Variety is spice of affordable merlots, kosher Passover wines

Merlot has become a favorite among wine drinkers who want to drink a red wine before dinner or at a party.

Cabernet sauvignon continues to be the best-selling red wine, but cabernets often can need food accompaniment to be at their best.

Merlots don't usually have the astringencies or backbone of cabernets, nor do they have the long finishes.

But merlots can be pleasant drinks and less expensive than a cabernet.

I asked the wine tasters to compare five merlots in the $10-$15 range. Here is what we found:

- 2000 Belvedere Healdsburg Ranches at $13.99. This wine was jammy and spicy, with hints of eucalyptus. It was full of darker fruit flavors, all wrapped up in a nice, velvety mouthful. This merlot ranked first in our tasting.

- 1999 Monterra Merlot at $12.99. This wine was less complex than the Belvedere. Its aroma showed oak, pleasant green vegetables and a bit of alcohol. In the mouth, we tasted blackberries with a bit of tea leaf. The Monterra tied for second in the tasting.

- 2000 Andretti Selection Series Merlot at $10.99. This wine had lots of layers of fruits in the aroma: plum, blueberries and cherries. The fruit carried on to the taste, so much so that it tasted slightly fruit-sweet. This wine tied for second.

- 2000 M. Trinchero Merlot at $12.99. Mint dominated the aromatic and flavor impressions of this wine. The aroma included vegetables, and in the mouth, we tasted plum and some cherry.

- 1999 Columbia Winery Merlot at $14.99. This wine was completely different from the others. The aroma smelled like cream soda and caramel corn. It did not have the mouth feel of the others, tasting a bit thin, and the fruit and acids were not in good balance.

Passover wines

While some people drink kosher wines year-round, consumption increases during Passover.

The production of kosher wines is provided under strict Jewish rabbinical law.

These wines must be made under strict purity standards, overseen by a rabbi and handled during the production process only by orthodox Jews.

Originally, most of the kosher wines tended to be sweet and made from concord grapes. Today, however, several makers of kosher wines offer different varietals, from chardonnay to cabernet sauvignon. Producing countries range from Israel to Europe to the United States.

Baron Herzog and Fortant de France are just two examples of widely distributed kosher wines. Some producers are better than others in producing quality wines, so drinkers should not buy any kosher wine from a shelf without references.

I asked members of my wine group to taste three varietals.

- 2001 Fortant de France Chardonnay at $9.99. This wine's aroma held an agreeable Old World mustiness mixed with fresh green apple. Their scents carried through in the taste, along with a muted flavor of dried fruit.

- 2000 Baron Herzog Merlot at $13.99. Scents of fresh plum, typical of merlot, were in the aroma of this wine and plum flavors and carried through on the palate. It was somewhat astringent on the finish.

- 2001 Fortant de France Cabernet Sauvignon at $9.99. This light, fruity wine had a thinner body than you would expect in a cabernet sauvignon. It was somewhat acidic on the end.

Questions can be sent to Frank Sutherland, editor, The Tennessean, 1100 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203 or e-mailed to editor