A Family Affair (Cab vs Merlot)

The two most planted grapes in the world are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Both are hearty grapes that thrive in vineyards in all corners of the wine-making world. Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are smaller with thick black skins that produce superb wines with high levels of tannins and acidity showing tart flavor profiles of black currant and black cherry. Merlot grapes are larger with thinner skins that are bluer and produce fabulous wines with softer tannins, lower acidity and flavors of plum, cherry, chocolate and vanilla. 
 
They are also siblings. Half siblings to be exact. They share Cabernet Franc as a parent. Cabernet Sauvignon’s other parent is Sauvignon Blanc. The lesser-known French grape Magdeleine Noire des Charentes is Merlot’s other parental grape. There’s a third sibling as well, as Cabernet Franc is also the parent grape (along with Gros Cabernet) of Carmenère, originally a Bordeaux native that now makes it home in the warm highlands of Chile. 
 
Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot must take after their mothers because they’re both unlike Cabernet Franc. A lot depends on where it’s grown, but Cabernet Franc tends to yield a lighter-bodied pale red wine with flavors of strawberry, plum and hints of bell pepper or even chili pepper. 
 
Produced as single varietal wines or blended together, or with other grapes, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are responsible for some of the world’s finest wines.