Grapevine Merlot - Mid-Season Ripening

Merlot is a highly valued wine grape variety that gives wines with a deep red colour. Drinks made from it are also distinguished by body, a balanced taste and a select bouquet. The homeland of Merlot is France. It is one of the most widely grown varieties in the Saint-Émilion and Pomerol areas. Besides France, this crop can also be found in Italy, the USA, Moldova, Chile, Australia and elsewhere. Although in smaller plantings, it is also found in Mexico, Argentina, New Zealand, Canada and China. Merlot is also grown in Bulgaria, in the southern wine-growing region.   The Merlot variety is characterised by medium-sized leaves that are cut and five-lobed. They are dark green in colour and covered with down. The bunch of this variety is of medium size. The berries are small and dark blue in colour. The flesh is juicy. It is covered with a medium thick but tough skin.   Merlot is a variety that ripens relatively late. Its harvest usually takes place in the last days of September. This is a variety considered to be productive. Standard trunk training systems are used to grow the variety. About five kilograms are obtained from one vine. The crop is sensitive to downy mildew, but grey mould often fails to affect the bunches. Otherwise the variety sometimes fails to cope with very low temperatures in the winter months. Areas with excessively high temperatures are also unsuitable for this variety, since in such circumstances the fruit ripens faster and the quality is not the same.