Tri-City Herald
March 6, 2018

With nearly 33,000 tons harvested in Washington last fall, Merlot, one of the noble red grapes of France’s Bordeaux region, particularly on the right bank of the Gironde River, where it is most prevalent, remains popular in Washington wine country.

Merlot has been famous in Washington for many years, and was, in fact, Washington’s No. 1 grape until about a decade ago, when the growing popularity of Cabernet Sauvignon overtook it. It remains popular as both a stand-alone variety and a blending grape in Washington, despite the rise of Cab. A big part of this is because Washington Merlot makes a sturdy wine, with tannin structures that often rival Cab. In other regions, it produces a wine that is much softer in character.>>>Read the entire article featuring Airfield Estates and more on Tri-City Herald