MERLOT (Multimedia Education Resource for Learning and Online Teaching) at www.merlot.org is an online repository and International consortium of institutions (and systems) of higher education, industry partners, professional organizations and individuals. MERLOT partners and members are devoted to identifying, peer reviewing, organizing and making available existing online learning resources in a range of [https://www.merlot.org/merlot/materials.htm academic disciplines] for use by higher education faculty and students.

Merlot is a dark blue-colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to be a diminutive of merle, the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color of the grape. Its softness and "fleshiness", combined with its earlier ripening, makes Merlot a popular grape for blending with the sterner, later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, which tends to be higher in tannin.