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Meritage
“Meritage”—what is it, and why is it so pricey?
First answer: Meritage is an American wine made by blending two or more specific grape varieties.
Second answer: It is a winery’s premier, most expensive wine.
Varietal labeling—putting the name of the grape variety on the label instead of the Old World custom of putting the place of the vineyard on the label—is a marketing breakthrough essential to today’s wine explosion. Sales took off in the 1970s when California producers began labeling with the name of the predominant grape. “I want a supple Merlot, or I want a buttery Chardonnay.” Much easier to understand than “I want a Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé, or I want a Pouilly-Fumé.”
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