For a long time I pronounced Meritage - Meri-Tahj. When I learned it was pronounced to rhyme with heritage I felt foolish.
Last night I was talking to someone in the biz about the vineyard To Kalon. I’ve always pronounced it (Too-Callin, emphasis on the Callin). He pronounced it Toe-Kulon, emphasis on the Toe). Researched when I got home and of course he was right.
I’m not sure how you are pronouncing pape, but pop isn’t a bad English approximation. It’s true that the vowel sound should be more like ah, as when the doctor says say ah, but it should definitely not be like the “a” in Maverick’s old pappy.
Ear does have something to do with it. Even disregarding things like vocal placement and variations in how the mouth forms sounds in English versus French, that vowel sound doesn’t exist in most American accents and dialects. I’ve spent a lot of time taking and teaching speech classes for the theatre - people often have trouble hearing a sound they aren’t used to, not to mention trouble making that sound. Differences in vowel sounds are particularly hard.