Church & Corrales Road vineyards all planted to the French clone 181 in loamy clay soils. Wine making consists of hand picking in small boxes, gently de-stemming and macerating while allowing fermentation with indigenous and cultured yeast. Malolactic fermentation follows in the barrel and the wine is then aged two years in French Oak, bottled and given a minimum of one year bottle age before release. An Old World style from beginning to end.
The 2014 vintage was structured and austere in its youth and has benefited from four years of bottle age. The wine is a dark red color with aromas of cherry, currant and earth. Flavors of dark cherry, red currant and mineral are all framed with elegant texture, tangy acidity, firm tannin and a long finish. The wine has the structure to reward additional bottle age. Alcohol 13.3%, 48 cases produced.
Pair with grilled and roasted dark meats (lamb, beef, duck, dark turkey) with rich sauces, grilled Salmon & Tuna, roasted vegetables, mushrooms – Portabella, and cheeses – camembert, brie, gouda.
Analysis
The Duckhorn Merlot was lush and rich, pretty much their trademark and I enjoyed it very much, but I preferred the structure and complexity of the longer bottle-aged Milagro Merlot and consider it a better food-friendly wine. And at half the price the Milagro is a no brainer for me. And we support our local wine producers who have had the same challenges of late as the rest of us.
The Burren Weeps
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