I'm cooking pasta al ragù for some friends, and we bought both a merlot and a bordeaux...don't know that much about wines, which one would be better to start? thanks!

Hello! I'm assuming your pasta al ragu will be with the usual tomato and meat sauce. Neither of the two wines would be ideal as a match with the tomato sauce, but I suspect the Merlot will pair better.

Merlot makes up a fair proportion of the blend in any Bordeaux red. Your label on the Bordeaux may or may not indicate the percentage.

The one labelled as Merlot will be either pure Merlot or may have a few percent other grapes blended in. It will tend to be softer and less tannic than the Bordeaux which might contain a large proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon or Cabernet Franc. I suspect that unless your Bordeaux is well aged or is based primarily on merlot, it may be a bit too "grippy" for your dish.

If you have a chance to run out to the store again, an Italian red wine based on the sangiovese grape, like Chianti or one of the so called "Super Tuscans" would make for a more favourable pairing. Otherwise, I'm sure the merlot will work out fine.

I hope that helps.

Cheers!