Veneto Merlot: the soft red from Veneto's small growers
Merlot is a black-skinned grape variety native to Bordeaux, France, grown in Italy — mainly in Trentino Alto Adige, Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia — since the nineteenth century. It favours cool, damp soils, and the alluvial ground along the banks of the Piave has always been a natural home for it. On this page you'll find our selection of Veneto Merlot — 3 labels from 14,50 € to 30 € — together with a guide to understanding the denominations, sensory profile, food pairings and how to choose the right bottle.
These are wines from small Veneto growers that tell the story of different areas of the region: from the banks of the Piave all the way to Colli Berici. The denomination you'll come across is Veneto IGT, used both for single-varietal Merlot and for a blend that pairs Merlot with the rare Marselan grape variety.
Veneto Merlot at a glance
Our Veneto Merlot labels
The Merlot labels available on VaiGustando, all from small Veneto growers. Click on a wine for the full details and to buy.
Merlot in Veneto: an international grape, a local character
The name Merlot comes, according to tradition, from the blackbird's fondness for its dark, sweet clusters. Having arrived in Veneto in the nineteenth century, it found in the clay soils of alluvial origin along the Piave — such as those in the Fagarè and Vallonto areas, in the Treviso province — an ideal ripening environment, one that softens its character compared with the Bordeaux versions.
It's a versatile grape variety: it can be vinified on its own, as Italo Cescon does with its Merlot Veneto IGT and its organic TesiRare line, where ageing in tonneau gives it a tighter weave. Others put it in dialogue with different grapes, like Redalmo, which in its REFONS pairs it with the rare French Marselan.
Merlot in Veneto: territories and denominations
Our Merlot labels come from two areas of the region, each with a recognisable stamp:
- Piave area (Fagarè and Vallonto, Treviso) — the alluvial plain of the Veneto foothills where Italo Cescon grows its Merlot, bottled as Veneto IGT.
- Colli Berici (Lonigo, Vicenza) — calcareous-marly soils of marine origin where Redalmo grows the grapes for REFONS, a Marselan and Merlot blend in Veneto IGT.
- Veneto IGT — the most flexible denomination, used both for single-varietal Merlot and for blends, and the one under which all our labels fall.
There's a third area worth knowing, even if right now we don't have a bottle to represent it: Asolo Montello DOC, the hills between Asolo, Monfumo and Castelcucco, where Merlot falls under a stricter set of rules and is aged at length in oak.
Two interpretations of the same grape variety, across the Piave plain and Colli Berici: a small window onto how Veneto can give different identities to the same grape.
Sensory profile: how to recognise it in the glass
In the glass, Veneto Merlot shows an intense ruby red, often with violet glints when young and garnet tones with ageing. On the nose it's dominated by ripe red and black fruit — cherry, plum, sour cherry, currant — joined, in the oak-aged versions, by notes of sweet spices, cocoa and liquorice.
On the palate it's soft and round, with a gentle, never aggressive tannin and a measured acidity: it's precisely this balanced structure that makes it a highly drinkable red. The typical alcohol is 13-14% vol. The entry-level labels stay on a fruity, straightforward register; those aged in barrique or tonneau (REFONS, TesiRare) gain spicy complexity and a more velvety tannin.
Our Veneto Merlot growers
Behind every label there's a real winery, with a history and a territory. Here's who makes the Merlots you'll find here:
- Italo Cescon (Fagarè and Vallonto, Treviso) — wine artisans on the banks of the Piave since 1957; theirs are the Merlot Veneto IGT "Il Tralcetto" and the organic "tulipe" Merlot from the TesiRare line. Discover the winery →
- Redalmo (Lonigo, Colli Berici) — a young venture between Colli Berici and Val d'Alpone; their REFONS combines Marselan and Merlot in a Veneto IGT blend. Discover the winery →
Food pairings: what to eat with Merlot
To understand what to drink Merlot with, it helps to start from its character: a soft, round red, with a gentle tannin and fruit full of plum and ripe cherry. Precisely because the tannin is silky and never angular, it doesn't demand the great roast: it's at ease with everyday dishes, to which it brings warmth and body without overpowering them. Its medium body and measured acidity make it versatile at the table, able to move from a flavourful first course to a white-meat main without any strain. Its roundness, moreover, wraps around flavours and softens dishes that are a little fatty or lightly spiced. The riservas, with a few months of oak, gain structure and stand up to longer cooking, but their underlying calling remains that of a convivial red, made to be enjoyed. The rule is not to ask it for dishes that are too imposing: it's at its best when the intensity of the food stays within its reach.
- First courses with ragù and baked pasta
- White meats, flavourful: chicken, rabbit, guinea fowl
- Cured meats and cold cuts, from prosciutto crudo to soppressa
- Red meats, simple: meatballs, stews, beef burgers
- Cheeses, medium-aged
On the banks of the Piave and in the Asolo hills, Merlot is the house red, and the cooking of the Marca Trevigiana follows it effortlessly. The signature dish is the spiedo dell'Alta Marca, the long skewer of mixed meats cooked slowly, which finds in Merlot's softness a companion that accompanies rather than overpowers. It also holds its own against sopa coada, the layered pigeon soup built up with bread and baked in the oven, and bigoli all'anatra, the thick, rough spaghetti dressed with duck ragù. Rounding it off are Treviso's soppressa and a plate of grilled radicchio rosso di Treviso, where the wine's plum fruit tempers the leaf's pleasant bitterness.
In short: the entry-level Merlot is the everyday red to uncork without a second thought, while the riserva, with more structure, is one to keep for a more demanding meat main.
How to serve and store Merlot
Serve Veneto Merlot at 16-18 °C, in medium-sized glasses; Italo Cescon's Merlot Veneto IGT, being softer, can also be poured at 18-20 °C. The cask-aged versions, like Redalmo's REFONS or the organic TesiRare, benefit from a short aeration before serving.
In the cellar, keep the bottles lying down, in the dark, at a constant temperature (12-14 °C). Once opened, Merlot deteriorates fairly quickly: best to finish it within a couple of days.
Vintages and ageing: when to open it
Veneto Merlot is not, generally, a wine for long keeping: its calling is ready, convivial drinking. Some labels, however, gain structure from oak ageing and can hold on for a few more years:
- Drink within 2-3 years — Italo Cescon's Merlot Veneto IGT "Il Tralcetto", with 9 months in oak: fruit and softness are its charm, with no need to wait.
- Worth waiting 3-5 years — Redalmo's REFONS, aged 12 months in barrique: a few years round out the tannin and bring out the notes of spice and cocoa.
- Single-varietal organic Merlot — Italo Cescon's TesiRare "Rompicapo tulipe", matured 6 months in tonneau, drinks well young but holds up without trouble for 3-4 years in the cellar.
To keep them at their best until then, see how to serve and store.
Buying guide by price range
- Everyday (14-16 €) — Italo Cescon's Merlot Veneto IGT: ready, soft, perfect for every day.
- More structured (20-30 €) — Redalmo's REFONS, a Marselan and Merlot blend aged in barrique, and Italo Cescon's organic TesiRare "Rompicapo tulipe": more complexity, suited to a special dinner.
You'll find all the up-to-date prices and the buy button in the cards above.
More Veneto reds to discover
Keep exploring the Veneto reds in our catalogue: Cabernet, Pinot Nero, Amarone, Valpolicella, Ripasso, Raboso del Piave and Refosco. Or browse all our red wines.