What brand of wine to buy??

What price range are you thinking? That's going to determine a large part of what you buy. Regardless, buy domestic. You can get a better California wine for the same price as a mediocre import because of the tariffs built into import prices.

As to vintage, I'd try a Provence 2003. It got a very good rating from WineSpectator (90 points). I'm not a merlot person myself, but I tend to like Provence's wines.

Merlot (not "merlo") is a grape type, not a brand. There is a lot of merlot made in northeastern Italy, but it is usually inexpensive (and is coarser than Californian or Australian or Bordeaux wines made from the same grape). Why not get him one bottle of that and another bottle of a much more prestigious Italian wine like a Brunello del Montalcino or Vino Nobile de Montepulciano or Barolo or Barbaresco?

Also, it is Merlot. You forgot the t.

I love anything from the Rombauer vineyard. Duckhorn makes a nice selection of wines as well. I don't know if you have one near you, but BevMo has a great selection of California wines. And they are more than happy to help you pick something out.

A must try is the premium Merlot, Pinot Noir of CejaVineyards.com

My favorite merlot and cabernet are from the concha y toro vinyard which is located in Chile. Try Gato ***** as well. It is also from Chile and is neither expensive nor cheap and nasty. I guarantee pop will love it!!

Cave Springs 2002 is a nice dry white wine.

any of the 'meeker' products are good...my favorite is meeker handprint..it's wonderful and it has a really interesting bottle