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Review: Emmolo “No. 8” Méthode Traditionnelle California Sparkling Wine (NV)
This year is the 50th anniversary of the Judgment of Paris–the famous 1976 wine competition that humbled French oenophiles and made Napa Valley famous. For months, my wine calendar has been full of “France vs. United States”-themed classes and tastings. The exercise throws you straight into the deep end of the philosophy of winemaking. Can…
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Review: Taittinger “La Française” Brut Champagne (NV)
Taittinger’s “La Française” is one of the best widely available Champagnes in the $50-$60 price range. It’s like a sampler platter of all the classic Champagne flavors, and it hits an ideal spot between richness and freshness. It’s versatile, too. Not too soft, not too acidic. Good brand-name recognition for impressing your friends, but not…
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Norah Jones’s “This Life” wines, reviewed: French bubbles and rosé for summer!
Summer in Texas lasts about nine months out of the year. When you’re relaxing by the pool or on the patio in 100-degree weather, only one type of wine will do: The cold type. Singer-songwriter and musician Norah Jones must’ve been thinking of her Texas roots when she created her wine brand. Her “This Life”…
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Review: Champagne Barnaut Bouzy Grand Cru Blanc de Noirs Brut (NV)
A bigger-is-better Grand Cru Champagne is on the menu for today. Determined to get over my birthday blues, I’m celebrating at Coupes, a chic bubble-centric wine bar in Dallas. Coupes has an eye-popping list that includes–by my quickest count–more than 80 different Champagnes and Crémants by the glass, bottle, and half-bottle. I rattle off some…
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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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Champagne Road Trip (Part Two): Épernay and Vallée de la Marne
This is Part Two (of Two) of a dream-worthy jaunt to France’s Champagne region. Check out Part One here. Champagne may be a relatively small wine region, but it’s a huge business: A whopping 35% of France’s total wine exports by value. The world’s love for Champagne extends to wine tourism, with an estimated 3.5…
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Champagne Road Trip (Part One): Cathedral and cellars of Reims
Just over an hour from Paris is a city of wonders both sacred and profane. Above ground: The extraordinary Reims Cathedral, its Gothic spires piercing the sky. Below ground: Over 150 miles of chalk tunnels lined with an estimated 200 million bottles of Champagne. To walk among the dusty bottles is a wine lover’s dream.…
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A celebratory bottle: Pommery “Cuvée Louise” Brut Champagne Millésime (2005)
A snazzy Champagne to commemorate a much hoped-for outcome: Passing my WSET Level 3 course with Distinction! We snuck into the bar in the early afternoon to savor the sweet, sweet taste of success. Vibrant medium lemon in the glass with amazing clarity and many slow, finely distributed bubbles. Aromas of fresh and candied lemon,…
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Review: Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Champagne (NV)
Some things are revered as classics for no good reason: White trousers, Star Wars (fight me), the Monte Cristo sandwich. Other things are actually paragons of excellence, but are so mundane that they go unnoticed and unappreciated: The Toyota Camry, the eight-inch chef’s knife, the ordinary Cheez-It. And then there is Champagne. Champagne is beloved…
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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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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: Gloria Ferrer Carneros Blanc de Noirs (NV)
A plush pink bubbly is the wine treat of the day: The Blanc de Noirs from Gloria Ferrer. I’m taking a quick break in downtown Sonoma, just a few miles from Ferrer Caves & Vineyards. Gloria Ferrer is the original sparkling wine producer in Carneros (established in 1982). And so the name of the wine…