14 Hands Merlot Washington Red Wine

For this Merlot our evidence now includes a producer's own tasting note and a narrower origin, alongside the grape, shopper ratings and shelf prices. Washington is the origin printed on the shelf, a state rather than a single district; the producer's own page for this wine narrows that to the Columbia Valley, and most of the state's vineyards lie in the rain shadow east of the Cascades, where the mountains hold the Pacific rain back and the days run warm while the nights run cool. 15 ratings put it at 4.73; across the wines we cover the median score is 4.71. In our September 2026 checks the low end was $10.99, toward the cheaper side of the reds we cover.

Merlot itself, guides say, ripens ahead of Cabernet Sauvignon and comes out rounder, with softer tannin and plum and darker fruit in the glass, though climate and blending can leave it fresh and medium-bodied or push it broad and rich. Washington holds 21 growing areas the federal government recognizes, a few of them crossing into Oregon, so the state name alone leaves plenty unsaid. In those same September 2026 checks the high we saw was $19.99.

14 Hands names Columbia Valley as this Merlot's region and calls it, in its own words, 'packed with rich flavors and aromas of blackberry, plum, cherry and mocha,' a wine it describes as 'soft, approachable and food friendly,' finished at 14.5 percent alcohol. The winery, part of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and Washington's third-largest wine brand by its own account, takes its name from the historic wild horses of eastern Washington's Columbia River Valley and opened its Prosser tasting room in April 2014. Current winemaker Zach Richardson, a Tri-Cities native who came up through the company's vineyard-sample lab and its enology program, leads a house style the producer sums up as chasing taste over tradition.

Our call: pick this up if you want a Merlot priced among the least expensive reds we track, now with the producer's own tasting note and a Columbia Valley origin behind it rather than just the guides' general picture of the grape. Pass if you want vineyard-level sourcing or a confirmed blend; 14 Hands names the broad Columbia Valley AVA but does not say whether other grapes round out the wine, and the shopper scores behind it so far amount to a small count.

The Grocery Store Wine Desk · written Sep 16, 2026 from our research file for this wine. Numbers reflect our latest checks.