Is there a difference in a bottle of Merlot wine and a Merlow that has, in small print "American table wine"?

Question

Is there a difference in a bottle of Merlot wine and a Merlow that has, in small print "American table wine"?

Answer 1

No, no difference at all.

"Table wine" is a common descriptor for one of the three types of wine, i.e. still wine (the other 2 being sparkling and fortified) - think French vin de table or Italian vino di tavola.  Some labels will fancy themselves up but putting that on their label, but it really doesn't mean any better - nor worse - quality.

Also, by law (the lovely BATF) most wines - with the grape designation (i.e. Merlot in this case) - only have to have 75% of that grape in the bottle if from a state (i.e. California, Washington State, etc.), and 85% if from a specific area (i.e. Russian River Valley, Napa, etc.).  So, it is obvious that most wines - without knowing - are blends (indeed for example, the most common grape used to bolster the flavor of Pinot Noir now is Syrah).  Blending is allowed by law (even in vintages, but that is a topic for another thread...)

Hope this helps

Answer 2

Possibly

The one with the small print could be a blend with a majority being Merlot. To be sure, flip the bottle around and see if it has % for different grape varietals.

BTW, there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG with a blended wine. Blending can add depth and character to a wine, just look at Bordeux.