Crossword Genius

Drink, in France, a great deal of wine (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

merlot

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'wine' is the definition.
(I know that Merlot is an red wine)

'drink in france a great deal' is the wordplay.
'drink in france' becomes 'mer' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'a great deal' becomes 'lot' ('lot' can be a synonym of 'great deal').
'mer'+'lot'='MERLOT'

'of' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for merlot that I've seen before include "Grape makes elm rot" , "Red wine grape variety" , "Strange wine made from elm rot" , "Black wine grape" , "Black grape variety" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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