Meritage

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Three different Meritage wines: a 2005 Lyeth Sonoma County, a 2001 Estancia Alexander Valley, and a 2002 Jackson-Triggs Okanagan Valley.

Meritage is a word used to distinguish wines that are made in the style of red Bordeaux but without infringing on that region's legally protected designation of origin. Winemakers must license the right to use the trademark "Meritage" for their wines from The Meritage Association, based in California. The Meritage designation is primarily used in the United States, but in recent years some wineries in other countries have also started to use the designation.

1 History
2 Trademark licensing and wine production
3 References
4 External links

[edit] History

The Meritage Association was formed in 1988 by a small group of Napa Valley, California vintners: Agustin Huneeus (then of Franciscan Winery, now of Quintessa Winery), Mitch Cosentino (Cosentino Winery), Julie Garvey (Flora Springs Winery). These vintners, among others, were becoming increasingly frustrated by U.S. BATF regulations stipulating that a wine must contain at least 75% of a specific grape to be designated as that varietal on the label. As interest grew in creating blended Bordeaux-style wines, the members sought to create a recognizable name associated with high-quality blended wines, instead of merely labelling them as "Red Table Wine" (or "White Table Wine") or giving them proprietary names unique to the winery.

In 1988, the association hosted a contest to conceive of a name for these wines which received over 6,000 submissions. Neil Edgar of Newark, California won by suggesting "Meritage" —a combination of the words merit and heritage (and which rhymes with the latter.). As a reward for winning this contest, Mr. Edgar was awarded two bottles of the first ten vintages of every wine licensed to use the Meritage brand.^[1]

By 1999 The Meritage Association had grown to 22 members. They decided to shift the focus from policing their trademark to education and marketing. This resulted in swift growth for the association, which included over 100 members by 2003, including their first international members.

[edit] Trademark licensing and wine production

"Meritage" is a registered trademark of The Meritage Association and can only be used by wineries that agree to the Meritage Association's licensing agreement. This agreement stipulates the types of blends that can be labelled "Meritage" (discussed below), that the winemaker must pay a fee per case of wine produced (currently $1.00 per case, capped at $500.00 per vintage) to the association, and that they abide by wine labelling restrictions defined by the association.

Red wine from Bordeaux is made with certain grape varieties, principally Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec. A red Meritage must be made from at least two of these grapes (or the less well known St. Macaire, Gros Verdot, and Carmenere), and no single varietal may comprise more than 90% of the blend.

White Meritage bears the same relationship to white Bordeaux as its red counterpart. It is a blend of at least two of the grapes Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, and Sauvignon Vert.

Although not stipulated by the licensing agreement, the Meritage Association strongly recommends that wineries label only the blend that they consider to be their best as Meritage, and that they limit production of such wines to no more than 25,000 cases.