Gnarly Head Merlot

Do you ever walk into the liquor store to buy a bottle of wine for a party, a hostess gift, dinner, yourself, or whatever else, and feel just a little bit intimidated? You don’t want to spend a zillion dollars on a bottle of wine, but you want to leave with something that shows you have good taste and more importantly actually tastes good. I have a solution for you. Gnarly Head Merlot. You can expect to see it priced from between $6-$10 a bottle, which is pretty darn reasonable. Yet, you can also take it to your party or serve it with dinner in confidence knowing it’s going to tastes good. 

In case you are taking your bottle of Gnarly Head Merlot to a party and want to sound smart when discussing it, here’s the super speedy bullet point lowdown:

• Merlot happens to be a dark blue wine grape, that is used to make wine blends, and is also often featured all by it’s lonesome.
• Merlot is believed to be the third most planted grape variety and is grown in a number of locations. (France, of course, but also Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, most of the rest of Europe, South America, Mexicao, South Africa, and of course the United States, particularly California and Washington… Actually Merlot is grown pretty much everywhere but Antartica.)
• There are two major styles when dealing with Merlot grapes. The “International style” calls for harvesting grapes on the later side of the season which yields a full bodied wines that have a beautiful rich red color. Wines produced in the “International style” tend to have flavors of plum and blackberry. The traditional “Bordeaux style” calls for an earlier in the season harvest of the grapes. This yields a more moderate bodied wine with a higher acidity. Notes of raspberries and strawberries are common in “Bordeaux style” wines. 

• Gnarly Head’s grapes are grown in California following the “International style.”
• The wine is deep purple red, and heavy on the blackberry flavors. Notes of cherry, plum, vanilla are also fairly easy to pick up. You may also notice a tiny hint of coco.
• Gnarly Head Merlot is often described as lush and fruity. It is not highly acidic, but has enough tannins to taste well balanced. 
• One of the nice things about this wine is that is has a bold enough flavor to pair well with stronger flavored dishes. Don’t be afraid to try a glass with pizza, pork, or a hearty steak. In my opinion it’s also rather nice with a square of very dark chocolate. I would probably avoid pairing it with fish and other sea foods as it’s likely to overwhelm more delicate flavors. 

To sum it all up this is one of the best bottles of wine you’re likely to find for under ten dollars! So pick up a bottle and get thee making some pizza!