Merlot in Italy: A short history of its role in Italian winemaking and six to try

Vittorio degli Albizzi is credited with being the first to introduce Merlot to Italy when he returned from Burgundy in 1855 and replanted his high-altitude Pomino estate in Tuscany with French varieties.

Some ampelographers, however, suspect that Merlot was retroactively grouped in with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the estate's records.

Whatever the truth, we know that Merlot only really got going in the region well into the second-half of the 20th century, when wide-scale planting of the variety took place.

The first fully verifiable reference to Merlot comes from records at the viticulture and oenology school in Conegliano in the Veneto in 1875.

In the neighbouring region of Friuli, the grape was being grown commercially by the 1880s, and it was from here that a certain Count Savorgnano won the first recorded prize for a Merlot wine in Italy, in 1896.

The variety quickly spread from Friuli to the plains of Veneto, where it gained a firm foothold as a workhorse variety by the end of the 19th century.

Today, Merlot is included in no fewer than 105 DOC/Gs up and down the country, and the latest national figures (ISMEA, 2024) show a total of 24,237 hectares planted.

Veneto is Italy's biggest source of Merlot, with 5,710ha (according to Reg. Veneto, 2025), followed by Tuscany with an estimated 3,000-4,000ha (according to Reg. Toscana, 2024).

Numbers are much smaller in Friuli, but Merlot remains the most planted red grape in the region.

The height of Merlot planting in Italy was in the first decade of the 2000s, but since then it has declined considerably, especially in the northeast.

In 2010, Merlot accounted for 12% of the surface area of Veneto; now it is down to 5.5% (according to Reg.Veneto, 2025) as the industry moves increasingly towards commercial white wines.

The Merlot question

Two main themes are associated with Merlot in Italy. The first is to do with how it can best be used.

Merlot performs well in blends in many parts of the country. For example, in Veneto and Trentino – which was the first region in Italy to obtain a DOC for Bordeaux blends – it softens the often tough Cabernets.

In Tuscany, Merlot was planted widely in the 1980s and 1990s, initially with the function of bolstering Chianti Classico with its colour, fruit and body which was in demand at the time.

Merlot was an obligatory component of the first versions of the Bolgheri DOC, and it crops up in high profile wines of a similar style in many other regions.

The second question relates to Merlot's response to soil and climate.

Planted in 14 Italian regions, in the most diverse growing conditions, can we say that it is suited to all of them?

Mono-varietal Merlot is, of course, capable of greatness – but not everywhere.

The issue is that Merlot is very sensitive to terroir. It needs well ventilated sites with mid-range temperatures, and soils with good water retention since it is susceptible to drought stress.

It ripens quickly on warmer slopes, with a rapid accumulation of sugar and loss of acidity – but not necessarily mature tannins. In cooler climates, it can have bright, juicy fruit, but also a grassy edge.

Merlot's popularity is in part due its versatility; the same grape which produces famous wines such as Masseto on the blue clay of Bolgheri also makes the popular everyday drinking wines of the northeast.

Six Italian Merlot to demonstrate the variety's diversity

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