But I'm going to stick closer to home. I've had far more world-class wines made from zinfandel than from merlot. If you want to taste French cabernet, Bordeaux is the place to start. California's Napa Valley is another hotbed of cabernet. Pinot noir arouses more passion than any other wine, I think, red or white.
Problem is, it's a capricious grape, hard to grow and sometimes harder to make.
Pinot noir is not a heavy red like cabernet, and makes a great segue for white-wine drinkers who want to branch out. Zinfandel, despite its obscure origins, which probably lie in Eastern Europe, is nonetheless America's Grape. Zinfandel is grown in a few other places, but California, as they say, is where it's at. One of the inherent problems with zinfandel is that you, the consumer, don't know in which style it's made. Some zinfandels are high in alcohol and can sneak up on you.