Meritage

[MEHR-ih-tihj] A wine term (a compound of the words "merit" and "heritage") instituted in 1989 as a certification mark registered with the U.S. Department of Trademarks and Patents. It was coined by a group of vintners who sought to establish standards of identification for a category of American blended wines made with traditional bordeaux grape varieties. The Meritage Association was formed to help identify quality American wine blends that, because they're not made with at least 75 percent of a single variety, can't use the variety name on the label. This forced many producers of excellent wines to either use generic names (like claret or Red Table Wine) or proprietary names (like the Joseph Phelps Vineyards Insignia)-practices that caused great confusion in the marketplace. To be designated as Meritage, a wine must meet the following standards: 1. It must be a blend of two or more Bordeaux grape varieties-for red wines these are Cabernet Franc, cabernet sauvignon Carmenere, Gros Verdot, Malbec, merlot, petite verdot and St. Macaire, and for whites they're sauvignon blanc, muscadet and sémillon (no more than 90 percent of any single variety may go into a Meritage wine); 2. It must be the winery's best wine of its type; 3. It must be produced and bottled by a U.S. Winery from grapes that carry a U.S. appellation and 4. Its production is limited to a maximum 25,000 cases per vintage. Wineries that are approved for the Meritage designation may use it in various ways on the label. They may simply use the word Meritage alone, or Meritage in conjunction with their own proprietary name (as with Cardinale from Kendall-Jackson Vineyards) or use only their proprietary name. At this writing the Meritage Association is petitioning the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) for approval of Meritage as a class and type of wine.

[MEHR-ih-tihj] Instituted in 1989, the term Meritage is a certification mark registered with the U.S. Department of Trademarks and Patents. It was coined in 1988 by a group of vintners who sought to establish standards of identification for a category of American blended wines made with traditional bordeaux grape varieties. The name Meritage (a compound of the words merit and heritage) was chosen from over 6,000 entries in an international contest held by these vintners. The purpose of The Meritage Association is to help identify quality American wine blends that, because they're not made with at least 75 percent of a single variety, can't use the variety name on the label. This forced many producers of excellent wines to either use generic names (like claret or Red table wine) or proprietary names (like Insignia from Joseph Phelps Vineyards). Both practices caused great confusion in the marketplace. To be designated as Meritage, a wine must meet the following standards: 1. It must be a blend of two or more Bordeaux grape varieties-for red wines these are cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, Carmenere, Gros Verdot, malbec, merlot, petit verdot and St. Macaire; and for whites they're sauvignon blanc, muscadelle and sémillon (no more than 90 percent of any single variety may go into a Meritage wine); 2. It must be the winery's best wine of its type; 3. It must be produced and bottled by a U.S. Winery from grapes that carry a U.S. appellation; and 4. Its production is limited to a maximum 25,000 cases per vintage. Wineries that are approved for the Meritage designation may use it in various ways on the label. They may simply use the term "Meritage" or use "Meritage" in conjunction with their own proprietary name (as with Cardinale from Kendall-Jackson Vineyards), or they may use only their proprietary name.

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Three different Meritage wines: a 2005 Lyeth Sonoma County, a 2001 Estancia Alexander Valley, and a 2002 Jackson-Triggs Okanagan Valley.

Meritage is a proprietary term used to denote red and white Bordeaux-style wines without infringing on that region's legally protected designation of origin. Winemakers must license the trademark from its owner, the California-based Meritage Association. Member wineries are found principally in the United States, though increasingly elsewhere.

Contents 1 History 2 Trademark licensing and wine production 3 References 4 External links

History

The Meritage Association was formed in 1988 by a small group of Napa Valley, California vintners increasingly frustrated by U.S. BATF regulations stipulating wines contain at least 75% of a specific grape to be labeled as that varietal. As interest grew in creating Bordeaux-style wines, which by their blended nature fail to qualify for varietal status, members sought to create a recognizable name for their high-quality blended wines.

In 1988, the association hosted a contest to conceive a proprietary name for these wines, receiving over 6,000 submissions. "Meritage", —a combination of merit and heritage, was selected and its coiner awarded two bottles of the first ten vintages of every wine licensed to use the brand.^[1]

By 1999 The Meritage Association had grown to 22 members. Shifting its focus from trademark policing to education and marketing resulted in swift growth. By 2003 the Association had over 100 members, including its first international participants.

In May of 2009, The Meritage Association announced that it has changed its name to The Meritage Alliance. As of August 2009, the Alliance had over 250 members.

Trademark licensing and wine production

The Meritage agreement stipulates the blends that can be labeled "Meritage", a fee per case (currently $1.00, capped at $500.00 per vintage), and various labeling restrictions.

Red Bordeaux is made principally from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes, with lesser proportions of Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec. A red Meritage must be made from at least two of these grapes (or the less well known St. Macaire, Gros Verdot, and Carmenère), with no varietal comprising more than 90% of the blend.

White Meritage is a blend of at least two of the principal white Bordeaux grapes Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, and Muscadelle du Bordolais.

Although not stipulated by the licensing agreement, the Meritage Association strongly recommends that wineries label only their best blend Meritage and limit production to no more than 25,000 cases.

References

• What is Meritage?
• The Meritage Association License Agreement
• 2005 Code of Federal Regulations, Title 27, Volume 1, Part 5: Labeling and Advertising of Distilled Spirits

Footnotes

1. ^ Professional friends of Wine. "Proprietary labels". http://www.winepros.org/consumerism/proprietary.htm. 

External links

• The Meritage Alliance official site

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