Our take
McManis Family Vineyards Merlot California Red Wine
- Style
- Red wine
- Size
- 750 ml
- Grape
- Merlot
- Region
- California
- Shelf barcode
- 0670580002178
Our take
What we make of this bottle
One number to start: $15.99. That is what this Merlot cost at the store we checked in September 2026, and it is the only price we have on record for it. The winery behind it, McManis Family Vineyards, says Ron and Jamie McManis founded it in 1990, which dates the business rather than the wine in the bottle.
We do not have a shopper rating for this wine. As for the grape, Merlot is a red our grape research says can carry a wine on its own or soften a Cabernet-led blend, ripening earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon and often built on a rounder structure.
The grape research also points to plum along with other red and dark fruit, to tannin that in many examples pushes less hard than Cabernet's, and to a wine that climate and blending can leave either fresh and medium-bodied or broad and rich. So one thing stays open at the shelf: is this the fresh, medium-bodied kind, or the broad and rich kind?
The Grocery Store Wine Desk · written Sep 16, 2026 from our research file for this wine. Numbers reflect our latest checks.
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Read our take →The prices we checked
Dated store checks, not a promise about your store.
- Kroger, Atlanta suburbs, GA$15.99
- Kroger, Richmond, VA$15.99
The regular price can vary by store and date.
From the producer
Winery history
McManis Family Vineyards says Ron and Jamie McManis founded the winery in 1990.
Research status
What we are still checking
Our overview above draws on the dated store feed, shopper ratings, our region and grape research, and any sourced producer facts. We are still working to confirm the current release, the full producer record, and the bottle itself, and we update this page as we learn more.
Getting to know California.
California on the label is useful provenance but weak detail about place. For these wines, sourcing disclosure, blend construction and house-style consistency carry more decision value than a generic climate paragraph.
What the name means
A state-level appellation, broader than an individual American Viticultural Area. It permits a multi-region blend and does not by itself identify one climate or soil.
How grapes grow here
The state spans cool maritime zones and hot inland valleys. A California designation alone does not reveal which conditions shaped the fruit.
What lies under the vines
At state scale, sourcing and house-style construction matter more than any single soil story.
How large the region is
- Reusable question
- Which counties or AVAs supplied the blend, and did that mix change by release?
Places within the region
- Resolution limit
- County, AVA and vineyard claims begin only when the release names them.
Getting to know Merlot.
Merlot is a red grape that can make a complete wine or soften a Cabernet-led blend. It generally ripens earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon and often has a rounder structure.
Category guide
What to expect in the glass
Regional guides describe plum and other red or dark fruit, with less forceful tannin than Cabernet Sauvignon in many examples. Climate and blending can make it fresh and medium-bodied or broader and richer.
Sources: New Zealand Winegrowers; Napa Valley Vintners. Checked Aug 10, 2026. See all 28 Merlot wines we cover →
Where this information comes from
- Store listing
- Price, package, product identifier. Checked Aug 10, 2026.
- Barcode
- The shelf barcode shown here is computed from the store product identifier. It has not been checked against a bottle.
- Method
- Every price, rating and fact here is a dated observation. How we check.