Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Merlot - Continuing the Red Trend


A nice dinner with some great friends has inspired me to write about Merlots.  Why?  Well, they brought a prime example of why I write this blog: a great wine at a very reasonable price (that, and I thought I should probably do justice to any negative connotations from my "Sideways - Pinot Noir" post).  :)

Our friends brought over 14 Hands Merlot which I quickly added to my list of wines. It's from Washington State and is available at Total Wine for $10.99. 

I really enjoyed this Merlot, so I figured I would post a couple of others I enjoy too. 



First is Columbia Crest H3 ($12.99 at both Norman's and Total Wine).  It received 90 points from Wine & Spirits and comes out of Washington State.

If you're wondering what that weird ladle-looking thing in the picture is, it's my Skybar wine chill drop, which chills my room temp wine (yes, even red wine should be chilled slightly and not served at room temp).

They were a gift from my brother-in-law who evidently knows me all too well.



The second is Santa Ema Merlot Reserve ($10.99 at Norman's and $11.99 at Total Wine) which is also a nice choice.  This Chilean wine received 90 points from Wine Advocate.  

Unrelated side note: I found Vivino, an awesome (and free) wine app that you can use to keep track of what you like. You can actually snap a picture of the wine bottle and the app will match it to its database and recognize the wine.  I have yet to find a wine it can't recognize.  For all you HIMYM fans out there: CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

In any case, hope you get to try these - cheers!

2 comments:

  1. I am not a red drinker (but only because I get headaches), but my sister is and will look for the 14 Hands Merlot for her. I have had CC Chardonnay and am a fan! I want the Vivino app and as soon as I figure out how to get it on my smartphone (my phone is smarter than me; I have no apps on it yet), I am going to do it! Also love HIMYM ...watching reruns on Roku! ... and may see if I cannot challenge you! Sounds like fun!

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    1. Maura, I'll do my best to get another white wine posts out - I can try to take requests if there is a specific varietal you like!
      I do like the wine app, there is also one called Hello Vino just in case you want to try both, but I prefer Vivino for my purposes. I can even try to help you install it if you want!
      Always like meeting a HIMYM fan, going to miss it after this last season!

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