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Sip, Savor, and Salud: Spanish and Portuguese Wines (Total Wine class review)
A quick jaunt around the Iberian Peninsula was the theme of the most recent Total Wine class. On the tasting bar were eight iconic Spanish and Portuguese wine styles. If Dry January is still in effect, you wouldn’t guess it from this sold-out event. The small classroom was maxed out with 40 attendees (average age…
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Review: Granbazán “Etiqueta Verde” Albariño Rías Baixas (2022)
When someone says, “Spanish wine,” do you immediately envision red? I know I do–and I will never stop loving the spicy Riojas and toothsome Garnachas that first made me fall for the country’s exports. But lately, another Spanish love has been creeping into my thoughts…and it’s Albariño from Rías Baixas. This is a wine I…
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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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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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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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Review: Borrasca Brut Cava (NV)
Sometimes I think I could mark the eras of my life by what inexpensive Cava I was buying at the time. Me and Cava go way back, each decade associated with a different label. Segura Viudas from the corner store, bought by a friend with a borrowed ID. Next, the “black bottle bubbly”–that would be…
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What Is This Thing? El Tuerto Tempranillo Blanco Rioja (2022)
Driven by curiosity (and captive to novelty), it’s time for us to uncork another strange little wine bottle: A white Tempranillo from Rioja. White Tempranillo? Yeah, that’s right. Like Pinot Noir and Grenache before it, the premier black grape of Spain has lately spawned an albino cousin. (Yes, I know that productive vines can’t technically…
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Sherry, spice, and everything nice: The stories behind 3 historic wine cocktails
Do you like wine cocktails? How about wine cocktails with a dash of history? Today, we’re presenting a trio of time-tested drinks from the annals of booze-dom: Hot spiced Mosel wine (Roman period), old-school Spanish Sangria (1964), and the simple, delicious Sherry Cobbler (Victorian era). Each recipe has a little morsel of food-history trivia to…
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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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Review: Peña Garnacha Calatayud (2023)
Days that end in “y” are red wine days, and today I am pouring Garnacha. I snagged this bottle for $10 or $15 at Salado Wine Seller, the best little wine shop you’re likely to find while driving between Dallas and Austin. This evening’s wine is from Calatayud, in southwest Aragón: The Peña Garnacha. I…
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Review: Don Benigno Amontillado Sherry
Sherry is not easy to come by in this town, folks. (“Cherry? Yeah, we have cherry vodka.”) If you’re seeking Sherry (and you’re lucky), the liquor store person will lead you to a dusty shelf over by the jug wines, where approximately 95% of the fortified wines will be syrupy sweet and/or flavored. Even my…
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Review: Familia Torres Secret del Priorat (2021)
The bigger the better when it comes to red wine. I’ve always felt that way, and I probably can’t be reformed. Blame Napa, blame coarse American taste–it is what it is. But I have a burning spot in my heart for reds so thick you can stand a spoon up in them, so potent you…