Our take
William Hill Estate Merlot Central Coast Merlot California Red Wine
- Style
- Red wine
- Size
- 750 ml
- Grape
- Merlot
- Region
- California
- Shelf barcode
- 0085000021583
Our take
What we make of this bottle
This Merlot's stated origin is California's Central Coast. Behind it, William Hill Estate says Bill Hill founded the winery in 1976. Grape guides describe Merlot as a red variety that can make a full wine on its own or soften a Cabernet-led blend, ripening earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon and often rounder in structure. They also note plum and other red or dark fruit, with less forceful tannin than Cabernet Sauvignon in many examples, and add that climate and blending can leave it fresh and medium-bodied or broader and richer.
We do not have a shopper rating for this wine. In our September 2026 checks it was priced at $19.49.
William Hill's product page for the current 2022 vintage adds winemaking detail behind that Central Coast sourcing: the grapes were destemmed, lightly crushed, and cold soaked for up to three days before fermentation, then aged on a mix of French and American oak. The producer's tasting notes describe "dark plum, black cherry and blackberry layered with hints of chocolate," the style "rich, velvety smooth and full-bodied" with a long finish, and the producer credits the 2022 growing season, warm and mostly even with an early, fast harvest, for the wine's ripeness. Alcohol content and blend percentage are not published for this wine.
Our call: worth a try if William Hill's own winemaking account, a Central Coast source confirmed on the producer's page, a cold soak and a named French-and-American oak program, is enough to go on. Pass if you want a crowd behind the choice or a stated alcohol level: no shopper rating has reached our record, and William Hill does not publish ABV for this wine.
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 price we checked
Dated store checks, not a promise about your store.
- Kroger, Atlanta suburbs, GA$19.49
The regular price can vary by store and date.
From the producer
Winery history
William Hill Estate says Bill Hill founded the winery in 1976.
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.