Meritage

Meritage is a name for red and white Bordeaux-style wines without infringing on the Bordeaux (France) region's legally protected designation of origin.

The Meritage Association was formed in 1988 by a small group of Sonoma County and Napa Valley, California vintners increasingly frustrated by U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives regulations stipulating wines containing at least 75 percent of a specific grape to be labeled as a varietal.

"Meritage"—a portmanteau of merit and heritage—was selected and its coiner awarded two bottles of the first ten vintages of every wine licensed to use the brand.

A red Meritage must be made from a blend of at least two of the following varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot, St. Macaire, Gros Verdot, or Carmenère, with no variety comprising more than 90 percent of the blend.

Although many people, including many wine experts, have a tendency to Frenchify the word "Meritage" by pronouncing its last syllable with a "zh" sound, as in the U.S. pronunciation of "garage", the Meritage Alliance specifically states that the word should be pronounced to rhyme with "heritage".