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Review: Bonpas Grande Réserve des Challières Ventoux (2020)
I get giddy over a great-value Rhône, and this one is a doozy: The Bonpas Grande Réserve des Challières Ventoux. It even looks substantial and rich. There’s the heavy embossed bottle, the rawkin’ Gothic font, and the castle on the label. I bought the Bonpas during a Grenache spree a year ago and promptly forgot…
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Merlot Thursday: RdV Vineyards “Rendezvous” (2021)
With great Merlot comes great responsibility. That was my thought as I took my first sip of the “Rendezvous” Merlot-based blend from RdV Vineyards of Virginia. Pizza in hand, fire blazing, feet propped up on the couch, I thought I was settling for a casual wine-and-takeout weeknight with friends. But the wine was poured and–wouldn’t…
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Under $12 Review: Segura Viudas Brut Cava (NV)
A very happy New Year from The Wine Fairy! I’m shopping for party wine in the Houston suburbs–where, to my surprise, the local Spec’s Liquor has a very respectable European wine selection. Despite the holiday rush, the sales guys are even willing to stand around and recommend a Bordeaux to pair with BBQ and Tex-Mex.…
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Merlot Thursday: Hayes Ranch California Merlot (NV)
Ah, California Merlot. The unsung hero of countless wedding banquets, airport lounges, and (ahem) company Christmas parties with an open bar. We talk like Merlot went away sometime in the early 2000s…but really, it never did. It just shuffled off to the back bar to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and the…
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Costco Advent Calendar Wine #24: Ciel Bleu Sparkling Brut (France)
Patience, persistence, and an iron liver have finally brought us here: The very last bottle of the 2025 Costco Wine Advent-ure Calendar. And what better way to celebrate crossing the annual wine finish line than by popping some champy? As it turns out, it’s not actually Champagne that’s behind Door #24. Instead it’s this, the…
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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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Costco Advent Calendar Wine #23: Once Upon A Time Chocolate Red (France)
Every Wine Person (every Wine Person that I respect, anyway) has the same motto: Drink what you like. It’s true that learning is useful and exploring is enlightening. Wine tastes often drift over time, and they tend to evolve in a predictable way–often away from sweetness and toward nuance and complexity. But it’s dumb and…
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Costco Advent Calendar Wine #22: Maison du Lac Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc (France)
If you’ve been following along on our journey through all 24 of the Costco advent calendar wines, then you know it’s been a bumpy ride. There is a lot of variation in quality and style this year. The Wine Fairy tasting team (me and my wife, Sarah) are using a very informal (non-blind, non-mathematical, go-with-your-gut)…
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Costco Advent Calendar Wine #21: Brillo Solar Garnacha (Spain)
Known for bold red fruit flavors with a hint of spice, Garnacha (also called Grenache) is a workhorse of the wine world. The French claim it, but it probably originated in Spain’s Aragon region before spreading across the Mediterranean. Garnacha is a hardy, high-yielding vine–one that can be counted on to produce good-to-great wines even…
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The wino’s guide to Princess Cruises
The thought of being stranded at sea for seven or more days–away from your cellar and favorite decanter, at the mercy of a dismal list of house wines–strikes fear into the heart of any wine enthusiast. But don’t worry! With the help of this guide, you will be able to navigate through an ocean of…
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Costco Advent Calendar Wine #19: Mendoza Nights Malbec (Argentina)
Wine critics and wine judges have devised some entertaining shorthand terms for awful wine. Scrawled in the margins of a notebook or whispered under your breath to a colleague, they allow a taster to diss a wine without offending the pourer. Good ones that I’ve heard recently include FJ (“Fruit Juice”), TD (“Termite’s Dream”–meaning that…
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Local wines by the Bay at Winery Collective (San Francisco, CA)
Fisherman’s Wharf in December is not a bustling place. The cruise ships have mostly left for the season and the sidewalks are nearly empty. It’s too chilly and gray to catch any California sunshine on the waterfront. The Ghirardelli Chocolate building shines on the top of the hill, its marble counters spotless, its sundae glasses…