Meg & Merlot 2023 Wrapped

2023 was certainly a roller coaster! There were highs, lows, and many bottles of wine. On one end of the spectrum, I traveled to San Diego, New Orleans, New York City, Chicago, Deep Creek Lake, the Poconos, Aruba, the Finger Lakes, Houston, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, London, and Edinburgh, and I attended Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in Pittsburgh. At the other end, I was diagnosed with two kinds of skin cancer: basal cell carcinoma and melanoma (stage 2).

Across the highs and lows, there were steady sources of support and inspiration: family, friends, coworkers, my cat Plato, and this wine community. Despite my inconsistency at points, more people engaged with this blog and my social media accounts than ever before. Thank you for sticking with me and for loving wine! Below you’ll find the most popular Meg & Merlot blog posts and Instagram posts from this year, as well as my favorite places, restaurants, food pairings, and more. I hope some of these make it into your favorites of 2024!

• Top five most-read blog posts

  • Chronicling My Battle With Skin Cancer

  • My Favorite Champagnes Under $50

  • A Second Look at Finger Lakes Reds

  • A Food and Wine Lover’s Guide to 48 Hours in New Orleans

  • My Favorite French-Inspired, American-Made Red Wines

• Top five Instagram posts

• Favorite wine region to drink: Champagne

• Favorite wine region to visit: The Finger Lakes

• Top five restaurants: 

  • La Petite Grocery, New Orleans

  • Vernick, Philadelphia

  • The Scran and Scallie, Edinburgh

  • Reveler’s Hour, Washington, DC

  • Fish Nor Fowl, Pittsburgh

• Top five bars:

  • Lady of the Grapes, London

  • SCOTCH at The Balmoral, Edinburgh

  • Graft Wine & Cider Bar, Watkins Glen

  • Air’s Champagne Parlor, NYC

  • Bar Botanico, Pittsburgh

• Favorite food and wine pairing: Tie

  • Braised lamb shoulder with Chatâteau La Bastide 2020 Corbieres at Andrew Edmunds, London

  • Blue crab beignets with Nicolas Feuillatte Reserve Exclusive Brut Champagne at La Petite Grocery, New Orleans

• Favorite dessert and wine pairing: Vanilla pot de crème and king cake cookies with Château Graves 2019 Sauternes at Herbsaint, New Orleans

• Favorite liquor: Bruichladdich Black Art Edition 10.1, 29yr scotch whisky

• Favorite city: New Orleans

• Favorite musical: Funny Girl

• Favorite song: “Out of the Woods” by Taylor Swift

• Favorite book: What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding: A Memoir by Kristin Newman

• Favorite TV drama: Succession on HBO

• Favorite TV comedy: Derry Girls on Netflix

• Favorite sunscreen: La Roche-Posay “Anthelios” SPF 60