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Merlot Thursday: Rombauer Vineyards Napa Valley Merlot (2023)
Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal published a feature titled “Two Decades After ‘Sideways,’ Merlot Is Ready for Redemption.” It’s the latest in a growing pile of “Merlot is back, baby!” journalism. In January 2026 at The New York Times, chief wine critic Eric Asimov included the varietal in his annual roundup of overlooked wine categories…
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Champagne Barons de Rothschild: Bordeaux’s legacy meets Champagne’s future
Bordeaux and Champagne may be worlds apart in style, but they share a common toolkit: blending expertise, and the patient art of aging. These values were the inspiration behind Champagne Barons de Rothschild, founded in 2005 as a collaboration between all three branches of Bordeaux’s historic Rothschild family. Both regions treasure the specificity of their…
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Merlot Thursday: Murphy Goode California Merlot (2023)
I think and talk constantly about what makes a wine good. For a person whose wine life intersects the commercial, critical, and consumer spheres, a glass of juice is almost never just a glass of juice. But what if, once in a while, it could be? What if the little voice that’s always yammering on…
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What it’s like to be a wine judge
If drinking a glass of wine is like taking a walk in the park, then tasting and scoring a hundred wines is more like running a marathon. Wine judging takes discipline, focus, and endurance–not to mention a lot of crackers and celery! Since judging my first wine contest in 2025, I’ve been involved with several…
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Merlot Thursday: Château Angélus Saint-Émilion Premier Grand Cru Classé A (2020)
Château Angélus, on Bordeaux’s Right Bank, is famous for its natural amphitheater that captures the peals of nearby church bells. It’s equally known for its iconic, collectible Cabernet Franc-focused blends. And more recently, Angélus made wine-industry headlines for its exit from the Saint-Émilion classification system. Angélus attained the highest rank (Premier Grand Cru Classé A)…
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First Glass: How to Taste, Talk About, and Buy Wine Like a Master Sommelier by Tim Gaiser MS (Review)
Master Sommelier Tim Gaiser’s new book, First Glass: How to Taste, Talk About, and Buy Wine Like a Master Sommelier was released on October 20, 2026. It’s available in paperback and digital formats. I’ve been looking forward to reading it since Gaiser announced the title at the TEXSOM Conference back in August 2026. Here’s my…
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Tasting the 2026 Costco holiday wine calendar: Wines #13-18
We have made it to the third installment of our Costco Wine Advent-ure Calendar tasting marathon. Twelve bottles down, twelve to go! On the tasting table this week are the next six bottles, contestants #13-18: Before we go any further: I am not a wine snob. Sure, I think and talk about wine more than…
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Merlot Thursday: Château Beau-Séjour Bécot Saint-Émilion Premier Grand Cru Classé (2018)
My weekly Merlot is often found in ordinary places: I buy it from pizza joints and grocery stores, I quaff it at office parties and on barstools. It’s red, it’s fruity. I taste it earnestly and thirstily, no matter how humble the bottle. But occasionally, the Merlot encounter is quite extraordinary–glasses around a table with…
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Merlot Thursday: Duckhorn Vineyards 50th Anniversary Napa Valley Merlot (2023)
Duckhorn Vineyards is celebrating 50 years, and we are celebrating #MerlotThursday! Today, we’re drinking Merlot and raising a glass to founders Dan and Margaret Duckhorn. (Dan passed away earlier this year at the age of 87, just as this 50th anniversary edition was arriving in stores and restaurants. Margaret passed in 2022.) Carole Hicke interviewed…
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DFW Wine Events: October 2026
Happy October! Fall is in the air…and I guess the Orin Swift folks are in town? There are three different Orin Swift events on our calendar this month–plus lots more wine tastings, classes, and dinners to choose from. As usual, these DFW wine events are listed in chronological order and include links to purchase tickets…
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Tasting the 2026 Costco holiday wine calendar: Wines #7-12
Welcome to another brutally honest review of the wines in the 2026 Costco Wine Advent-ure Calendar! In case you’re just joining us, we’re tasting all 24 wines in the Costco box. We’ve split them up into four batches of six. The least-bad wine in each grouping wins a prize: the honor of being paired with…
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Texas + Rioja: Spain’s finest wines come to Dallas
You could say that we’re separated by an ocean but united by a grape. Texans adore our smooth, spicy, food-loving Tempranillo wines, whether homegrown or imported from the historic wine-producing villages of Spain. That love was evident when Rioja came to town this week, bringing lots of their signature Tempranillo-based reds–plus a few delicious surprises!…