The Merlot wine is a subtle red wine variety capable of infinite smoothness and gentle tones through to bold and invigorating black fruit flavours. As a lover of red wine, you will find the full spectrum of classical varieties available from The Wine Collective including, but not limited to, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, Sangiovese, Pinotage Wines, Grenache, Cabernet Merlot, Shiraz, Pinot Noir and Rose wine. Not just a fantastic drinking wine on its own, Merlot blends fantastically well with a range of grape varieties to produce a tantalising array of Merlot Blend Wines. Discover Merlot Cabernet, Cabernet Merlot Shiraz, Cabernet Merlot Franc, Sangiovese Merlot, Merlot Malbec Cabernet plus an exciting range of other Red Blend Wines on offer. Sparkling Red Wines varieties including Sparkling Shiraz, Sparkling Shiraz Cabernet, as well as a selection of Sparkling Merlot and Sparkling Rose Wines. 

If you love your wine then you’ll also want to know what kind of white wine you’ll be able to find from The Wine Collective’s expansive collection. Our range of popular white wine varieties cover all of the best loved and most popular like Pinot Grigio and pinot gris, Chardonnay, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling, as well as a variety of White Blend Wines.  Discover new and exciting combinations with wines like our Semillon Viognier, Chardonnay Pinot Noir, Semillon Riesling Chardonnay, Botrytis Chardonnay, Semillon Chenin Blanc Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay Sauvignon Blanc Wines. Our collection of Sparkling White Wines includes Prosecco, Sparkling Pinot Noir, Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc, Sparkling Riesling, Sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir,  Sparkling Chardonnay while our dessert wine temptations include Fortified Wines and Sherry Wines.

With over 70 years of wine experience behind us, our wine experts have cultivated a fascinating and delectable selection of vintages from boutique and medium sized wineries. We have always found that passionate and the determination to make the very best wine possible is often found in the smaller vineyards and wine producers and we’re committed to helping them achieve even better wines year after year.

Is Merlot red or white wine?

The Merlot is a deep and alluring red wine capable of boldness and strong character as well as smoky, vanilla smoothness. It can be drunk young and lively or age as well as a fine cabernet sauvignon.

The history of the Merlot grape was rocked quite drastically it in its ancestral home of France. It first appears in the Bordeaux region of France in the nineteenth century and the name of the grape is thought to have been derived from local black birds who either had a fondness for the taste of this particular variety or for the deep, luscious colour of the fruit that vine bore. Regardless, the name rolls off the tongue as beautifully as the wine rolls on to it and it’s known to offer subtle and gentle full bodied flavours as well as bold and exciting black fruit tones depending on where it’s grown and how the wine is produced. 

The French history with Merlot is a little curt with a series of catastrophes in the middle of the twentieth century wiping out the vine until the middle of the 1970’s when the French government lifted a five year ban on growing the vine entirely. A cold snap had earlier decimated crops followed by devastating vine losses due to rot for subsequent decades and forcing the government to categorically eradicate the vine for a short period. As it grew in popularity outside of France, however, French vintners were keen to start producing their own varieties again and since then the Merlot from France has been outstanding.

Typically used as a blending grape, the single varietal wines of French Merlot actually ranks among some of the finest and most expensive wine available today, easily reaching into the $5k mark. For more casual wine drinkers who may not be able to climb to such fiscal heights, there are still plenty of mid-range and fine tasting affordable wines available and The Wine Collective has been hungrily searching for them all to introduce you to them.

The Merlot grape is among one of the most widely planted grapes behind only Cabernet Sauvignon in the world with wineries producing Merlot and blends in Australia, the United States, France, South America and South Africa. Of particular note amongst our homegrown producers are the stunning wine growing regions of the Margaret River, Barossa Valley and Eden Valley.  

Australian wine made on the Merlot grape variety alone is renowned for its medium bodied complexity and its blackberry flavours and smooth vanilla tones but more often than not you’ll find your Merlot in blended wines in the traditional Bordeaux style and in the Italian Super Tuscan wine tradition. Don’t let that stop you from sampling this single varietal type when you can and to discover for yourself whether tasting notes like blackberry, plum and cedar really do describe a straight Merlot. Comparing with different types of Merlot from around the world like the Washington State producers and traditional French vintners is an absolute must. 

How much sugar is in a Merlot wine?

A Merlot is typically a dry wine which is another wine-way of saying that it is not a sweet drinking wine. Sugar content is typically about 4 g of sugar per litre. The best food pairing options for a good bottle of Merlot include beef, especially grilled and barbequed or roasted beef. This is a hearty wine, so it needs a good hearty flavour to really finish it off and to get the most out of everything a good bottle truly has to offer. Hard cheeses are preferred like cheddar and blue, gorgonzola and gouda, and red fruit sauces will suit its natural black fruit notes very well. 

If you’re not a red meat fan, that’s fine. Merlot will sit nicely beside a plate of roast chicken and will also suit nutty, mushroom meals and hearty roast vegetable selections for the vegetarians. Garlic is also an excellent accompaniment. Think French and Italian cuisine and then experiment from there.

Whether you’re keen to try your very first taste of a fine Merlot or you’re interested in its blending potential with Malbec and Cab Sauv, The Wine Collective has a host of opportunities for you to gorge your interest on. Our selection of wines has all been carefully chosen by our wine experts who have personally tasted everything we have available. Their tasting notes accompany every type and variety so you can quick reference to what they’ve had to say to get an idea of what to expect, or you can contact a wine consultant and we can help to curate an affordable selection of the best we have to offer, taking you on your self-guided tasting odyssey.

All of our wine is available to order online with fast delivery to anywhere in Australia. Sit back, relax and take a long browse through our collections to choose the best tasting wines from boutique and medium sized producers both from here at home in Australia, as well as the rest of the world.