Updated April 22

Sorry, folks, lots of ground to cover today. We’ll start with sports because I was away from the blog for a couple of weeks while covering the Texas Children’s Houston Open (that would be Houston’s PGA Tour golf tournament for you non sports folks) and the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U. S. Men’s Clay Court Championship. (Right, tennis.) In short, both proved to be extraordinary.

The final round of the golf sort of summed up for me why I squandered my life going to ball games, etc. (It wasn’t for the big bucks, to be sure.) We woke up Sunday morning with five men tied for the lead, four of them guys I really hadn’t heard of before Sunday morning, and Scottie Schleffer, the former Texas Longhorn who’s the world’s best golfer and who was trying to win his third consecutive Tour start. Had he prevailed at Memorial Park, he would have won four in a row because, after he left Houston, he went to Augusta, Ga., and won a second friggin’ Masters.

But, in H-town, Scottie blinked. The German Stefan Jaeger, ranked 43rd on the same leader board that Scheffler is the runaway No. 1, didn’t and therefore claimed his first-ever PGA title. Hey, that’s why we play the games and the tournaments. Nothing is pre-ordained on the field, in the arena, or on the course. On any given Sunday . . .

Except on the LPGA Tour? Nelly Korda did what Scottie couldn’t do, extending her Tour-record tying win streak to five events with a dramatic closing round of her own Sunday in the Chevron Championship at Carlton Woods.

Meanwhile, at River Oaks, arguably the best man — because he was the No. 1 seed — won, never mind that said best man is all of 21 years old and had never prevailed on red dirt anywhere. Kid’s name is Ben Shelton (pictured below). Remember it. He’s special. The Rivers Oaks final was special, too, pitting two Black American men in an ATP Tour final for the first time ever. And it happened at a venue that that has a somewhat murky racial past.

I’ve been blessed to to have covered tennis at that gorgeous venue for 48 years now, and my first tournament in 1977 came only two years after Arthur Ashe made his first and last appearance on the grounds. There’s probably no one left alive who really knows the truth, but the indisputable fact is this: Ashe didn’t play in Houston until seven years after he had won the U. S. Open. Some will tell you he wasn’t invited because of the color of his skin. Others will say he didn’t think he would feel welcome because of the color of his skin and rejected the club’s overtures for that reason.

Anyway, Shelton’s three-set victory over Frances Tiafoe, the 2023 champion, was a near-classic between two gifted, immensely athletic players who also understand life’s bigger picture better than most jocks I’ve met. Note that Tiafoe hadn’t been the first Black to conquer the Stadium Court at River Oaks. That distinction belongs to Bryan Shelton, Ben’s dad, who won the River Oaks International in 1992, and was back on site this spring as Ben’s coach.

It’s important to add that both Shelton and Tiafoe insisted they have never been treated better anywhere on the ATP circuit than at River Oaks. All credit to the current members and, of course, to tournament director Bronwyn Greer and her right-hand person, Haley Wallace. Real pros, those two. Cool stories any way you slice them. Let’s raise a glass to Jaeger and both Sheltons. May many more titles follow!

And kudos to the Texans for landing Stefon Diggs, a huge addition on several levels. An elite receiver by any measure, he’s is going to be very good for young C. J. Stroud. And, yes, vice-versa.

As for the Astros . . . Da hell! Say it ain’t so, Joe. We should be worried, very worried, especially with the bullpen in collective free-fall mode. Two years ago, in route to winning a second World Series, they hadn’t lost their 16th game until May 23. Even last season’s so-so start — 11-10 through April 22 — seems red-hot by comparison. They’ll have to go 84-56 the rest of the way just to equal their so-so 90-72 finish in 2023.

Now, back to wine . . .

The day before I left for France I attended a tasting of Portuguese products, where I encountered an old friend . . . in a bottle. Anybody remember the Mateus Rose? Full disclosure: That was my go-to wine as a teenager with a fake ID in El Paso. I probably hadn’t tasted the stuff in more than 50 years and I would have expected it to be sickly sweet, given my, shall we say, unrefined taste back in those days.

Nope. The Mateus was a bit on the sweet side but not overly so. It was bright and fresh and, at under 10 bucks a bottle, a for-real bargain. Winemaker Diogo Sepulveda calls his wine, which has always been non-vintage and is a blend of baga, rufete, tinta barroca and touriga franca, “very appealing with a bright hue. On the whole, it is a fresh and seductive wine with fine and intense bouquet and all the joviality of young wines. In the mouth, it is a well balanced and tempting wine, brilliantly complemented by a soft and slightly fizzy finish.”

I liked the Mateus so much I made it a point to taste every Portuguese pink wine at the event, and there wasn’t a disappointing one in the bunch. Unfortunately, most of the others didn’t have distributors. Or such a lustrous history.

And, speaking of old friends, I made it point to catch up with two of the human kind on my third day in France, Domaine de Mourchon founder Walter McKinlay and Wendy Heineken Gobbi, who, with her French husband Jean-Marc Gobbi, owns the Château Saint Pierre de Mejans winery in the Luberon. Both have strong Houston ties because McKinlay began doing business in our fair city in the 1960s — North Sea oil shipping — and Heineken Gobbi grew up in Kingwood.

The Mourchon and Mejans wines, brought to Texas by my buddy Douglas Skopp’s Dionysus Imports, offer remarkable quality and value, not to say consistency. (Four of my current favorites are pictured below.) That has a lot to do with the face that McKinlay’s winemaker Sebastian Magnouac has been in the cellar near Seguret in the Southern Rhone Valley since the turn of the century, while Mejans’ Brice Doan de Champassak is celebrating his 27th year, having long preceded the Gobbis who bought the winery from Brice’s family only a few years back.

But both guys are still thinking outside the box and have recently released new reds into the market, although not yet the Texas market. I haven’t tasted either but intend to in the very near future.

Walter and Ronnie are living pretty much full-time in London now — his mobility ain’t what it used to be, but, then, who’s is? — so daughter Kate is running the business side at Mourchon. She has turned her parents’ hilltop villa, with a perfect view of Mont Ventoux to the east, into a rental residence that couldn’t be more perfectly situation for touring the Southern Rhone Valley. Ditto the ancient castle and neighboring mas at Mejans for taking in the many wonders of Provence.

Go to http://vrbo.com/france to book the former (http://domainedemourchon.com) and http://airbnb.com to book the latter (http://saintpierredemejans.com). Gorgeous destinations both, and only about an hour apart.

H-town happenings

Wine and Live Art Dinner: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 25, at Potente. $250.

Butcher’s Wine-Pairing Dinner: 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 26, at Central Market. $100. http://eventbrite.com http://eventbrite.com

Kemah Boardwalk Spring Wine Fest : 2 p.m. Saturday, April 27. $59.95. http://eventbrite.com

Derby Wine Fest: 2:30 p.m. Saturday, May 4, at Brenner’s on the Bayou. $150.00. http://eventbrite.com

Wine Dinner with a four-year vertical of Serca reds from Argentina: 6 p.m. Thursday, May 9, at the Aktins House. $105. http://eventbrite.com rom $105.00

Wine Lovers Run Houston: 7:30 a.m. Saturday, May 11, at Eleanor Tinsley Park. $35. http://eventbrite.com

Revana Wine Dinner: 6 p.m. Thursday, May 16, at La Griglia. $250. http://eventbrite.com

Wagyu and Wine Night: 6 p.m. Thursday, May 16, at R-C Ranch. $100. http://eventbrite.com

Six-Course Dinner and SERCA Wines Pairing with Chef Kristin Qassom: 6 p.m. Friday, May 17, at SERCA Wines. $195. http://eventbrite.com

Bazaar Food and Wine Festival: 5 p.m. Saturday, May 18, at Sugar Land Town Square. $150. http://eventbrite.com

Instagram: http://@sportywineguy

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Facebook: Dale Robertson

Podcast: Sporty Wine Guy, wherever you get your podcasts. That’s me with my sidekick Jeremy Parzen above. Expect a new one sometime this week, or next. Hey, we’re busy blokes!     

Friends of mine to follow

Sandra Crittenden: http://winelifehousthon.com

Russ Kane: http://vintagetexas.com

Jeffrey Kralik: http://drunkencyclist.com

Katrina Rene: http://thecorkscrewconcie

White

2021 Kosta Browne One-Sixteen Chardonnay Russian River Valley

From the winemaker: “Expressive aromatics of fresh mango, honeyed lemon peel and toasted brioche encompass the senses. Stunningly balanced with a refined, smooth palate, lively acidity, and a weightless texture on the finish.”

From James Suckling, who scored it a 96: “Aromas of gunpowder, dried peach and sliced cooked apple. Sea shell. Pineapple. Medium to full body with a creamy texture and lots of fruit but still reserved at the end. Hints of brioche and caramel and then cream. Plenty of fruit and length.”

From me: You think of Kosta Browne and you think pinot noir. Well, think again. This is a world-class chardonnay and, yes, priced accordingly. But, having said that, try buying a bottle of Le Montrachet for 100 bucks.

$99.99 from http://wine.com

Rosé

2023 Figuière Méditerranée

From the winemaker: “Pale salmon pink in color. Nose has notes of white flowers that then develop into white peach skin. The palate expresses the velvety texture of citrus peel and the zestiness of an essential oil. Not mandarin, not lemon, not orange, more like kumquat. There’s something astringent, green, tight and fresh.”

From me: This family-owned domaine with its 210 acres of vines overlooks the Iles d’Or on the French Riviera. It may not be in the high-rent grape-growing neighborhoods of the South of France, which explains the price, but this wine fully captures the best of the sunny South of France in the bottle.

$16.99 at Whole Foods

White

2021 Kosta Browne One-Sixteen Chardonnay Russian River Valley

From the winemaker: “Expressive aromatics of fresh mango, honeyed lemon peel and toasted brioche encompass the senses. Stunningly balanced with a refined, smooth palate, lively acidity, and a weightless texture on the finish.”

From James Suckling, who scored it a 96: “Aromas of gunpowder, dried peach and sliced cooked apple. Sea shell. Pineapple. Medium to full body with a creamy texture and lots of fruit but still reserved at the end. Hints of brioche and caramel and then cream. Plenty of fruit and length.”

From me: You think of Kosta Browne and you think pinot noir. Well, think again. This is a world-class chardonnay and, yes, priced accordingly. But, having said that, good luck trying to buy a bottle of Le Montrachet for 100 bucks.

$99.99 from http://wine.com

Red

2019 J. Lohr Signature Cabernet Sauvignon

From the winemaker: “The cabernet from this vineyard ripens early with excellent color, purity of fruit, and phenolic maturity. Adding the rare Bordeaux variety saint-macaire to the blend brings dense savory elements, while a small amount of malbec contributes bright fruit notes to the finish.”

From the Wine Enthusiast, which scored it a 95: “Nearly opaque in the glass, this luxury-level bottling lays all of J. Lohr’s extensive tools on the table, and succeeds with an intense, complex package. Aromas of dark fruit, densely packed flowers, cocoa and coffee leads from the nose into a palate wrapped in expertly polished tannins. They’re firm, but relent at the right time to allow cassis, graphite and cappuccino flavors to shine.” 

From me: Again, $100 is real money. But, like the Kosta Browne chardonnay, it still over-delivers. It’s the best red I’ve tasted so far this year, and it has been a good year for tasting reds.

$100 at http://jlohr.com

2018 Hestan Vineyards Grenache Napa Valley

From the winemaker: “The grapes are pressed using 100-percent whole cluster fermentation and aged 20 months, providing the wine with great structure and freshness throughout the palate.The wine exhibits highly expressive notes of allspice, white pepper, and ripe red fruits, with a medium body mouthfeel it expresses a rich red intensity on the palate.”

From me: I tasted this side by side with one of my reference-standard wines from Gigondas. It was a wash. Impressive, to say the least.

$60 at hestanvineyards.com

2021 Hahn Pinot Noir Arroyo Seco

From the winemaker: “Ruby red in color, with aromas of black cherry, ripe red berry and subtle hints of vanilla and warm spice. On the palate, soft and delicate flavors of cherry and raspberry are followed by creamy nuances and spicy minerality, culminating in a pleasantly long finish.”

From me: Arroyo Seco couldn’t be more perfectly situated for growing great fruit. The rocky soils drain well and the ocean breezes blowing off Monterey Bay through the Salinas Valley ensure gradual ripening of the grapes. Longer hang times equals riper fruit. Location, location, location . . .

$17.99 at http://wine.com

2019 Zenato Alanera Rosso Veronese

From the winemaker: “Brilliant ruby in color, Alanera delights the senses with a variety of aromas and flavors that include fresh and dried cherries and prunes, sweet spice, and hints of coffee and tobacco. On the palate, Alanera is full-bodied with elegant and velvety tannins. Vibrant acidity brings balance and freshness, and supports a long and harmonious finish.”

From, the Wine Enthusiast, which scored it a 91: “This wine has forward aromas of black plum and blueberry pie. Though not an Amarone, the winery partially dries 50 percent of the grapes for a few months, creating a wine made from both fresh fruit and dried fruit that’s lush and rich on the palate but vibrant and intense in equal proportions. It is silky smooth, with a long finish of spiced plums and dried herbs.”

From me: Sergio Zenata, whose estate is located not far from the eastern shore of gorgeous Lake Garda, is known for making great wines that don’t cost a lot. I love people like Sergio Zenata.

$17.95 at http://vivino.com

2020 Malabaila Bric Volta Roero

From the winemaker: “Bright garnet red color. Red fruit aromas like raspberry, strawberry and blackberry that grow in elegance with spices, balsamic touches and mountain herbs. Powerful and elegant but with soft tannins.”

From the Wine Spectator, which scored it a 90: “Intense and sappy, featuring rose, strawberry, currant and tobacco flavors. On the elegant side, with firm, yet refined tannins and a lingering finish.”

From me: The estate, near Canale, has been owned by the Malabaila family since the beginning of the 15th century. That’s staying power. This nebbiolo is a baby Barbaresco, way overdelivering for the price.

$19.97 at Spec’s

Bubbles

Vara Silverhead Brut Rosado

From the winemaker: “This wine has an abundance of lively, tiny bubbles against a vibrant pink background. Aromas of raspberries, wild strawberries, hibiscus flowers and earthy green tea notes. On the palette it’s a balanced, dry, traditionally styled sparkling wine that presents a creamy mousse and lively acidity showcases a complex range of flavors: tangerines, ripe strawberries, fresh shortbread cookies, and almonds. The length of flavors is long, the finish crisp and mouthwatering.”

From me: I was hoping this sparkler, which I had never heard of until recently, would prove to be good because I was born in Albuquerque, where the winery is located, and I spent many summers there visiting my grandparents. I assumed it would be good because the winemaker is Laurent Gruet, who began making sparkling wine at the age of 16 at his family’s Gruet winery, New Mexico’s most famous sparkling wine (but no longer owned by the Gruets). The fruit (75 percent syrah and the rest chardonnay) was grown in the Ancient Lakes AVA in Washington State.

$27 at http://varawines.com

Trader Joe’s Brut Rosé

From the winemaker: “Trader Joe’s French Sparkling Brut Rosé was developed as a complement to its best-selling sparkling wine, Trader Joe’s French Brut Blanc de Blancs. We wanted a wine of the same excellent caliber but with its own unique point of view, and we believe this is the one. It’s a rosé made with a proprietary blend of grapes grown on the French coast of the Mediterranean Sea; the blend offers a little more depth, fruit, and body than the Blanc de Blanc, yet maintains those classic, creamy bubbles and that crisp, clean finish for which the Blanc de Blanc is so favored. It’s truly delicious.”

From me: Truly delicious works for me, too. And, at this price . . . Woo hoo!

$6.99 at Trader Joe’s

Whites

2023 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc

From the winemaker: “Enticing and appealing, with notes of honeydew melon, passionfruit, citrus and blackcurrant leaf.

From the Wine Spectator, which awarded a score of 93: “Leaps out of the glass with effusiveness, featuring flavors of apple blossom, Key lime, Honeycrisp, lemon thyme and fresh grated ginger. Notes of passionfruit, pineapple and lemon candy linger on the long, expressive and mouthwatering finish.”

From me: Cloudy Bay has long been the reference standard for New Zealand sauvignon blanc, at least in my book. But I’d forgotten how delightfully refreshing this wine is until I tasted it again recently.

$37.99 at http://wine.com

2021 Vigneti Repetto Piccolo Derthona Timorasso

From the winemaker: “Floral and citrus notes, minerality and freshness. The pairing is with grilled fish dishes, white meats, fried vegetables; ideal as an aperitif.”

From http://thelivingvine.ca: “This timorossa steps up to prove just how beautiful and age-worthy (the varietal) can be Notes of petrol, straw, lemon and white fig, this white is layered and complex, with beautiful acidity and a gorgeous palate.”

From me: Like the arneis grape back in the 1970s, timorasso wasn’t on many wine drinker’s radar screens before a fellow named Walter Massa, whose winery was near Tortona in the Colli Tortonesi about an hour south of Milan, decided back in the 1980s to think outside the box. Barbera was the cash cow in the neighborhood, but Massa thought the terroir was actually better suited for a white grape like timorasso. At the time, there was barely more than an acre of the vines in the ground. Today? More there are more than 400 and it seems like winemakers throughout the Piemonte are at least experimenting with timorasso, which delivers excellent acidity and freshness in the right hands, like the Repettos. Derthrona, by the way, was the ancient name of Tortona.

$26 at http://tuttilili.com

Rosé

2022 Domaine Messier Rose de Pinot Noir Monterey

From the winemaker: “Gives a bouquet of ripe, wild strawberry with subtle savory complexity. The palate gives juicy grapefruit and lemon peel with ripeness balanced by a significant line of acidity.”

From me: I provided a brief summary of the Domaine Messier project in California’s Carmel Valley in my last blog. Luc Messier and Julie Fette seem unlikely vintners, but when you discover the success they enjoyed in their day-job professions — Luc in the business world, Julie as a French professor — it’s no surprise they could figure out wine-making. This is the most elegant, compelling still rosé I’ve tasted of late, and it’s their first release. The Messier chardonnay and pinot noir are also well worth tasting.

$38 at http://shopdomainemessier.com

Reds

2021 OG de Negoce Syrah Terre Siciliane IGT

From the winemaker: “Expressive on the nose with red cherries, plum sauce, and black olive haloed by blueberry and tar. The entry is luscious and earthy with delicate leather and bramble interwoven with cigar box and black cardamom, medium acidity, and swept by polished, grainy, horizontal tannins. The finish is long, barrel-kissed, and resonant with blueberry and plum coulis.” 

From me: The de Negoce brand comes to us from Cameron Hughes, who has reinvented what it means to be a negociant. He has a unique knack for finding surplus — but excellent — juice from all over the world. We hardly think of syrah when we think of Sicily, but perhaps we should after tasting this concentrated, reductive red, which spent 12 months in French oak and could pass for an Amarone in a blind tasting.

$12 from http://denegoce.com

2019 C.D. Vajra Albe Barolo

From the winemaker: “Features a classic pigeon blood garnet color, with a very lively core. A rush of red berries, raspberries and red currants is wrapped by a layer of sweet spices. The mouthfeel opens with a gorgeous balance, great energy and refined tannins, and the aftertaste echoes the aromatics with lingering complexity.”

From the Wine Enthusiast, which scored it a 94: “Stunning in its purity, freshness and vibrancy, the Albe Barolo from the venerable Vajra family is a beauty. Aromas of fresh cherries, wild strawberries, rose- buds, wild herbs, underbrush and subtle chalky notes waft from the glass. The generous palate showcases the tart red fruits Nebbiolo is known for, but at a higher gear followed by more savory flavors finishing with well-integrated tannins and vibrant acidity.”

From me: It checks all the Barolo boxes at a price very few, if any, quality Barolos can match. I’ll be buying two or three more bottles when I make my Whole Foods run today.

$39.99 at Whole Foods

2021 Leviathan Red Wine

From the winemaker: “The wine reveals distinct aromas of blackberry bramble, black cherry, and chaparral. Savory spices and star anise meld with mineral, graphite, bay, and laurel reflective of the rocky Northern California terrain. With finely structured tannins, this wine is silky and elegant — yet persistent.”

From Jeb Dunnuck, who scored it a 94: “Always a good value, the 2021 California Red Wine is no exception and has darker berry fruits, some leafy herb, sage, lavender, and chocolate nuances, full-bodied richness, and a lush, round, seamless style that’s already impossible to resist. This is primarily Cabernet Sauvignon (with plenty of other red varieties), and it should shine for 7-8 years, if not a decade, although I would drink this puppy in its youth.”

From me: Like Cameron Hughes, Andy Erickson has also been a rule-breaker, going against the trendy grain of making wines that ostensibly taste of place, instead choosing to make wines that just taste really good — and offer superb value. Since the first vintage of Leviathan in 2004, Erickson has made all of California his appellation. This vintage is a cab-centric blend that includes merlot, petite sirah, petit vergot and cab franc.

$36.99 at http://wine.com

I’ve fortuitously crossed paths of late with Houstonians who have entered the wine-making ranks from very different places. Although they are still novices relatively speaking, they’re doing it right and making excellent, big-league albeit small-production wines. I hope to be writing about them in much greater detail going forward, but I wanted them on everyone’s radar screen today.

First, meet Julie Fette and Luc Messier, pictured above. They launched their Domaine Messier (http://domainemessier.com) in the fall with a rose, a chardonnay and a pinot noir made from fruit grown on their own property in Carmel Valley. Considering the vines are only three years old, these first-vintage-release wines are extraordinary. The pink pinot noir is one of the most elegant I’ve sampled in a long time.

Domaine Messier, they explain on their website, “is not only a part of our true namesake—“messier” means guardian of the harvest in old French—but it also bears the name of the astronomer, Charles Messier. It is from his catalogue of Messier Objects, 110 nebulae and star clusters, that we draw inspiration for our vineyard and winery. Emblazoning each bottle of Domaine Messier wine, you will find artfully interpreted images of Messier Objects which correspond with each vintage produced.

“Our first vintage for 2022 begins with Messier 22, an elliptical globular cluster of stars located in the constellation of Sagittarius. Each vintage will be inspired by its corresponding Messier Object, and the labels will be inspired by NASA images for that Object. Soon we expect to enjoy astounding perspectives of Messier Objects from the James Webb Space Telescope. After 88 years of wine production, the cycle will reset to Messier 1.”

After 88 years? Well, they seem to be in this for the long haul.

Originally from New Jersey, Fette is a Fulbright Scholar and a tenured professor of French at Rice University. Messier has enjoyed a remarkable corporate career in a variety of roles, having landed in Houston as a then-senior Conoco-Phillips executive. Having un-retired in 2022, he’s currently COO for Enerkem, a cutting-edge, Canada-based waste recycling company, so he’ll be doing a bit of commuting between Houston and Montreal for at least the near term.

But the person he most looked-up to as a boy growing up in Quebec was his grandfather, Joseph, a farmer. And what is wine-growing but farming?

Both coming off divorces, Fette and Messier met in Houston a little over a decade ago and it was truly love at first sight. They, of course, had a shared love of wine, too, and that made their project a no-brainer pursuit.

Full disclosure: Their intention is to move to the Carmel area when she retires, But, for the moment, they are proud and happy Houstonians. They have made a lot of friends here. About 100 will be convening in a couple weeks for a private release party. However, the wines are already available through the above website.

Then there’s Jennifer Rossi. A Houston native and a graduate of Memorial High School in Spring Branch, Rossi first identified wine as something intriguing when she and some of her Vassar classmates visited a winery near the university in upstate New York to celebrate her 21st birthday. It only offered pinot noirs, but each was very distinctive and that piqued her interest in this winemaking thing.

After returning to Houston and earning her MBA at Rice (where she became president of the wine club), then marrying and landing a job as a management consultant for Sendero, she still couldn’t get the wine thing out of her head. So Rossi began her studies in 2016 at The Texas Wine School, soon completing WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) levels 1,2, and 3, French Wine Scholar and Texas Specialist of Wine. She also finished the Winemaking Certificate program offered through Texas Tech University and began making homemade wine, with a huge assist from Brock Estes, the owner of Fly Gap Winery in Mason, and major moral support from her husband Drew, a periodontist.

That experiment gave birth to what became The Cause Urban Winery (http://causeurbanwinery.com) in 2020. Right, at the height of COVID. But that freed up her day-job schedule because she began working remotely, giving her more time to spend mapping out a course in wine. And, speaking of giving birth, Rossi is seven months pregnant with her first child. Yes, the wine business must go on a temporary hiatus starting this summer.

But hopefully during her down time the winery and tasting room the Rossis are building out in a repurposed buidling at 6200 Stillman, near the intersection of I-10 and Wescott, will be finished. To date, she has been making her wines at John Rivenburgh’s Kerrville Hills wine incubator, a communal space for aspiring vintners like Jenn and also grape growers, which she doesn’t intend to be.

Nor does she need to be because she has been able to source some excellent Texas fruit, although some years are more complicated regarding same than others. Making wine in Texas takes lots of courage and capital — she freely admits she became her own the winemaker because she didn’t have the cash to hire an experienced one — but Rossi couldn’t be more upbeat about her prospects going forward.

A lot of folks are rooting for her, too, because of how she has structured her company. It supports five great local causes, each of them assigned to a specific wine. For every bottle sold, at least $1 goes to the Memorial Park Conservancy, (2021 Alta Semita Mourvèdre); the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center (2022 Caprifolia Trebbiano), the Houston Area Women’s Center (2021 Vai Avanti Rosé of Mourvèdre); Scout’s Honor Rescue (2021 Skýlos Viognier) and the Houston Food Bank (2020 Cura Annonae Petite Sirah). The latter, her original release, was a bit funky on the first taste, but it opened up splendidly over the course of a couple hours.

You can meet Rossi and taste at the Rice Village Farmers Market on Sunday, March 19, from 9 a.m. through noon. You’ll find her delightful.

H-Town happenings

Tastings Every Saturday at French Country Wines: Noon-5 p.m. Free. http://frenchcountrywines.com

Tastings Every Saturday at TuttiLili: Noon-5 p.m. Free. http://tuttilili.com

Tastings Every Wednesday at Montrose Cheese & Wine: 5-7 p.m. Free. http://montrosecheeseandwine.com

Symposium Saturdays: 4-5 p.m. at Stella’s Wine Bar in the Post Oak Hotel. $75. http://eventbrite.com

Houston Rodeo Uncorked Wine Winners: 6:30 p.m. Saturday, March 16, at JMP Wines Tasting Room. $75 http://eventbrite.com

Instagram: http://@sportywineguy

X: @sportywineguy

Facebook: Dale Robertson

Podcast: Sporty Wine Guy, wherever you get your podcasts. That’s me with my sidekick Jeremy Parzen above.  

Friends of mine to follow

Sandra Crittenden: http://winelifehousthon.com

Russ Kane: http://vintagetexas.com

Jeffrey Kralik: http://drunkencyclist.com

Katrina Rene: http://thecorkscrewconcierge.com

Updated Feb. 28

A week from tomorrow tonight at the Post Oak Hotel, I’m putting myself on the auction block to benefit the Alliance Française de Houston. In fact, you’ll get two chances to sip and swirl with me and find out, up close and personal, if indeed I do have good taste in wine.

We’ll be celebrating the first 100 years of the Alliance chapter in Houston and the start of our second century — le deuxième siecle, as the French would say — with a black-tie- optional gala featuring all the things you associate with these fund-raising fetes including both silent and live auction items. In my role as president of the board of directors, I’ve been made a co-host of the latter, so I’ll be twice standing up in front of our guests and asking them to spend their hard-earned money for the “privilege” of sharing some of my favorite wines.

I know . . . What could possibly go wrong? Well, worst case, I can bid on myself, although I do hate drinking alone.

Seriously, this is going to be an extraordinary evening of super food (I’ve tasted through the menu and can guarantee there’s no rubber chicken in the mix!) paired with excellent wines in a gorgeous ballroom at Houston’s only five-star hotel. As I type this, I’m delighted to report that just three individual tickets at $250 each remain to be sold so please don’t hesitate to reach out with your credit cards and join the party. Purchases can be made online at http://alliancehouston.org or by dropping a check off at our building, 427 Lovett Blvd., in the heart of Montrose.

The Alliance has for decades brought Houston’s Francophones and Francophiles together through language classes and cultural events, but recent years have been difficult for us in large part because of the pandemic. Although online learning kept most of our students in the fold, income from tastings, concerts, lectures, et. al, and renting our home to other organizations largely dried up just when our also century-old abode began needing a major facelift. Recently, for example, the plaster ceiling in our reception area suddenly came crashing down. Zut alors! Fortunately, no one was in the room at the time.

Needless to say, proceeds from the gala will be largely targeted toward infrastructure repairs and upgrades. To date, we’ve been trying to not spend money we don’t have, but hopefully this soiree will help us turn the corner.

My auctioned tastings (one featuring a lineup of my favorite roses as summer approaches) will be held at Ruggles Black on West Alabama and Porta’Vino on Washington Avenue just north of 1-10. Chef Bruce Molzan at the former and restaurateur Bill Floyd at the latter have long been great — and generous — friends. But a number of other restaurants have offered tasting dinners for auction, including Artisan’s Jacques Fox, who has agreed to be the official chef of the Alliance Française de Houston. Our official purveyor of French goods, the French Farm (http://thefrenchfarm.com), will be prominent in the auction mix, too.

The evening’s wines, still and sparkling, have been generously donated by two board members who also happen to be board members, Jean-Francoise Bonneté (http://bonnete.com) and Douglas Skopp (http://dionysusimports.com). Both have outstanding portfolios as you’ll see by perusing their websites. The cocktail hour starts at 6:30 p.m. Come join the fun and raise a glass, or several, to the beautiful French language and France’s wonderful culture.

Viva Italy, too!

Yep, I’m by-cultural. In late May and early June as many of you may know because, yes, it has been mentioned in this space before, I’m leading a lovely 10-day tour through the heart of Italy’s Piemonte wine country, my favorite wine region on the planet and a place I’ve visited frequently for nearly 30 years.

Our home base for four nights in the Langhe will be the elegant Relais Luigi
Einaudi, which sits on a panoramic hilltop above the town of Dogliani, one of
the region’s hidden gems. (Better still, the Einaudi winery sits right next
door.) From there, we’ll visit two Ceretto venues, the hilltop headquarters in
San Cassiano just west of Alba and the flagship Bricco Roche estate, with its
landmark glass Cube designed and constructed by the same firm responsible for
the Pyramid at the Louvre in Paris.

Note that the Cerettos, great personal friends of mine since the mid-1990s, are
partners with rock-star chef Enrico Crippa at Piazza Duomo, one of the world’s
greatest restaurants where we’ll lunch after a morning visit to the historic
Pio Cesare cellars nearby. The older section dates to the late 19th century and
the cavernous space is split by a 2,000-year-old Roman wall. Pio Cesare is
uniquely situated, being the only winery in Alba proper.

 

The sumptuous lunch at Piazza Duomo will be one of at least three that will be
prepared by chefs possessing Michelin stars. Another, Guido, located at the
Fontanafredda winery, has a storied history and personal memories that I’ll be
excited to share with you. In route to Lake Como, where we will spend a night, we
will also have a catered lunch at the magnificent Airbnb owned by the Amistà
Winery in Nizza, the happening new DOCG that was carved out of the Barbera
d’Asti DOC in 2014.   

On Thursday, May 23, we’ll convene in Turin, which I got to know well while
covering the 2006 Winter Olympics for the Houston Chronicle, and we’ll wrap up
our grand adventure in Milan on Saturday, June 1 with a sumptuous farewell
dinner. Heading to Milan, we’ll make a detour to Franciacorta’s bubbles
country, too, in order to taste at the spectacular Ca del Bosco property.

 And, before we hit the wine trail, we’ll be taking a detour up and over the Alps
into my neighborhood, the Ubaye Valley (http://ubaye.com),
for a special late-afternoon dinner with my great friend, chef Hubert Longeron,
at his gîte in one of France’s most remote and breathtakingly beautiful
corners.

The cost is $7,750 per person, all-inclusive once you step off the plane. Registration can be handled through http://gourmettours.biz.

Here are links to some of our stops:  

WINERIES

Amistà: http://amistapiedmontwine.com

Bruno Rocca: http://www.brunorocca.it

Ca del Bosco: http://cadelbosco.com

Ceretto: http://www.ceretto.com

Domenico Clerico: www.domenicoclerico.com

Oddero: http://www.oddero.it

Pio Cesare: http://piocesare.it

Poderi Luigi Eiunadi: http://www.poderieinaudi.com

 HOTELS

Relais Luigi Einaudi (Dogliani): http://www.relaiseinaudi.com

Villa Morelia (Jausiers, France): http://villa-morelia.com

RESTAURANTS (*Michelin stars)

***Piazza Duomo: http://piazzaduomoalba.com

*Massimo Camia (La Morra) : http://massimocamia.it

*Guido (Serralunga): http://guidoristorante.it

Le Quattro Stazione (Saluzzo): http://le-sanssouci.com

Sans Souci (Jausiers): le-sans-souci.com

Ristorante Moda (Monforte d’Alba): http://modavenue.eu

La Locanda del Sorriso (Dogliani): http://lalocandasorriso.com

Tratorria Il Risorgimento (Treiso): http://risorgimento.yolasite.com

La Piola: http://lapiola-alba.it

 OTHER

Wine Museum (Barolo): http://wimu.barolo.it: We’ll visit on Monday morning, May 27, for big-picture purposes and to give everyone a chance to take a stroll through the town of Barolo.

H-Town happenings

Tastings Every Saturday at French Country Wines: Noon-5 p.m. Free. http://frenchcountrywines.com

Tastings Every Wednesday at Montrose Cheese & Wine: 5-7 p.m. Free. http://montrosecheeseandwine.com

Symposium Saturdays: 4-5 p.m. at Stella’s Wine Bar in the Post Oak Hotel. $75. http://eventbrite.com

Orin Swift Wine Dinner: 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 29, at Kiran’s. $195. 713-960-8472  info@kiranshouston.com

Wine Tasting & Pasta Celebrating Black & Women’s History: 11 a.m. Saturday, March 2, at 2515 Harvard St. $10. http://eventbrite.com

Instagram: http://@sportywineguy

X: @sportywineguy

Facebook: Dale Robertson

Podcast: Sporty Wine Guy, wherever you get your podcasts. That’s me with my sidekick Jeremy Parzen above.  

Friends of mine to follow

Sandra Crittenden: http://winelifehousthon.com

Russ Kane: http://vintagetexas.com

Jeffrey Kralik: http://drunkencyclist.com

Katrina Rene: http://thecorkscrewconcierge.com