QotD: Merlot

Merlot is the secret weapon of Bordeaux's Pomerol region, the grape that makes Château Pétrus among the most powerful, expensive, and sought-after red wines in the world. It's also the grape responsible for the most insipid red wines of the New World — the white zinfandel of the 1990s, Muzak for your palate. The average Merlot is so wimpy it's hard to believe it even contains alcohol.

Jay McInerney, Bacchus & Me, 2002