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The 2026 Costco Wine Advent Calendar: First look!
The most popular posts on The Wine Fairy last year were (by far) our coverage of the 2025 Costco Wine Advent-ure Calendar. We unboxed the crate of half-bottles and diligently tasted and reviewed every single wine. A few readers have reached out to ask if Costco is planning a similar release for 2026. The answer…
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Review: Kirkland Signature Vacqueyras (2023)
There are two types of people who buy the Kirkland Signature wines from Costco: Those who care about wine tasting, and those who (mostly) don’t. Among the latter group, Kirkland wines are convenient, cheap grocery items and house-party standbys. Grabbing a case of Prosecco or a jug of Chianti saves you money and a trip…
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Review: Santa Cruz Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (2023)
This dive bar is better known for birria tacos–and for bad decisions involving tequila–than it is for wine. But I really want a glass of red wine with some carne asada, so here goes nothing. Santa Cruz Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is sitting in mini bottles, next to vials of beer salt and a frozen-drink machine…
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Review: Cantine Due Palme “Pillastro” Primitivo Puglia IGP (2022)
Sometimes, in the midst of all the tasting and study that is my new wine life, I just want to drink something liquid and red. I keep a modest stash of bottles just for this purpose. Sangria wines, pasta-night wines–wines you drink with your mouth and not your nose. “Please don’t be gross,” I whisper…
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How to get from San Francisco to Napa for under $20
The words “Napa Valley” evoke visions of majestic estates, vine-clad foothills, and world-class Cabernet poured in lavish tasting rooms. It’s one of the world’s great wine tourism destinations—always in demand, and with prices to match. Napa is expensive for wine-tasting. That’s expected. But the hardest part is shelling out hundreds of dollars before the first…
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What Is This Thing? Giambellino Bellini Wine Cocktail
This is what it’s like to write a highbrow-lowbrow wine blog: Sometimes we’re drinking a single-vineyard Pinot Noir, and sometimes we’re drinking a dubious orange liquid that we bought at ALDI. On What Is This Thing?, we look at various wine-adjacent products and try to determine: 1. What is this thing? 2. Should you drink…
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Merlot Thursday: Backhouse California Merlot (2023)
Late-night happy hours (sometimes called “reverse” happy hours) are superior to regular happy hours in every way. Urban drink-seekers know this. Instead of jumping into rush-hour traffic to (hopefully) find a barstool and catch a server’s attention before the clock strikes 6 PM, you get to slow down. You can finish your daily work and…
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I tried all the wines on the drink package! Here’s the lowdown on 23 of Princess Cruises’ house wines.
Gangway crossed, drink package purchased, Princess Medallion® in hand. It was time to attempt a feat of exploration and endurance: Tasting all of the available wines before disembarkation day on a 7-day Caribbean cruise. Buying the drink package presented an irresistible opportunity. Normally, I have to pay for the glasses and bottles I review for…
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Review: Masi “Bonacosta” Valpolicella Classico (2022)
Rare bottles are nice and all. But sometimes your mood (or your wallet) pulls you in a different direction–toward clunky glassware, red-sauce pasta, and BYOB. Wine can be part of the occasion without being the occasion. Valpolicella knows this, and is a gracious guest at almost any table. My bottle of the night is a…
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Merlot Thursday: Martin Ray “Courtney’s Cuvée” Merlot (2021)–and the trouble with wine on tap
The quest to bring back Merlot got a boost this week from a delightful “Sideways Effect” piece by Willa Paskin for Slate: “For years, many believed that one tiny movie brainwashed American wine drinkers forever. The truth is weirder.” All the biggest questions and juiciest details are in that article: Is it true that one…
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Under $12 Review: 14 Hands “Stampede” Bold Red Blend (2022)
Critter label? Check. Screw cap? Check. All signs say that a casual, fruity wine is on the table tonight. And here we are: The “Stampede” Bold Red Blend from 14 Hands. 14 Hands is owned by Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and is Washington’s second largest winery (after Ste. Michelle itself). Ste. Michelle created the 14…
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Review: Thierry Delaunay “Le Grand Ballon” Val de Loire Sauvignon Blanc (2023)
Now that Taylor Swift has gone and ruined Sancerre for everyone, ordinary wine drinkers like moi have to look for alternatives to the popular but scarce Loire Valley label. Just kidding, Swifties. Sancerre shortages have been a recurring wine-biz story for at least 2-3 years now, due to harvest challenges and other supply-demand mismatch issues.…