Elizabeth Barrett Browning drank merlot.

Every once in a while, I get an online newsletter from the A.G. Ferrari company about what foods are in season and available to purchase in the U.S. from Italy.
Today, as I perused the pages of the website, I came upon this intriguing statement introducing a red wine for sale:
"The favorite wine of Elizabeth Barrett Browning."
What??
Well!
It goes on to say:
An excellent structure and a lingering finish.
Travel to Asolo in the hills north of Venice, a favorite retreat of Robert Browning, where Dal Bello's Merlot has been the preferred local red since the 19th century.
Food matches: Roast meats, prime rib, poultry, Piave cheese.
Sounds good to me!
After seeing the movie Sideways, our friend Mara wondered: why the seeming disdain for merlot? The characters in the movie cringed at the mention of the red blend as if it were the lowly choice of neophytes and plebs.
Wine snobs!
Elizabeth may have been young, but she is considered one of the greatest of the English poetesses! Described as being of "singular nobility and charm, and though not beautiful...remarkably attractive." I adore the idea of her sitting on a grassy hillside, with her beloved husband by her side, the two of them drinking in an Italian sunset...and merlot. Not that any of this translates into any great semblance of wine knowledge, yet surely someone of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's stature would not tolerate swill.

So, as my theory goes for many a matter of random taste: if it's good enough for her, it's good enough for me!
And incidentally, one of the best merlots I've ever tasted was Hungarian -- just like Mara.
Ms. Barrett Browning's choice