Merlot

I used to really not like merlot. I'm not sure why. Perhaps because it has a somewhat unique (to me) taste. I don't know what changed things, but I find merlot works for me more and more. 

Last night I made mahi mahi and went to my newly purchased holiday wine case* to see what might best accompany the fish.

*Every year, a local wine store offers a special holiday wine case, which is twelve bottles for $149. It always includes a bubbly, a dessert wine, and then a mix of red and white. This year's case offered a prosecco as the bubbly (score!), and a port (whoohoo!) - as far as bubblies and dessert wines go, those are my favorites. Then, the red/white mix was heavy on the red, which also suits my taste. The case just had the perfect mix for me, and is such a great price. Plus, it comes with a description of each wine as well as a pairing recommendation.

To my surprise, the bottle that was recommended to accompany fish was a merlot. Huh? A red? With fish?

The description said that the fats in the fish can stand up well to the strong flavors of merlot. The description was right.

I'm enjoying a lovely merlot from Washington State called Red Diamond. The description at Total Wine is at the bottom of this post. The best part about it? It retails for - get this - $6.97. That's right. I did quite the double take when I saw that, because this does not taste like a cheap wine at all. I would happily give this as a gift or serve it to guests.

Yay for merlot! (and, one of the distrinctive flavors of merlot is chocolate, so how exactly did I not like this before?)

Washington- This Merlot opens with a beautifully knit blackberry, cherry and spice scented nose with a toasty oak background. Sweet fruit on the palate is complemented by medium-bodied but firm tannins.