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Champagne Taittinger tasting at The Wine Authority (Richardson, TX)
It would be insane to abstain from Champagne when Taittinger is being poured. And so, dozens of wine lovers herded ourselves into The Wine Authority for a wide-ranging tasting of six Taittinger labels, including the prestigious “Comtes de Champagne.” French wine specialist Benjamin Samacoïts-Etchegpin of Kobrand Wine & Spirits was on hand to answer questions…
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Review: Borsao “Tres Picos” Campo de Borja Garnacha (2021)
A big old juicy Garnacha is on the menu tonight: The Tres Picos Garnacha from Bodegas Borsao. Borsao is a large co-op in Campo de Borja DO, a landscape of arid hills and plateaus nicknamed “the Empire of Garnacha.” Over 700 small grower families have united to produce these wines, which are known for their…
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Local Sips: Times Ten Cellars (Dallas, TX)
A leisurely wine tasting sounded like the perfect way to end a hectic holiday weekend. Feeling curious and thirsty, I made my way to Times Ten Cellars, an urban winery in East Dallas’s historic Lakewood neighborhood. Open since 2005, Times Ten is well-known locally as a bookable venue for wedding dinners and private receptions. But…
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DFW Wine Events: December 2025
‘Tis the season to spoil your palate with the best wines that North Texas has to offer! This month, as ever, we scoured the emails and socials for tempting wine events to make your days and nights jolly. The unifying theme of this December 2025 edition is bubbles. South African bubbly, Italian bubbly, good Champagne,…
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Local Sips: Tasting Texas Pinot Noir (and more) at Red Dirt Cellars (Grapevine, TX)
They say you can’t grow Pinot Noir in Texas…but Texans are a feisty bunch who don’t hearken to the word “can’t.” That doesn’t mean it’s easy. Pinot Noir, as a rule, likes a long, consistent growing season and a cool to moderate climate. Those are two things we definitely don’t have here, where summer temperatures…
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Celebrating Wines of Hungary with Günzer Estate Winery
A rare opportunity to taste the wines of Hungary popped up on the calendar this past week. So we hustled over to Total Wine in East Plano for a joint presentation by Thomas Hoeber (of Dallas-based importer Aqueous Spirits) and Norman Günzer (of Villány’s Günzer Estate Winery). Hungarian wines have a long and illustrious history.…
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WSET Level 3 Class: Week 4 (and Exam!) Thoughts
The race is run, the die is cast. It’s all over but the waiting. And–because WSET exam processing times are reportedly hovering around the 10-week mark–there’s going to be a lot of waiting. So, my wine-blog friends, you and I both will have to wait to see if The Wine Fairy earned her Wine and…
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DFW Wine Events: November 2025
We love our vibrant, viniferous city! Once a month at The Wine Fairy blog, we pick Dallas-Fort Worth’s ten (or so) most exciting wine events to share with you. But for November, there was too much to choose from–it was impossible to narrow it down. So here’s 20 local wine activities (yep, 20!) to keep…
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WSET Level 3 Class: Week 3 Thoughts
Gooseberries and goosebumps were the theme of the day as we tasted some New Zealand wines…and the reality of the impending exam began to set in. It’s Halloween week and my bones are chilled! I don’t remember ever being this frightened by a test in high school, college, or after. That’s probably because, compared to…
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Stressed Vines tasting at The Wine Authority (Richardson, TX)
The best wines are pressed from grapes that are stressed. That’s the philosophy behind Stressed Vines, a boutique winery that specializes in vine-bothering. These are all wines that have been though a little bit of heck on their way from field to bottle–small-production wines from some of California’s best old-vine, dry-farmed, and high-elevation vineyards. The…
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Wine, food, and more wine at the DFW Italian Festival (Irving, Texas)
It’s State Fair of Texas season in Dallas this month–but if sharing Fair Park with 100,000 people doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, there are lots of smaller community events to choose from. On Saturday, we dropped in on the DFW Italian Festival, a celebration of Italian food and heritage that’s now in its…
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WSET Level 3 Class: Week 2 Thoughts
Back at school for more wine study! I’ve just wrapped up my second weekend of classes at Dallas Wine Education Center, where I am a candidate for the Wine & Spirit Education Trust Level 3 Award in Wines. It’s been a very vinous few weeks for The Wine Fairy. In between WSET classes on Saturday…