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DFW Wine Events: August 2026
August is the center of harvest season in Texas, with grape stomps and festivals sweeping through the vineyards. But there are plenty of wine activities for city dwellers, too! Here’s our curated event roundup for August 2026. As always at The Wine Fairy, we’ve done our best to make this info current and correct. Still, we…
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Merlot Thursday: Château La Rose Perrière Lussac Saint-Émilion (2020)
“When you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail,” the saying goes. And when you are a cooper, every wine needs time in a barrel. So it is with Château La Rose Perrière, the Bordeaux estate owned and managed by Jean-Luc Sylvain (of renowned barrel supplier Tonnellerie Sylvain). The Château’s red wines, unusually, are…
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Review: Granbazán “Etiqueta Ámbar” Albariño Rías Baixas (2023)
Albariño from Spain was on the screen and in my glass. I pulled a cold bottle from the wine fridge and settled in for a one-hour Zoom class hosted by New York-based importer Olé & Obrigado. “El Camino del Albariño” is their July-August virtual education and promotional tour. It’s an invitation to wine pros to…
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Merlot Thursday: Siboney Cellars “Storm Breaker” Texas High Plains Merlot (2024)
In September 2019, an epic thunderstorm tore through the Texas High Plains, sending growers and winemakers scrambling into the vineyards to grab up their grapes. Those who waited for the rains to pass risked muddy fields and watery fruit. Those who rushed in got some excellent raw materials (and a story to tell). Such was…
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The Diploma decision: Why I took the WSET Level 4 plunge
“Are you going to do the Diploma?” my wine teacher asked me, only minutes after I handed in my Level 3 exam. “I dunno,” I remember saying. “It’s a lot of time and a lot of money.” Even as I spoke those words, though, there was a quieter voice in my head whispering: Yeah…probably. Today,…
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Merlot Thursday: PlumpJack Napa Valley Merlot (2022)
PlumpJack’s Merlot is plump, for sure–an exuberantly fruity, spice-packed treat. Full of unapologetic, born-this-way Merlot moxie, it divided the room between those who love Merlot and those who remain unconvinced. But, as you might have guessed from this #MerlotThursday series (now in its 53rd installment!) we are not hesitant sippers. We’re fully on board the…
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A year of Merlot Thursday: What I learned from tasting 52 different Merlots
Looking back at The Wine Fairy archive this week, I realized something neat: July is my one-year anniversary of Merlot Thursday participation. I first learned about #MerlotThursday while scrolling wine-related posts on Reddit. The premise is simple enough: On Thursday, you drink a Merlot and review it, in hopes of raising the profile of an…
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Merlot Thursday: Chateau Belle-Vue “La Renaissance” (2013)
Welcome to a special Merlot-versary edition of #MerlotThursday! That’s right…it’s my 52nd weekly Merlot review for The Wine Fairy. Coming next week: A separate article reflecting on all the gallons of Merlot I drank last year, from ten different countries and representing nearly every level of price and quality. Sometimes, it’s hard to separate the…
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Review: Tiraki Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc (2025)
We love to crush a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc in The Wine Fairy household. (Just call us the Marlborough women–we adore those zesty tropical flavors.) Today, I’m recommending a breakout example of the genre: The 2025 Tiraki. Tiraki’s Sauvignon Blanc is a single-vineyard bottling from a family winery in Nelson, at the “Top of the…
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Merlot Thursday: DuCard Vineyards Virginia Merlot (2021)
A bright, berry-filled mountain Merlot is on the tasting table! It’s the latest bottle we’ve enjoyed from the “if you know, then you know” (don’t call it “emerging”) wine region of Virginia. Tucked away in the Shenandoah Mountains of Madison County, DuCard Vineyards is a local destination for live music and boutique wine-tasting experiences. Their…
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Review: Château Le Devoy Martine “Via Secreta” Lirac (2019)
It’s the best evening combo I could hope for: A favorite bistro, a couple of hours to kill, and a bottle of Rhône. Rhône reds (sadly) aren’t common in restaurants in my town. They’re usually crowded out by blockbuster Cabs and Paso Robles blends. In the best of cases, they’re relegated to one or two…
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Slow night, blind flight! Wine-tasting practice from behind the bar
I’m constantly working on improving my tasting skills. It’s partly to become a better wine writer/critic, and partly to get more enjoyment from the wines I pour for myself and others. And because, as I’ve talked about on the blog recently, I’m thiiiiiiiss close to embarking on my WSET Level 4 Diploma journey. Blind-tasting competence…