Merlot 2005
Merlot is to the American wine consumer in the 1990s as "burgundy" was in the 70s: the new generic red. A "boom" in wine consumption, combined with the consumer trend to move away from generic wine blends and into varietals, stimulated plantings of "new," as well as "proven" wine grapes in California during the '70s. Merlot did not appear as a California varietal label until the end of the decade and was not a big seller until the end of the '80s. Less than 2,000 acres existed in California in 1985; there are over 50,000 acres in 2003.