Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/833814
34 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } JUNE/JULY 2017 { the ransom report } I'M A HUGE FAN OF MERLOT (there, I said it), and why shouldn't I be? It's one of the great red grapes of the world, and the only grape variety in some of the world's most expensive and sought-after wines, including Pomerol's Château Pétrus. Of course, I'm slightly biased. My family made award-winning Merlot from Long Island fruit back in the days when we owned New York's Rivendell Winery. I still have some 1992 in my cellar that 25 years later is still aging quite gracefully and wowing my dinner guests. So, on a recent visit to California, I was sur - prised to hear from Provenance Winery's Trevor Durling during a conversation that included fellow winemakers John Hazak and Tom Rinaldi (now at Pellet Estate), that the well-documented "Sideways effect" on Merlot was still reverberating. After all, 13 years had passed since Miles uttered those now famous words: "If anyone orders Merlot, I'm leav - ing. I am not drinking any [expletive] Merlot!"—a statement that, while meant to be a joke in the eyes of the film's director, sent U.S Merlot sales into a downward slide that only now, through the concer ted effor ts of a loyal group of winemakers like Durling, Hazak, Rinaldi and Sonoma County– based St. Francis Winery's Chris Louton, seems to be in reversal. "Merlot definitely took a hit," Durling said, as he poured me a glass of the stunning 2013 Merlot Barrel Select, one of two Merlots he and Hazak make. "Agreed, but to be honest," added Rinaldi and Hazak, "the writing was already on the wall due to bad planting choices and over-production. That's been addressed now, and Napa is again producing great Merlot, particularly from the Oak Knoll and Los Carneros districts." Over the Mayacamas Ridge at St. Francis, Winemaker Chris Louton, who also makes two Merlots, agrees. "It's a very important variety for us, and for California," he says, adding, "remember though, Merlot's fall from grace also had much to do with the appearance of new Pinot Noir producing areas like the Sonoma Coast." (See our story on St. Francis on page 56. —Ed.) Grape varieties definitely go through cycles of popularity. Let's hope that Merlot has finally turned a corner and is on the upswing again. Winemakers are guardedly optimistic, and I am too. Turning the Corner MERLOT'S LONG CLIMB BACK TO VERTICAL AFTER SIDEWAYS by David Ransom Welcome to "The Ransom Report," a new column by The Somm Journal's East Coast Editor David Ransom. In each issue, David will discuss what's currently on his mind and in his glass, gathered from conversations and experiences throughout the world of wine, spirits and hospitality. From the cellar: a 1992 Merlot from Rivendell Winery in New York State (made by the author's family) and the legendary Merlot-based Château Pétrus from Pomerol. PHOTO: DAVID RANSOM PHOTO: DAVID RANSOM PHOTO COURTESY OF ST. FRANCIS WINERY & VINEYARDS Provenance Vineyards' Winemakers Trevor Durling (left) and John Hazak (right) with author David Ransom (center). Winemaker Chris Louton focuses on Bordeaux vari- etals at St. Francis Winery & Vineyards in Sonoma.