Merlot is set to make a comeback in London

The much-maligned grape variety is on the rise, thanks to Lidl...
Allstar/FOX SEARCHLIGHT
Rashid Razaq19 July 2016

Wine experts are predicting a “Merlot revival” after more than a decade of stalled sales blamed on Oscar-winning film Sideways.

The much-maligned grape variety has struggled to recover from the battering it took in the 2004 movie, which was reborn as a West End play last month.

In one scene, struggling author and wine snob Miles — played by Paul Giamatti — threatens to walk out of a restaurant if “anyone orders Merlot”.

As sales of Miles’s favourite grape Pinot soared, wine drinkers shunned Merlot, which was seen as boring and unsophisticated.

However, that trend could be set to change as supermarket chain Lidl leads the charge to challenge negative perceptions of the grape. It is collaborating with a leading UK wine expert to showcase vintages from Bordeaux — the “home of Merlot”.

Master of Wine Richard Bampfield said Merlot was set for a revival and that the Bordeaux technique of blending it with smaller quantities of other grape varieties could tempt drinkers to be more “adventurous”.

He added: “What Sideways did really well was to make the pretentiousness around wine funny. At the time it came out, Pinot was in fashion and Merlot was seen as a wine for the masses so it was an in-joke for wine snobs.

6 cheese and wine pairings every Londoner should know

1/7

“In reality there are some fabulous Merlots and it was the quality and success of Merlot in Bordeaux that led to the grapes being planted all over the world.”

Leta Bester, founder of the London Wine Academy, which runs training courses, said Merlot was “overdue for a comeback” and that snobbery against blends as opposed to single-grape wines also needed to be challenged.

She said: “Sideways did a lot for Pinot and reinforced the idea of Merlot, like Chardonnay, of being boring. Merlot can be a little boring and it is far better in a blend. In a good Bordeaux it works well together with a Cabernet, for example. The Merlot is the flesh and the Cabernet is the skeleton. You need the Merlot to plump it out. Merlot’s a chameleon and it changes depending on the climate. But we shouldn’t get too hung up on grape varieties. There’s a lot more to wine than that.”

Among the Merlot blends selected for Lidl by Mr Bampfield are Les Hauts de Pez 2012 (£11.99), Château Roque Le Mayne 2014 (£8.99), Les Ormes du Bosquet 2013 (£6.99) and Cahors Château de Grézels 2013 (£7.99). They will be in stores from September as part of the supermarket’s Wine Cellar premium collection.

Follow Rashid Razaq on Twitter: @RashidRazaqES

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT