merlot

In the Bordeaux dialect of French, merlot is a diminutive of merle, 'blackbird' — from Latin merula. The grape got its name from the European blackbird (Turdus merula), which fed on the dark berries as they ripened. The name was practical. It described which grape the blackbirds preferred, which was also a sign that the grape was ripe. If the birds were eating it, it was ready.

Merlot was first documented under that name in 1784 by a Bordeaux official noting the grape's prominence in the Libournais region (the right bank of the Gironde). It had been grown for centuries before anyone recorded the name. In Bordeaux, Merlot was always secondary to Cabernet Sauvignon on the prestigious left bank. On the right bank — Saint-Émilion, Pomerol — Merlot dominated, producing rounder, softer wines.

Château Pétrus, the most expensive wine from Pomerol, is essentially 100% Merlot. A bottle of the 1947 vintage sold at Christie's for $23,000 in 2018. The grape that was named for bird food produces one of the most sought-after wines on earth. But for most of its history, Merlot was the blending grape — the one added to soften Cabernet's hard edges.

The 2004 film Sideways delivered a cultural blow. The protagonist's line 'I am NOT drinking any Merlot' caused a measurable drop in American Merlot sales and a corresponding rise in Pinot Noir. A single movie line reshaped the wine market. Merlot sales recovered slowly, but the word carries a faint stigma in American wine culture that it never had before — proof that a fictional character can wound a real grape.