How understanding climate conditions can help you shop for wine

Though most famous wine grapes hail from France, they take on new personalities and flavor profiles when grown elsewhere. Though regional vineyard conditions and winemaking choices are surely contributing factors, there is one other that can more generally explain how a grape will express itself in the bottle: climate.

Last week we introduced an American merlot which was soft, plump and fruity, very much in line with the expectations for the California-bred version of this grape. Today’s wine is a merlot-based blend from its native Bordeaux region in France, a wine that is much leaner, tasting greener in flavor and considerably drier as well.

Looking at their labels, one might conclude that the difference derives from the small amounts of cabernet sauvignon and malbec added to the French blend. However, these wines would taste just as different if their varietal makeup were identical, due to big differences in the climate where the grapes were grown.

California’s wine growing regions are sunny, warm, and dry. Bordeaux is located on France’s Atlantic Coast and has a maritime climate that is much more cool and moist in comparison. Cooler conditions extend the growing season and lead to fruit being harvested with lower overall ripeness, meaning grapes that are less sweet and more tart. As a result, modest merlot-based Bordeaux wines like this one feature a flavor profile that is more like fresh wild blackberries, complete with the lingering bitter bite of their seeds, rather than a baked berry dessert. These wines are also very dry and quite tart in the classic European style, with a subtle layer of savory aromatics reminiscent of black olives and red peppers that make them terrific partners for pastas, pizza, and roasted meats.

$16.99, 14.2% alcohol

PLCB Item #3616

Sale price through 11/28 — regularly $18.99

Also available at: Traino’s Wine & Spirits, Mount Laurel and Voorhees, $13.99, trainoswine.com.