Hey there, loyal Hot Plates readers. We’ve come a long way, haven’t we? Last spring, you guys weren’t even a twinkle in our eye. But it seems like it is already time to begin thinking, again, about patio wines — stuff to drink while it’s warm and breezy (or, in the case of Washington in deep summer, not so breezy).

Easter brings with it thoughts of what’s to come: lazier days, longer afternoons, even longer evenings. We have just a couple of wine notes for you this week, and none of them are about heavy, wintry drinks.

First, The Wall Street Journal folks talk about Merlot. Dottie and John focus on this grape this week because it is the very first wine they wrote about in ‘98 when the began doing their column. At the time, Merlot was so cool you might have called it “hot.”

Lots of you love it and think of it as a go-to wine, but let’s be honest here: Plenty of you also would not be caught dead saying you like it, even if everyone can agree it is very drinkable. It’s thought of as not being challenging, or flavorful, and the truth is that often it isn’t anything crazy. It might just be smooth, “velvety” as fans would say, and often well-made. That said, if someone put a carafe of it in front of you on a spring afternoon to quaff with a wood-fired pizza, you’d be hard pressed to say “no thanks.”

Anyhow, D and J say Americans who got turned on to red wine in the ’90s “found they liked the smooth, supple and easy tastes of Merlot. Sales of California Merlot increased 12-fold between 1990 and 1998. By 2000, Merlot surpassed Cabernet Sauvignon as America’s favorite California red.”

But as the saying goes, that was then and this is now. As they revisited “midrange” Merlots, they found the wines “generally leaden, clumsy, hard to drink, charmless, alcoholic and uninteresting.” Ouch. Even worse: “It’s like they’ve made mediocre Merlot into an art form.”

Well, they did find a couple worth buying and trying. Their favorite was actually the Kendall-Jackson “Grand Reserve” 2004, which they priced at about $22. They also liked the one from Markham Vineyards 2004 (Napa Valley) for $20. Read the column to see the full Midrange Merlot Index, because most likely someone you love loves Merlot, and you need to know what to buy for them.

The Washington Post wine columnists brag that they’ve “got just the wine for every course” served up on Easter. They’ve got a sparkler, a Frascati, a Riesling, a Shiraz, a Rioja, a sherry and more. Read the descriptions and you’ll see it is hard to argue with their logic; their wine picks do seem like smart selection, especially when you’re trying to please a crowd.

Next is a Los Angeles Times piece that is a treat for the wine winos among us. Titled “White wines for your spring table,” it highlights a basketful of fragrant, crisp, refreshing, luscious wines you will either know about already or want to try. Even though Hot Plates has only been a legal drinker for, oh, more than a decade but less than 20 years, we definitely understand that big, buttery, oaky whites are no longer the only big players.

Leave it to the L.A. Times to tell us what’s new and zippy: “many of [the new whites] — New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs, white wines from Greece, crisp northern Italian whites — will lead with aromas and flavors borrowed from herb gardens and greenhouses, from produce stands and window boxes.

“These ‘green’ wines infatuate the senses with aromas reminiscent of scallion, celery leaf, snap peas or young parsley sprigs … Such characteristics used to be rare in an American wine glass. Indeed, 20 years ago it was difficult to find a white wine in this country that wasn’t bathed in butter or subjected to oppressive levels of oak.”

We wouldn’t usually quote that much text from an article we want you to read, but in this case the writer has it so right that it’s the only way. The scribe, Patrick Comiskey, knows what he’s talking about; if you’re a Chardonnay lover who sometimes digs a Sauvignon Blanc or a Pinot, then you might do well to buy one of everything he talks about and taste them. You’ll walk away with one new favorite wine to love, and to share with those you deem worthy.

Last but not least, we’ll mention the Eric Asimov column from the N.Y. Times about what might be the ultimate transition-from-winter-to-spring-kind-of-wine: Chinon. It’s a French red made mostly from Cabernet Franc grapes; anyone here who’s had straight Cab Franc knows that “rough” is accurate for some of these wines, but that type of red — full of character but a little tough to love — can be just right in early spring and fall.

Asimov says: “In cold years, when [Chinon] grapes struggle to ripen, or when they are grown in too much quantity, these wines take on a vegetative, bell pepper or even canned green bean quality that can be a turnoff.” Um, yes, we are not much for the canned-vegetable note in any wine we drink. However: “In a good year, the wines offer savory berry flavors, with herbal, earth and mineral tones … In a great year, these wines are absolutely delicious, with spicy raspberry and cherry flavors. They show intensity and elegance while remaining fresh and vivacious.”

The only issue is that we are not sure how easy it is to find these at your local wine store. But if they don’t stock any Chinon, why not put them to the test? Ask them what else they have that you might enjoy. A good wine gal or guy will have an idea, and at least take a spin around with you. And if they can’t answer your question, then there’s no question about it: Time to find a new wine shop.