• Tasting
• Sauvignon Blanc
• Chardonnay
• Pinot Noir
• Zinfandel
• Merlot
• Syrah
• Dolcetto
• Cab. Sauvignon

Introduction

Paul Moser’s fascination with wine dates back to three years spent in France as a student in the early seventies. He has been making wine in California’s Napa Valley since 1982. His work has appeared under several different labels including Ehlers Grove, Stratford, and Cartlidge & Browne, all of which are the results of his longtime partnership with Tony Cartlidge.

Several years ago Paul was tasting and discussing a red wine with colleague and fellow winemaker Don Spirlock. As they swirled, sniffed and spat, Don paused, looking up as he searched for the right words. “Do you remember that old armchair in your flat in San Francisco and the smell when you first sat down in it? This wine has a touch of that.” Paul smiled, nodded and the term “old armchair” entered the descriptor dictionary.

This story emphasizes one of the key things to remember about tasting wine – develop your own personal language. The average wine drinker may never develop the subtleties of sensory categorization and memory that the experts possess, but all you really need is curiosity about wine and time taken to explore it. This small book is just a place to begin…

Wines / Tasting Wine: Merlot

In the United States, ten years ago, Merlot was getting no respect. At best, it was thought of as a poor relative of Cabernet Sauvignon. A relative of Cabernet Sauvignon, yes. But poor? Hardly. In its native France, Merlot is prized as a major partner of Cabernet Sauvignon in producing the great red wines of Bordeaux. One of the reasons it found favor in Bordeaux is that it blooms sooner than Cabernet and thus ripens earlier, which allows growers there to avoid putting all their eggs in the Cabernet basket, i.e., even if early autumn weather is poor, at least they are likely to have gotten some good Merlot in the barn early. Extra added bonus: Merlot in Bordeaux always produces softer, less cruelly tannic wines than does Cabernet Sauvignon. Thus, the blend will be rounder, fruitier and sooner potable.

Meanwhile, in California: we always felt that our pure Cabernets were already softer, more lush and approachable even than France’s blends of the two varieties, so…who needs Merlot? Apparently, we do. As it turns out, the Merlot variety in California can produce the kind of supple “juicy”, stylish red wine which satisfies aficionados of reds while managing to avoid the palate-pummeling characteristics that are so forbidding to habitual white wine drinkers. It is currently making a seemingly successful bid to be the most popular red varietal wine, though partisans of Cabernet Sauvinon will be slow to give ground in admitting any coups d’etat.

Merlot can tend toward more vegetal flavor characteristics than Cabernet Sauvignon if it is grown in soils which are too heavy, and its early flowering can make it more vulnerable to frost than “later” varieties, but growers certainly favor it in current market conditions, since it fetches handsome prices and is no more disease prone or persnickety than other red varieties.

You will notice that the descriptors for Merlot are similar to those used for Cabernet Sauvignon; this is, after all, a family affair.