Lodi keeps the Merlot faith

Vicarmont Winery's commitment to the grape we once loved most

by Randy Caparoso

How soon we forget. Not too long ago, Merlot was the go-to wine for the majority of America's red wine drinkers: what Chardonnay was to Bridget Jones, and white Russians to the Big Lebowski. Then this varietal suffered the indignity of being disparaged in the movie Sideways in 2007, and soon after, became decidedly unhip. Yet good grapes are good grapes, and Merlot still makes a terrific wine.

At least no one has ever had to tell Vic Mettler what is plain as day: that Merlot is a grape of peerless pedigree, no matter what the fickle dictates of fashion. Twenty years ago, Mettler committed his 40-acre Locust Tree Vineyard to Merlot, on a property belonging to his side of the multi-strand Mettler family since the turn of the last century. Sticking with the grape, Mettler's bottlings under his Vicarmont Vineyards label have been consistent medal winners since their first official vintage in 2005.

The 2008 Vicarmont Lodi Merlot ($20), for instance, is a paragon of plump, plush, black cherry and cedar box sensations, with plenty of long, sinewy, sexy leg showing through velvet textures, happily landing on a chocolate bar. Mettler speaks more plainly about his wine, saying, "I like the soft, smooth, fruit-focused style of wine that Merlot gives you, and the way it allows the taste of Lodi fruit to come through."

LangeTwins Vineyards winemaker David Akiyoshi also knows a thing or two about Merlot, recently taking the time to recollect his prior career as longtime winemaker for Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi. "Thirty years ago there was virtually no Merlot to speak of here in Lodi. But once we got started, the versatility of the region began to prove itself."

Today, Lodi crushes over 90,000 tons of Merlot each year. That's about 30 percent of California's entire crush-and for the record, more than five times more than all of Napa County. Adds Akiyoshi, "You can grow almost any high-quality wine grape when you have high quality climate and soils. Merlot grows well in Lodi for the same reason Zinfandel does well-quality always finds a home."

Yet how many of Lodi's 75 or so specialty wineries even produce a varietal Merlot? Apart from Vicarmont, surprisingly few. Understandably, Zinfandel rules the roost in Lodi because it is, after all, the region's heritage grape: it's the enduring link to the families that originally settled here, and it is their descendents who continue to farm most of Lodi's vineyards and own the majority of the region's existing wineries.

Zinfandel enthusiasts are now legion because, no doubt, the grape appeals to the hedonism in us all. They say that Pinot Noir appeals to sensualists, and Cabernet Sauvignon to the effete aesthetes. Merlot, on the other hand, has never been associated with any such affectations. In its heyday, Merlot was never a grape requiring a doctorate to decipher, yet has never taken a backseat to, say, Zinfandel or Pinot Noir when it comes to pure, unadulterated drinkability. A well-made Merlot is never something you have to think twice about.

To capture that Merlot, according to Mettler, it's a matter of reducing crop to bring the fruit/canopy ratios on vertical trellises into better balance; and then being patient, waiting for "that grassy flavor in the grape to disappear, and the taste of Merlot to come out." That's the advantage of "estate" growers like Mettler, who live and work in the middle of their own vineyards: they can wait for the exact moment to pick their grapes, when they've reached a peak of flavor.

Even so, says Grands Amis Winery winemaker Roger Nicholas, "I often have to twist people's arms to get them to taste our Merlot." Nicholas makes his own estate-grown dandy: a velvety smooth and bright Merlot of sweet disposition, with its own leggy grip and husky sensuality. "The grape has lost so much of its cachet, but it doesn't mean it's lost any of the qualities that made it popular in the first place. Of course, once I get them to try it, they always love it."

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