Merlara is a comune

Comune

In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

(municipality) in the Province of Padua

Province of Padua

The Province of Padua is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Padua.-History and territory:...

 in the Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 region of Veneto

Veneto

Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...

, located about 80 km southwest of Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 and about 45 km southwest of Padua

Padua

Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...

. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,980 and an area of 21.4 km².

Merlara borders the following municipalities: Casale di Scodosia

Casale di Scodosia

Casale di Scodosia is a comune in the Province of Padua in the Italian region Veneto, located about 70 km southwest of Venice and about 40 km southwest of Padua...

, Castelbaldo

Castelbaldo

Castelbaldo is a comune in the Province of Padua in the Italian region Veneto, located about 80 km southwest of Venice and about 45 km southwest of Padua. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,694 and an area of 15.2 km².Castelbaldo borders the following municipalities:...

, Masi

Masi, Italy

Masi is a comune in the Province of Padua in the Italian region Veneto, located about 70 km southwest of Venice and about 45 km southwest of Padua. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,810 and an area of 13.7 km²....

, Piacenza d'Adige

Piacenza d'Adige

Piacenza d'Adige is a comune in the Province of Padua in the Italian region Veneto, located about 70 km southwest of Venice and about 40 km southwest of Padua...

, Terrazzo

Terrazzo, Italy

Terrazzo is a comune in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about 80 km southwest of Venice and about 45 km southeast of Verona...

, Urbana

Urbana, Italy

Urbana is a comune in the province of Padua, in Veneto region of northern Italy.-External links:*...

.

Merlara DOC

Italian wine

Italian wine

Italian wine is wine produced in Italy, a country which is home to some of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world. Italy is the world's largest wine producer, responsible for approximately one-fifth of world wine production in 2005. Italian wine is exported largely around the world and has...

, both red, white and frizzante, under the Merlara DOC appellation have been produced in this region since 2000. Grapes destined for DOC production must be harvested up to a maximum yield

Yield (wine)

In viticulture, the yield is a measure of the amount of grapes or wine that is produced per unit surface of vineyard, and is therefore a type of crop yield...

 of 12 tonnes/hectare

Hectare

The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...

 with the finished wines fermented to a minimum alcohol level of 11%.

Red Merlara wines are a blend of primarily 50-70% Merlot

Merlot

Merlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...

 with up to 50% of other local, non-aromatic red grape varieties permitted to fill in the remainder of the blend. White Merlara is made from 50-70% Friulano

Friulano

Friulano is the name of a firm cow's milk cheese made in Canada named after the Friuli region of Italy. It is rindless and interior-ripened with a yellow surface and interior. It is salty and tastes slightly of hazelnut...

 with up to 50% of other local white grape varieties permitted to fill in the remainder. Other wines produced in the region include a slightly sparkling frizzante made from Marzemino

Marzemino

Marzemino is a red Italian wine grape that is primarily grown around Isera, south of Trentino. The wine is most noted for its mention in the opera Don Giovanni of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart . The vine ripens late and is susceptible to many grape diseases including oidium...

 and varietal

Varietal

"Varietal" describes wines made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label. Examples of grape varieties commonly used in varietal wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot...

style wines made from Merlot, Friulano and other varieties provided that comprise of at least 85% of the designated variety.