Meritage

A designation for California wines that are a blend of the grape varieties used in Bordeaux. Meritage (pronounced like “heritage”) is a U.S. trademarked designation adopted in 1988 by the Meritage Association.

A red Meritage might consist of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc; and a white Meritage would be a blend of sauvignon blanc and sémillon. Some of these wines are given fancy proprietary names (and carry high price tags), such as Opus One, Rubicon and Insiginia. Producers can choose not to use the term Meritage to describe their wine even if it qualifies as one.

(Bonus trivia to impress your friends: The word was selected from more than 6,000 entries in an international contest. Meritage combines “merit,” reflecting the quality of the grapes, with “heritage,” which recognizes the centuries-old tradition of blending, long considered to be the highest form of the winemaker’s art.)

(The Wine Bible, Karen MacNeil; meritagewine.org)