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Merlot Thursday: Peter Cellars Carneros Estate Merlot (2019)
Each week we drink a different Merlot, and sometimes we drink it in a cool place! Today’s #MerlotThursday wine is a special one indeed, because I got to enjoy it at the winery with the winemaker. Do vineyard vistas make the wine taste better? Of course they can. But Peter Cellars’ Estate Merlot is excellent,…
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Local wines by the Bay at Winery Collective (San Francisco, CA)
Fisherman’s Wharf in December is not a bustling place. The cruise ships have mostly left for the season and the sidewalks are nearly empty. It’s too chilly and gray to catch any California sunshine on the waterfront. The Ghirardelli Chocolate building shines on the top of the hill, its marble counters spotless, its sundae glasses…
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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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Merlot Thursday: Château Chapelle d’Aliénor Bordeaux Supérieur (2019)
A modest Bordeaux with friends in high places is this week’s #MerlotThursday pick. The wine is Château Chapelle d’Aliénor, which casually name-drops Château La Gaffelière on its crested label. The producer is Domaines Comte de Malet Roquefort, whose holdings include La Gaffelière (a Premier Grand Cru Classé estate) and four other nearby vineyards. The Malet…
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Local Sips: Times Ten Cellars (Dallas, TX)
A leisurely wine tasting sounded like the perfect way to end a hectic holiday weekend. Feeling curious and thirsty, I made my way to Times Ten Cellars, an urban winery in East Dallas’s historic Lakewood neighborhood. Open since 2005, Times Ten is well-known locally as a bookable venue for wedding dinners and private receptions. But…
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Costco Advent Calendar Wine #18: Aralena Pinot Grigio delle Venezie (Italy)
A very merry December 1st! Today is the day that good and patient boys and girls can begin opening their advent calendars to behold the first of the treasures hidden within. But at The Wine Fairy, we are neither good nor patient. So tonight it’s time for Bottle #18 from the Costco Wine Advent-ure Calendar:…
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Costco Advent Calendar Wine #17: Cielo d’Oro Carménère (Chile)
Carménère is one of those wines that people either flee from or embrace. Appreciating this long-banished Bordeaux grape takes practice. (Or blending!) Dark red in color, full of chewy tannins, and often packing intensely vegetal flavors, it’s not likely to be selected as anyone’s house wine or wedding-table tipple. In fact, this is the first…
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Merlot Thursday: Hickinbotham Clarendon Vineyard “The Revivalist” Merlot (2013)
Happy #MerlotThursday, which is also Thanksgiving Day! Today, I’m grateful for three things: Merlot, Australia’s McLaren Vale region, and those generous locker-holders at the wine club who are willing to pour you exquisite samples. A rare single-vineyard Merlot was on the tasting table, the 2023 Hickinbotham “Revivalist.” After decades of supplying dry-farmed grapes for some…
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Costco Advent Calendar Wine #16: Starlight Wonder Chenin Blanc (Western Cape, South Africa)
December is almost upon us, and there are still eight wines lurking in the Costco Wine Advent-ure Calendar crate. Will we get to them all before the holidays, or will we get sidetracked by other seasonal treats like Glühwein and Beaujolais Nouveau? Who even knows? But today, we’re back on task. We’re tasting the lone…
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Review: Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau (2025)
Posting tasting notes for Beaujolais Nouveaux is like reviewing Taco Bell’s food on Yelp. If you enjoy this kind of thing, then you’re going to continue to enjoy it–no matter what some critic has to say about it. Likewise, if you think it’s too cheesy or artificial-tasting or unhealthy, then there’s likely nothing I or…
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Merlot Thursday: Boomtown by Dusted Valley Columbia Valley Merlot (2023)
It’s mind-boggling to think about just how new most of the New World wine regions are. Bordeaux was refining its Merlot in the Middle Ages and making lists of the top vineyards two centuries ago. By comparison, Washington’s Columbia Valley became an AVA in 1984. (Which, contrary to what social media is always trying to…
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Happy Beaujolais Nouveau Day! Here’s eight fun facts to pair with a glass of Beaujolais
While you’re busy shopping for cranberry sauce and turkey and pie, it’s easy to overlook November’s other foodie holiday. That’s right–tomorrow is Beaujolais Nouveau day! Beaujolais Nouveau is released on the third Thursday in November, exactly one week before Thanksgiving Day. It’s an unofficial beginning to the festive season, and a great excuse to cut…