Not sure at whom the comment may be aimed, but if my comments reflect disdain, it probably rose in reaction to Meritage Assoc/Alli website and the further confirmation it gives to the shifting, imprecise, expanding, shadow-boxing identity issue the name (which has to be explained) has. When in a winery or wine shop and encounter the name, my reaction is more of a shrug and the thought of "but let's see what the wine has to say for itself" reaction.

Pretty much my reaction as well. Just a shrug and "so what".
But agree, the WebSite in not very good. Needs work badly and rather out of date.
Tom

I cannot remember the last time I saw "Meritage" on a label. Does anybody still do that? Who?

Dry Creek labels their red blend "Meritage".

Pouring at SFW&CF will be:
The Meritage wines we'll be pouring at SFWC include the following:

St. Supery 2007 White Meritage, Elu
Ehret Family Meritage (no vintage info yet)
Dry Creek Vineyard The Mariner 2006
Topel 2006 Meritage, Le Mariage
St. Helena Road Winery Maier Family Meritage, 2007
Ironstone Reserve Meritage 2006
Casa Rondena 2007 Meritage
Casa Nuestra 2007 Meritage
Guenoc 2007 Meritage
La Joyeuse Harmonie Meritage 2007

According to their website, the Meritage Alliance has 152 members in California alone. So I would assume that quite a few still use the term on a label.

Pretty good mix of pedestrian (Barefoot Cellars, K-J) and boutique (Dunning, Deerfield Ranch).

Having given this zero thought before this thread, I started thinking about instant associations with the word for someone who doesn't know anything about it.

The made-up word is based on "Merit", which means that something has achieved a superior level of accomplishment, implies some sort of yardstick or judging. It suggests something earned through good works.

In that sense, it implies a higher grade, or some sort of acknowledgement by an authoritative source.

can someone make swill from the five blessed grapes and call it "meritage"?

Yup....sure can, Roland. There are no official Meritage standards for a wine that uses Meritage on the label. Gallo makes a Winemaker's Signature Meritage that sells for upper-teen$. CameronHughes has one priced around $11 I believe. Whether these are swill or not...I kinda doubt it. I kinda doubt you'll see a bunch of Meritage wines in TraderJoe's at $7/btl, though.
It would be interesting to see what would happen if FredFranzia joined the MeritageAlliance (assuming they would let him) and tried to release a $5 Meritage blend.
The wineries/winemakers are sorta on their honor not to abuse the Meritage name. Supposedly, it is supposed to represent the finest of their blending art and not supposed to be a 2'nd tier wine. It's interesting that DryCreekVnyd as done a high-end Meritage blend for quite a few yrs. But they've recently started a new proprietary blend, TheMariner, that they price above their Meritage.
Tom

Isn't there also a fee, something like a dollar a case sold, that must be paid to the Meritage Alliance (or whatever they call themselves) if you are member?

Yup....$1/case...up to a $500 max per wine.
Tom

Okay so what's the difference between a Claret and a Meritage?

The only real difference is that with Meritage, you have to pay the Meritage Society royalty fees for using the designation.

I always thought of claret is just an old term for Bordeaux.

I think Meritage has just as much "meaning" as Claret (a traditionally British term) and probably more meaning than fanciful names like Cardinale or Mariner. At least there's a little consistency from winery to winery.

And frankly, I'm a bit incredulous to the idea that so many from this assemblage of wine geeks here claim to not know that a Meritage is a blend of Bordeaux grapes.

Well, John...it all depends.
Claret is the British term (still used by them) for a RedBdx wine. It dates back to the 19'th century when RedBdx was much lighter in color...clairette....which was corrupted by the Brits (they never did know how to use the English language correctly...and they talk funny!!) into Claret.
In the USA/Calif, they used to allow the use of the term Claret on a label of a red wine, but that term has been banned by the Feds, except for a few wineries who were grandfathered in. Claret was supposed to denote a generic red wine that was in the "style" of a RedBdx. But, in fact, it meant anything the winery wanted it to mean and many Calif Clarets had nary a drop of Cabernet in them.
Meritage is simply a blend of the (defined) noble red varieties that are used in making RedBdx. You have to join the MeritageAlliance and pay them a few to use Meritage on your label. There are a lot of proprietary labels (Opus 1, Dominus, Insignia) that qualify to be a Meritage, but the wineries eschew that usage on the label.
Tom

uh, 18th century, Tom, at least. I haven't looked, but suspect it may date back to the 17th century. The Brits used to control a swath of what now passes for southern France including Bordeaux.

A charge of disingenuousness? Who?? where??

Myself, I come by my ignorance the regular way and don't have to pretend.

[quote=blilAnd frankly, I'm a bit incredulous to the idea that so many from this assemblage of wine geeks here claim to not know that a Meritage is a blend of Bordeaux grapes. [/quote] My comment of "What the hell does Meritage mean?" was rhetorical to emphasize the identity and name confusion. I've followed Jefferson Vineyards Meritage right from the start.....

So Foley and Pride Clarets are not Meritages and we can't compare between them with Insignia and Opus because they are not amoung the alliance? To me, these are all Bordeaux style blends.

John,
The Foley & Pride are not officially and the Opus and Insignia are not officially Meritages because they don't belong to the Alliance and are not labeled Meritage as such. But they are Bdx blends, crafted in the spirit of Meritage wines, and it makes perfect sense to compare them.
Tom

Just to be clear. It's a FEDERAL law that prohibits tasting and comparing wines of different designations. If you flaunt the law and set up a tasting of a Meritage and an Opus One in front of the Capitol, you might be arrested.

The STATES however have enacted laws that permit such consumption and writing comparative commentary when done in the interest of properly assigning points and you have a permit. If you have a permit and live in a state that allows this, you can even taste a cab, a merlot, and a meritage at the same time and put the notes on the same page.

No state allows tasting a meritage and a zinfandel, however. That's just too radical.