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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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Review: Château de Corcelles Fleurie Poncié Beaujolais (2023)
It’s a Beaujolais day, hooray! I’ve already enjoyed my annual allocation of Beaujolais Nouveau (that’s one bottle each November, per spousal diktat.) But happily, no such limits apply to the Beaujolais crus. So when I spy a Fleurie sitting unassumingly on the bartop, that is what we will be having with dinner. Today’s wine comes…
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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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Merlot Thursday: No. 3 d’Angelus Saint-Émilion Grand Cru (2020)
Hark how the bells! Sweet silver bells! All seem to say, “Throw cares away! “It’s Merlot day!” (Okay–so I made up that last part.) It’s not only the freaking “Carol of the Bells” that’s living rent-free in my head today, but the famous bells of Château Angelus. Located in a natural amphitheater, the Château’s vineyards…
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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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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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Costco Advent Calendar Wine #20: Meadow Moon Riesling (Germany)
Christmas Day is approaching! Santa is buffing his sleigh, scalpers are hawking Nutcracker tickets…and we are almost to the last bottle in the Costco Wine Advent-ure Calendar. A light German Riesling is tonight’s designated wine. But does Meadow Moon Landwein Rhein deserve a stocking full of presents, or a visit from Krampus? Let’s gather ’round…
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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…
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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…