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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 RosĂ© 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…
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Merlot Thursday: Whitehall Lane Napa Valley Merlot (2019)
Happy #MerlotThursday! This week’s bottle was recommended and enjoyed at The Wine Authority in Richardson, Texas. I was in the wine shop for a LunaGaia tasting event. They were all biodynamic Sicilian wines from the 2023 vintage. After challenging my palate with those acids and tannins and native yeasts and unfamiliar grapes, I was ready…
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Merlot Thursday: Chateau Ste. Michelle Canoe Ridge Estate Merlot (2019)
For this #MerlotThursday, I’m diving into a bottle of deep red Washington Merlot from Chateau Ste. Michelle. This 2019 estate bottling comes from the Canoe Ridge vineyard of Horse Heaven Hills. In keeping with the spirit of the exercise of Merlot appreciation, I was poking all over The Wine Authority‘s shelves for an example of…
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A small-town wine adventure at Zannotti’s Wine Bar (Stillwater, OK)
“Hold on, is that a wine bar?” Screeeeech went the brakes. A moment later I was sitting in a cool, dark corner, poring over the most comprehensive wine list I’ve ever seen in Oklahoma. Anchored by the largest campus of Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK is a town of about 50,000. That sounds like almost…
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Review: Paco & Lola Albariño (2023)
A happy hour it was indeed as we lingered over a chilled bottle of Paco & Lola Albariño. This fruity Spanish white was flowing all around the tapas bar as Dallasites hid indoors from the 95-degree heat. At tables around the room, I could spy its cheery label peeking out from ice buckets like a…
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Southern Italy (Campania & Puglia) tasting at Corner Wines (Plano, TX)
Wine, at its best, is both a teleporter and a time machine. The right glass can whisk you away to distant locales visited long ago (or never), to historical moments remembered or imagined by the yearning, eternal soul inside each of your tastebuds. This is why we drink wine. That, and because it’s a tasty…
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Notes from the Lone Star International Wine Competition (2025)
It was an exciting day for wine producers from Texas and beyond: Medal day! After a one-day qualifying round, the Lone Star International Wine Competition judges reconvened on Thursday morning to choose the best of the best. There were still dozens of wines in the running, and many potential medals to be awarded: Gold, Double…
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Local Sips: CRĂš Food & Wine Bar (Plano, TX)
Wine Fairy here, checking in with another recommended watering hole in our big old town of DFW! Read on for a local’s guide to CRĂš Food & Wine Bar in Plano’s Legacy East shopping center. I’ve been going to CRĂš’s Plano location for approximately forever. My wife and I celebrated our first over-21 Valentine’s Day…