Mom's spaghetti

Tonight's match up...MOM'S SPAGHETTI VS. FETZER California Merlot 2005

Let me just say that we are complete babes in the wood when it comes to wine tasting. My handsome husband cooked our meal tonight...Mom's spaghetti. We were told that a good red wine is the best accompaniment to a red meat based pasta dish. Our habit now is to let the wine "breathe" in our glasses as we take the first few bites of our supper, and then sip and taste the wine in turn. We know almost immediately if we enjoy the wine, but do we really taste what's in it? Tonight I was sure that I tasted OAK but I was way off the mark. The label on the bottle of merlot told us that we should be tasting blackberry and cherry, with aromas of plum. I must have dead tastebuds. How does the taste of blackberry and cherry get into a bottle of wine? Are they added to the merlot recipe at some point in the wine making process? This the first of, what I am sure, are many questions if my husband and I are to become true connoisseurs of wine.