Merlot – How Merlot Became Americas Most Popular Wine
In France and a large part of southern Europe, drinking red wine has been a part of everyday life for hundreds of years. In America red wines remained a small and relatively unpopular drink until as resently as the early nineteen nineties. Ever since the prohibition days of the nineteen thirties the wine industry had tried to make America a wine drinking country, but with very limited success. Then in 1991 something happened that changed everything and made red wine, and especially Merlot, a household drink in America. What was this one pivotal event that changed American wine culture forever?
In 1991 the American TV program 60 minutes dedicated a full show to what they termed “The French Paradox”. In this show they put the spotlight on the paradox that despite the French population eating almost three times as much saturated fat as the American population, the French have a much lower incidence rate of coronary heart disease. In fact the French consumes four times more butter, three times more pork and about 60 % more cheese.
The program speculated that the lack of heart disease was connected with the French habit of drinking red wine with their meals. Almost immediately the sale of red wine in the United States increased by more than 40 %. But one type of wine in particular exploded in popularity, the Merlot.
With the American people being told to drink a couple of glasses of red wine a day for their health, they went looking for a wine to drink. Unfamiliar with the taste and smell of red wine they wanted a wine that was mild, and easy to drink.
The Merlot, long considered in France to be a second grade grape compared to its noble sibling the Cabernet Sauvignon, fit the bill perfectly. All of a sudden, the much-criticized weakness of the Merlot grapes became its biggest selling point. The very qualities that the French disliked about the Merlot, the Americans loved, and the Merlot took its rightful place in the sun.
And it has remained popular ever since. Between 1985 and today the area dedicated to growing Merlot grapes in the US have exploded from approximately 800 hectare to over 20 000 hectare. And other countries have embraced the Merlot grapes as well, in particular Chile and Australia.
Never before or since has a television program had such an effect on a nations drinking habits. It was sixty minutes of television that gave birth to a star, the Merlot.
To learn about the different types of white wine, including Pinot Grigio wines visit us at our website dedicated to wine.
Jamie Welding
Wine Enthusiast and Writer
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