Kunde Sonoma Valley Meritage

Tasting notes & discussion 13

90 Points, Wine Spectator
Typically $50/bottle from Kunde Family Winery
Vintage 2019 from Sonoma Valley
Available for AL; AZ; AR; CA; CO; CT; DC; FL; GA; ID; IL; IN; IA; KS; KY; LA; ME; MD; MA; MI; MN; MO; MT; NE; NV; NH; NJ; NM; NY; NC; ND; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; VT; VA; WA; WV; WI; WY
Sold by participating winery or licensee, fulfilled by Wine Country Connect

About Kunde Family Winery: “At Kunde Family Estate, our winemaking mission is to craft elegant wines with a real sense of place—beautifully balanced and expressive of our dramatic vineyard landscape.”

Rhymes With Heritage, By Law

TASTING NOTES: “The 2019 Meritage 202 is a full-bodied red blend that pays homage to the winery’s original bonded number ‘202’ given to patriarch Louis Kunde in the 1900s. The blending of five Bordeaux varieties forms a distinct nose of plum, currants and anise. Its heady bouquet is enhanced by opulent, full-mouth flavors of black cherry and dried cranberries.” (AbV 14.5%, pH 3.5)

VARIETALS: Red Blend

BARRELS: Not specified.

PAIRS WITH: N/A

THAT REMINDS ME OF: Meritage.

That word was invented, on purpose, in 1988, by committee, because English didn’t have a decent one. American vintners blending the classic Bordeaux grapes — cab, merlot, malbec, petit verdot, cab franc — had a real labeling problem: legally they couldn’t call the wine “Bordeaux” (that’s a place in France, not a recipe), and “red blend” sounded like something you’d apologize for. So a group called the Meritage Alliance ran an actual naming contest, open to the public, looking for one clean word to cover “Bordeaux-style blend, made in America.” Six thousand entries came in. The winner smashed together “merit” and “heritage” into “Meritage,” and the rule that came with it was oddly strict: it has to rhyme with “heritage,” not “mirage,” or you’re doing it wrong.

I love that a word this specific — designed by a panel, crowned by a vote, pronunciation enforced like a trademark — is just quietly sitting on wine labels now, doing its job, indistinguishable from a word that evolved the normal way over centuries. Most of language happens by accident. This one has a birth certificate.

Who's buying this?

How are you buying your bottles?

A committee invented the word 'Meritage' by contest. How do you feel about manufactured words in general?

I love a good invented word — English needs more of them

I love a good invented word — English needs more of them
I'm fine with them as long as they earn their place

I'm fine with them as long as they earn their place
I'm skeptical — language should evolve, not get voted on

I'm skeptical — language should evolve, not get voted on
I didn't know words could be invented like that

I didn't know words could be invented like that
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31 votes

Kunde Sonoma Valley Meritage

Who's buying this?

How are you buying your bottles?

A committee invented the word 'Meritage' by contest. How do you feel about manufactured words in general?

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