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Judgment Day approaches! Crushing the WSET Level 3 exam jitters
No, not the Rapture. That was supposed to happen today–but so far it’s just another Tuesday. I’m sure I drink too much wine to go to that particular Heaven, anyway. My Judgment Day is the big exam that’s coming up in just over a month: The Wine and Spirit Education Trust Level 3 Award in…
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2025 TEXSOM Diaries: Sommer Camp Part Five
I’ve been at Sommer Camp for five days, volunteering and giving a behind-the-scenes account of the work and play that goes into producing the annual TEXSOM Conference. This article is the last of five installments of my 2025 TEXSOM Diaries. For more Sommer Camp stories, see Part One, Two, Three, and Four. An Enchanted Tuesday…
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2025 TEXSOM Diaries: Sommer Camp Part Four
The Wine Fairy is reporting from TEXSOM, a great big conference of sommeliers and wine educators in North Texas! I’ve been here for four days, volunteering from dawn to dusk in an effort to broaden my wine knowledge and experience. This is Part Four of the 2025 TEXSOM Diaries. For previous entries, check out Part…
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2025 TEXSOM Diaries: Sommer Camp Part Three
I spent five days volunteering at TEXSOM 2025 as part of the Sommer Camp program. These are my TEXSOM Diaries–a day-by-day, behind-the-scenes look at Texas’s premier wine education conference. Also check out Part One and Part Two! It’s Day Four of the wine wonderland that is Sommer Camp, and we’re getting started early: A Sunday…
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2025 TEXSOM Diaries: Sommer Camp Part Two
I’m a first-timer at TEXSOM’s Sommer Camp in Irving, Texas this year. I’ll be sharing my conference experiences here on The Wine Fairy blog. This is Part Two, in which we polish a billion glasses, drink a really old Napa Cab, and pair sweet Bordeaux with Tex-Mex. If you haven’t read Part One, you can…
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2025 TEXSOM Diaries: Sommer Camp Part One
Howdy from TEXSOM 2025, where I’m taking part in Sommer Camp! I’ll be sharing my experiences here on The Wine Fairy blog. Here’s what I did (and tasted) on my first day of Sommer Camp. The best way to learn to do something is often just to do it. Or at least, that’s what I…
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Becoming a Texas Wine Ambassador (Hill Country Wine Academy review)
I walked into the classroom as a Texas wine fan, and walked out as the leveled-up version: A Certified Texas Wine Ambassador! My reward for a day of attentive tasting and discussion was a snazzy certificate and a pin. Also: A permanent sense of responsibility for representing Texas wine in an industry where it’s constantly…
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Forget groceries–let’s go wine tasting at the Whole Foods bar
If you crave the surreal experience of getting tipsy in the meat department of a grocery store, then have I got the recommendation for you: The Whole Foods Market taproom. Grocery store taprooms are not a new idea. Whole Foods opened their first in-store bar in 2009 and have them in many of their roughly…
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The wines of South America (Total Wine class review)
Last night, my ass was in class for “Exploremos América del Sur” (Let’s Explore South America). This two-hour workshop is occasionally taught at Total Wine and focuses on the wines of Argentina and Chile. I tasted ten South American wines (four whites and six reds) from Total Wine’s Winery Direct lineup. In this post, I…
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Total buzzkill: Total Wine’s rewards program devalues its best perk
It’s dark days in Dallas, y’all. First, we gave away Luka Dončić to the freakin’ Lakers. Then, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines started charging for bags. Now–because crappy things come in threes–our largest and best chain liquor store appears to be seriously scaling back their rewards program. Will the disappointments never end? Just a couple of months…
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Mixing it up with Clos du Val’s blending seminar
It was a fab Cab lab at The Wine Authority this past Saturday. Napa Valley’s Clos du Val was in the house with barrel samples from the 2023 vintage–and one very special finished wine, the 2021 Yettalil blend ($200 retail). I booked the blending seminar for “educational” purposes. My wife (and fellow Cab lover) Sarah…
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My WSET Level 3 study diary: How it’s going so far
It’s back to school time! Some of y’all may know that I’m currently working my way through the WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) certifications. So, in between all the bottle reviews and local wine topics, I thought I’d share a little bit about how that’s going so far. I took the Level 2 Award…