Which is what he heard from everyone when he tore out a prized barbera vineyard to plant the Bordeaux grape.

A blend of the five classic Bordeaux grapes, it proved just the ripe, lusty ticket with our grilled meats.

Or the 2002 or 2003 Almaviva, from classic Bordeaux grapes.

Waiheke's climate are well suited to growing Bordeaux wine-type grapes, though some Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc varieties are also considered to be good.

The first, offered at $4.4 million, was a modern European 5,000-square-foot home on 12 acres, 5 of them a vineyard of Bordeaux grapes.

The fruit, along with petit verdot, another Bordeaux grape, was grown on 55 hillside acres surrounding the winery, a lofty white barn.

Conventional wisdom holds that another Bordeaux grape, cabernet franc, could rival merlot locally.

Both rely on Bordeaux grapes: merlot, cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc.

Both wines contain classic Bordeaux grapes, however they are very different, as they are made in a natural wine style with significant bottle variation.

These same Bordeaux grapes, differently allocated, form the succulent reserve merlot.