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.
