How do we make White Merlot? Think of it as "naked Merlot." When making a standard red merlot we let the pressed juice lie with the grape skins themselves for deep red color and more body -- in this case, this juice was only with the skins for a fleeting moment, yielding a much lighter version of Merlot -- a new kind of Merlot you can have with fish, cheeses, salads, outdoors (We recommend out on the deck, or by the shore at sunset as a cocktail) and lighter cuisine. Terrific with red snapper, grilled tuna or salmon, bbq chicken breasts, etc.

This wine is semi-dry with just the right amount of natural fruit sweetness. The taste will remind you of cherries. Please serve this wine at room temperature (you can add ice and have it on-the-rocks) or only very, very, very slightly chilled. Like most really good French wines, try to avoid prolonged exposure to the refrigerator or heat. Estate Bottled, Mevushal. Limited Production. Should retail for around $8.00.

Daniel Rogov Ha'aretz and International Herald Tribune, July 2001 on Abarbanel White Merlot 2000: "Some say that White Merlot (which of course is a blush wine) is on the way to becoming the next big hit in the United States...this simple but pleasant little blush wine has appealing strawberry, cherry and apple flavors and almost floral aromas. Call it dry or call it semi-dry as you like, but without pretensions this is a wine that will make a good summer quaffer for those who are into good summer quaffers. To steal a line from Abraham Lincoln, 'this is the kind of thing that people who like this kind of thing will like.'"

---

Gold Medal
TastersGuild International
May 2002

Gold Medal
TastersGuild International
April 2000

Silver Medal
International Eastern Wine Competition
June 2000

Silver Medal
International Eastern Wine Competition
June 1999

Bronze Medal
Tasters Guild Consumer Wine Judging
August 2004

---

Berry-Berry Happy New Year!

Abarbanel White Merlot (tastes like light cherries, smells like roses) is the perfect wine for all the upcoming fall Chagim -- when the weather is still warm, what could be nicer than a slightly chilled rosé wine to accompany salads, poultry and buffet lunches. Our White Merlot (the world's first and still foremost kosher Merlot blush) is outstanding by itself, but here are a couple of ideas to take it up a notch:

Double Berry White Merlot:
Fill a narrow rosé or Chardonnay glass three-quarters of the way to the top. Drop in one or two fresh raspberries and blackberries. Let sit for five to ten minutes. Swirl the glass. The wine will have taken overtones from the fresh berries, which, when combined with the already delicate fruity taste of our White Merlot makes for a wonderfully light and fruity drink.

Abarbanel Berry Pucker:
Go out and get a bottle of Fresca ® -- the grapefruit-flavored soda from the Coca-Cola people. Combine two-thirds of a glass of Abarbanel White Merlot with one third Fresca and you've got a sweet-tart wine spritzer with fizz and pizzaz! Go ahead, live life on the edge -- you can even put some ice in this!

Abarbanel White Merlot is Mevushal and retails everywhere for well under $10 -- remember, our White Merlot (unlike many White Zinfandels) has no added sugar or corn syrup, the sweetness and fruity taste are 100% natural from the grapes themselves -- the tatse is semi-sweet, not cotton candy, so don't chill the heck out of it, serve only slightly chilled, please!