Mexican Winery Joins Meritage Association, Membership Surges More Than 20% in 2005
- By CWF Sources
- Published 10/27/2005
- News
RUTHERFORD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 21, 2005---- The Meritage Association
( www.meritagewine.org ), which just this year voted to accept memberships from outside North America, has welcomed its first affiliate from Mexico. The trade and marketing association reports that membership has jumped 20% in the first 10 months of the year and 36% overall since the beginning of 2004.
Bodegas San Rafael Winery from Valle de Ojos Negros in Baja California, which makes a red Meritage called Passion, is the first Mexican winery to join the association. Earlier this year, wineries from Israel and Australia enrolled in the association, which owns the Meritage trademark. Previously, membership had been limited to wineries in the United States and Canada.
"We're finding widespread use of the term Meritage in labeling wines that are blended in the tradition of Bordeaux," said Julie Weinstock, president of Cosentino Signature Wineries and co-chair of the Meritage Association. "What started out as a domestic effort to define a blended wine of the highest caliber is now recognized worldwide and sales have followed the trend. Despite its high profile since the movie Sideways, Pinot Noir isn't the only darling out there. Meritage wines are definitely on the upswing."
Guidelines of the Meritage Association require that a red Meritage must be made from a blend of two or more of the following grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot, St. Macaire, Gros Verdot and Carmenere. A white Meritage also must be a blend of two or more of the following varieties: Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Sauvignon Vert. In both instances -- red or white -- no single variety may make up more than 90 percent of the blend.
The term Meritage, which was created after an international contest yielded more than 6,000 suggested names for the wine category, is neither English nor French. It, too, is a blend, taking the word merit (for quality) and combining it with heritage (for the Bordeaux tradition of blending varieties). Often mispronounced, the word rhymes with heritage.
About The Meritage Association
Founded in 1988 by a group of American vintners frustrated with limitations on varietal labeling requirements, The Meritage Association promotes blended wines made in the tradition of Bordeaux, recognizing that blending is the highest form of the winemaker's art. Meritage(R) is a registered trademark of the Meritage Association. The organization has more than 140 members in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Israel and Mexico.
( www.meritagewine.org ), which just this year voted to accept memberships from outside North America, has welcomed its first affiliate from Mexico. The trade and marketing association reports that membership has jumped 20% in the first 10 months of the year and 36% overall since the beginning of 2004.
Bodegas San Rafael Winery from Valle de Ojos Negros in Baja California, which makes a red Meritage called Passion, is the first Mexican winery to join the association. Earlier this year, wineries from Israel and Australia enrolled in the association, which owns the Meritage trademark. Previously, membership had been limited to wineries in the United States and Canada.
"We're finding widespread use of the term Meritage in labeling wines that are blended in the tradition of Bordeaux," said Julie Weinstock, president of Cosentino Signature Wineries and co-chair of the Meritage Association. "What started out as a domestic effort to define a blended wine of the highest caliber is now recognized worldwide and sales have followed the trend. Despite its high profile since the movie Sideways, Pinot Noir isn't the only darling out there. Meritage wines are definitely on the upswing."
Guidelines of the Meritage Association require that a red Meritage must be made from a blend of two or more of the following grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot, St. Macaire, Gros Verdot and Carmenere. A white Meritage also must be a blend of two or more of the following varieties: Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Sauvignon Vert. In both instances -- red or white -- no single variety may make up more than 90 percent of the blend.
The term Meritage, which was created after an international contest yielded more than 6,000 suggested names for the wine category, is neither English nor French. It, too, is a blend, taking the word merit (for quality) and combining it with heritage (for the Bordeaux tradition of blending varieties). Often mispronounced, the word rhymes with heritage.
About The Meritage Association
Founded in 1988 by a group of American vintners frustrated with limitations on varietal labeling requirements, The Meritage Association promotes blended wines made in the tradition of Bordeaux, recognizing that blending is the highest form of the winemaker's art. Meritage(R) is a registered trademark of the Meritage Association. The organization has more than 140 members in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Israel and Mexico.