Though it is now available from around the world, older wine buffs will recall Merlot as one of the main grape varieties to be found in Bordeaux. In that great wine producing area it is usually blended with Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. This allows the wine producers great flexibility for they are able to vary the quantities of the three grape varieties depending on how good the yield of each variety has been. In parts of the Bordeaux wine producing region, such as St Emilion, Merlot can be found in much higher concentration. Also, the wine of some chateaux in the small Pomerol region can contain 90 to 98 per cent Merlot. This is because it is thought to produce better results than the other Bordeaux grapes in the ferrous-clay soils of these areas. They are ideal with most meat dishes, beef particularly.

Merlot can also be found in other French regions, notably Languedoc-Roussillon, D'Oc and Hérault, both blended and on its own. In France, this grape variety can possess some tannic and astringent qualities when very young, but quickly softens and it is this ability which leads to its popularity as a blender - that and its large concentrations of fruit.

Merlot wines from California and Washington State are full-flavoured yet with an appealing softness. Australian Merlots also have a straight-forward fruity appeal. These wines are softer on the pallet than Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz and can appear to have a slight sweetness. They are ideal "food" wines, being particularly good with highly sauced meats. New World Merlots do not appear to have a tannic astringency when young.

Northern Italy produces a Merlot which is slightly lighter in style than the Bordeaux and New World wines mentioned above. This makes it ideal for the lighter meat dishes, such as veal or pork with a mild sauce. It is best drunk within five years of bottling.

Merlot from Chile has proved to be a very popular wine, fruity and full-flavoured with a hint of sweetness. It has recently been suggested, however, that most of the Chilean "Merlot" of some years back (when it first was becoming popular) was not Merlot at all, but produced from the Carmenere grape. This variety is particularly suited to the conditions found in Chile, has many qualities in common with Merlot and is now marketed as Carmenere, which is not to detract from proper Chilean Merlot. A good idea for a dinner party, where you are to serve a meat dish, would be to open a bottle of both Chilean Merlot and Carmenere and consider the similarities and differences you find in them.

New Zealand is now producing a Merlot wine which is well worth consideration. Soft and full flavoured, it is ideal for light meat dishes and cold meats. It is less lighter and more subtle than other New World Merlots.