I’ve got a fun week ahead, meeting up with two Houston vintners from very different walks of life, Jean-François Bonneté and Matthew Massey.

I’ve known Bonneté for a couple years now, although the onset of the pandemic coincided with our meeting so we haven’t had much time to break bread and sip wine together. I’ll be breaking bread with him at Étoile on Tuesday. As for the Galveston-born Massey, who did well enough in oil and gas to launch his own Madame Zero (madamezero.com) line of champagne, our paths have yet to cross, but we’ll finally be tasting together on Thursday at Vault & Vino in Montrose. He’s gotten great traction with is edgy, uber-dry style of bubbles at some of Houston’s best restaurants.        

Bonneté and his wife Nathalie, who hail from Brittany and Normandy respectfully but met by chance in Houston a number of years ago, founded a wine-and-spirits importing company, BCI, in 2015 (bonnete.com) and also have their own lineup of Liberation of Paris wines, thusly named because of the kindness an American GI showed his father not long after the D-Day landing in route to accomplishing same. 

“From the time I was a child, my father was always telling me I should go to America,”  Bonneté told me in our first conversation. “He really loves this country. But, the funny thing is, he would never tell me why. He didn’t like talking about that time in his life. It was very hard.” 

I’ve done my homework on Massy by reading my friend Sandra Crittenden’s excellent piece on him that ran earlier this summer in Galveston Monthly and can now be found at her winelifehouston.com blog. 

I’ll also be catching up with Amanda Hu,  who’s off to a rousing start representing Riboli Family Wines  (riboliwines.com). A  native of China with a Masters Degree from the University of Houston, she began her career in wine with Southern Glazers and in her spare time helped me heard cats with my group blind tastings during my tenure with the Chronicle. Never had a better righthand person! We’ll be tasting Tuesday evening at Ruggles Black with Neera Parador, the force of nature who keeps that remarkable spot humming while keeping my longtime chef buddy Bruce Molzan in check.         

Take-aways from these conversations will make up a good portion of my next missive. In this one, you see that I’ve added a  new wine-themed — if not necessarily wine-centric — segment to the content mix, tying together my two career professions/passions. Sports and wine of course! 

Raising a glass to . . . Justin Verlander

The historic reference standard for regular-season pitching excellence locally used to be the end of Randy Johnson’s partial-season tenure as an Astro. Over his final seven starts in 1998, the Big Unit went 7-0 with an 1.16 ERA. He gave up only 35 hits over 54.1 innings while striking out 78 vs. 18 walks with two home runs allowed. Yep, just two. However, Verlander’s own 7-0 run since June 24 has somehow raised the bar. Over his 47.2 innings, he has permitted four earned runs for an ERA of 0.76 and a mere 30 hits. His K-to-BB ratio is 47-7 and he, too has given up only a pair of homers, but one of them in his last six starts. The best part, of course, is that V-for-Victory’s seemingly certain Cy Young season is hardly over. Johnson would make only two more starts in an Astros uniform — a pair of post-season losses to the Padres in which the Astros scored two runs behind him — before moving on to Arizona.                 

Pouring one out for . . . Bill Russell

Boston’s big man, the greatest big man ever, invented modern basketball at multiple levels and no sports figure other than Jackie Robinson blazed a more important trail. As the centerpiece of 11 championship teams in 13 seasons, he also re-defined what it meant to be a winner. As an advocate for social justice, he cast a towering shadow as well.        

Breaking a bottle over the head of . . . Vladimir Putin  and Alex Jones

On Britteny Griner’s behalf, vis-a-vis the contemptible Cretin of the Kremlin. What Putin’s Russia has done to her, never mind Ukraine,  is  equal parts travesty and tragedy. Here’s hoping he’ll eventually get what he deserves. As for the morally bankrupt, physically repugnant Jones, hopefully he’ll  soon be fiscally bankrupt after two more juries do the right thing, as did the one in Austin Friday to the tune of $45 million in punitive damages for his awful lies. There’s no hell big enough or hot enough for these two thugs.           

Sippin’ with sporty

Rosé

* 2021 Reserve Saint Marc — Made by the highly respected Foncalieu cooperative in Puichéric in Southwestern France’s Aude region, it’s a lovely, lively pink syrah at a spectacular price, a mere $7.99 at Spec’s. You’d think just the shipping costs would run higher than that. Founded 50 years ago, Foncalieu is a cooperative with some 650 grape growers who farm a combined 10,000 Languedoc acres. Strength in numbers, to be sure.     

White

* 2021 Spottswoode Sauvignon Blanc — This is the best expression of New World sauvignon blanc I’ve had the pleasure of sampling in a long time. You’ll taste lemons and melons with just a hint of oak in the background. Bordeaux in style with a trace of semillon in the blend, it’s as elegant as it’s flavorful. But we’ve come to expect such a high level of quality from the historic estate, which was established in 1882. A hundred years later, its first vintage cabernet was released. $43.59 at Spec’s   

Red

* 2017 Ducru Beaucaillou — Full disclosure: I don’t routinely spring for wines at such a lofty price point ($217.89 at Spec’s) But a most kind friend brought a bottle to dinner one evening and . . . wow. Six national wine critics gave it scores between 98 and 95. It’s hard to imagine a better example of a modern Bordeaux, and it’s worth every penny. Mostly tiny-yield cabernet fruit (merlot makes up 10 percent of the blend), this gem from Saint-Julien should age magnificently, although I wouldn’t hesitate to open another bottle tonight, were itoffered to me. Now accepting donations!       

H-Town Happenings

* Sullivan Rutherford Estate tasting with Certified Wine Educator James C. Barlow of Spec’s and Sullivan’s Dan Horsch — Vault and Vino, 6:30-8 p.m. Tuesday Aug. 9. $55. jamesbarlow@specsonline.com

* The Platinum Wine Vault Luxury Tasting — Bayway Cadillac of The Woodlands, 6-9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 12. $65-$125. wineandfoodweek.com

* Bending Branch wine dinner — The Empty Glass in Tomball, 6:30-9:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 16. $105. theemptyglass.com 

* Truly Greek Truly Unique wine tasting — Lakonia Imports tasting room in Humble, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 17. localwineevents.com      

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