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7 things to love at GrapeFest 2025 (Grapevine, TX)
We adore a big-city festival with a small-town feel, and GrapeFest checks all the boxes. Located in Grapevine, Texas (a few miles from DFW Airport), it’s a festive fall activity for all your favorite winos. And that’s not just our opinion: This year, GrapeFest snagged the #7 spot on the USA Today Readers’ Choice list…
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2025 TEXSOM Diaries: Sommer Camp Part Five
I’ve been at Sommer Camp for five days, volunteering and giving a behind-the-scenes account of the work and play that goes into producing the annual TEXSOM Conference. This article is the last of five installments of my 2025 TEXSOM Diaries. For more Sommer Camp stories, see Part One, Two, Three, and Four. An Enchanted Tuesday…
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Review: Giuseppe Sedilesu “Mamuthone” Cannonau di Sardegna (2020)
“Cannonau” is the Sardinian name for the variety Grenache. This is the sort of random wine fact that I didn’t know six months ago, or need to know. But then the wine bug bit and some book learnin’ happened. Now when I see the word “Cannonau” on a wine list or a label, I don’t…
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Merlot Thursday: Château Larmande Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé (2005)
Today is a very special #MerlotThursday because I’m featuring a Merlot wine straight from the source: The Vins de Bordeaux expo table at TEXSOM 2025! The Bordeaux delegation is on the expo floor for all three days, pouring beautiful reds that rotate each day. Likewise, three winemakers are here for the conference: François Despagne of…
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2025 TEXSOM Diaries: Sommer Camp Part Two
I’m a first-timer at TEXSOM’s Sommer Camp in Irving, Texas this year. I’ll be sharing my conference experiences here on The Wine Fairy blog. This is Part Two, in which we polish a billion glasses, drink a really old Napa Cab, and pair sweet Bordeaux with Tex-Mex. If you haven’t read Part One, you can…
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Review: Mitolo “7th Son” McLaren Vale Grenache-Shiraz (2017)
It’s an exciting evening at the Wine Fairy house: The bottle on the table is big, red, and Grenache-y. We’re tasting the “7th Son” red blend from McLaren Vale’s Mitolo Wines, and the one-word review summary is, “Whoa!” Mitolo’s “7th Son” is in the genre of GSM blends, but with an Italian twist: The Mourvèdre…
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Merlot Thursday: Hope Tree California Merlot (NV)
On the tasting table today is a $5 bottle of non-vintage Merlot from Sprouts Farmers Market. But is it a Merl-icious bargain, or a Merlot no-go? Time to grab my best dollar-store glassware and twist that cap! We are earnest aspirants to fine-wine appreciation in this household. But we’re also cool with not-so-fine wine and…
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The 2025 Costco Wine Calendar: All 24 wines revealed!
It’s like Christmas came early this year, because the 2025 Costco Wine Advent-ure Calendar wines have been named! It’s almost enough to make me want to brave the weekend crowds at my local store to see if that pallet has been plopped down onto the wine aisle yet. (Update: It’s here!) The Costco Wine Advent-ure…
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Review: Trapiche “Tesoro” Uco Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (2021)
Recently, through weekly Merlot tastings, I’ve been rediscovering the joy of Merlot. And readers of this blog know about my recent infatuation (now entering its second year, so maybe things are finally getting serious) with Grenache. But my long-term honeyboo, my ride-or-die, my desert-island soul grape is still none other than Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s what…
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Review: Donnachiara Fiano de Avellino (2022)
When shopping for EU wines, it can be hard to make sense of the label. There are far too many proper nouns. It’s a humbling reminder of how much there is to learn in the world of wine. For those of us who grew up drinking mass-produced domestic wines with just a couple of words…
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Merlot Thursday: Ferrari-Carano Sonoma County Merlot (2021)
Today’s #MerlotThursday pick is a by-the-glass pour at The Wine Authority: The 2021 Ferrari-Carano Sonoma County Merlot. Welcome, wine friends–let’s bring Merlot back! 🍇🍷 Ferrari-Carano makes moderately-priced, food-friendly wines from their Sonoma County vineyards. I generally find them to be a good value and I reviewed their exuberant Dry Sangiovese Rosé earlier this year. In…
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Review: Row 503 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir (2022)
I hardly ever think about Pinot Noir. If any Pinot has a problem with that, then that thin-skinned little grape can go in the corner and cry about it. It’s a relief, actually, to not care that much about Pinot Noir. From what I’ve observed, the Pinot bug seems to be an especially virulent strain…