The Wine Fairy

The Wine Fairy 2025 recap: Our first year by the numbers

Wine friends, The Wine Fairy blog was started in December 2024. That means I’ve just wrapped up my first full year as a wine writer…and what a busy year it’s been.

I have been through months of studying, gallons upon gallons of wine, and several short exploratory trips to United States wine regions. (Napa Valley and Champagne are on the 2026 schedule!) And of course, there have been many hours in front of the keyboard to try and put it all into words.

To my readers, I am so grateful for your time and eyeballs. You make me want to keep striving to become a better taster and communicator. Although I’ve never met most of you, I wish you a safe and happy holiday season with glasses full of all of your favorites.

At B.R. Cohn Winery in Sonoma in December 2025 (Photo credit: Sarah Moore).

Below are some fun year-end stats about The Wine Fairy blog. Happy New Year, everybody–and I hope to see you around here in 2026!

The Wine Fairy Year in Review (2025)

Blog posts published: 232

Blog word count: 247,506

Instagram posts: 161

Reddit posts: 2 (Because r/wine is full of scary wine pros.)

WordPress subscriber count: 21

Most commonly used words: “Wine” and “wines,” followed by “Texas.” (No big surprises there.)

Wineries visited: 24*

Certification exams taken: 3

Number of #MerlotThursday reviews: 24

Most written-about region: Bordeaux

Runners-up: Texas High Plains AVA, Southern Rhône

Most commonly mentioned variety: Merlot

Runners-up: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir

Highest-rated wine: Hickinbotham Clarendon Vineyard “The Revivalist” Merlot (2013) – 9.4/10

Lowest-rated wine: ALDI California Heritage Pinot Grigio (NV) – 2.2/10

Most popular post: The 2025 Costco Wine Calendar: All 24 wines revealed!

Nerdy chart of which grape varieties I mention most frequently on the blog. (It’s Merlot, by a lot.)

*Wineries visited in 2025 (in CA, TX, and VA): Winery Collective, Peter Cellars, B.R. Cohn, Séamus Wines, Eco Terreno, Times Ten Cellars, Red Dirt Cellars, Blue Ostrich Winery, Siboney Cellars, Carter Creek Winery, Lost Draw, San Martiño Winery, Eden Hill Winery & Vineyard, Salado Winery, OG Cellars, Bingham Family Vineyards, Bull Lion Ranch Winery, Landon Winery, Grape Vine Springs Winery, Sloan & Williams Winery, Messina Hof Grapevine Winery, Cross Timbers Winery, Greenhill Vineyards, Boxwood Estate Winery.