Merlot

American  

[mur-loh, mer-loh] / ˈmɜr loʊ, mɛrˈloʊ /

noun

1. a dark-blue grape used in winemaking, especially in the Bordeaux region of France and in areas of Italy, Switzerland, and California.

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Merlot British  

/ ˈmɜːləʊ /

noun

1. a black grape grown in France and now throughout the wine-producing world, used, often in a blend, for making wine

2. any of various wines made from this grape

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Etymology

Origin of Merlot

< French: literally, young blackbird, derivative of merle merle ¹, probably alluding to the color of the grape

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Merlot

The wine-themed romantic comedy uncorked a torrent of Merlot hate.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

If a sequel were set in 2026, Miles might not be so dogmatic: Merlot, after its celluloid humbling, has bounced back.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

Yet this mass culling actually did Merlot a favor by weeding out middling producers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

Many of the resulting bottles were underwhelming at best and diluted the Merlot name.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

The marks on the pages, the “squiggles” as Merlot referred to them, arranged themselves into shapes.

From "The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread" by Kate DiCamillo

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