And it’s an easy one to remember – December 7. Right, Pearl Harbor Day. And, while we’re certain to raise a glass or several to America’s long-ago fallen heroes that evening, the event I’m organizing will honor a different anniversary. In 2023, Houston’s Alliance Française chapter celebrates its 100th birthday and we’re going to have a splendid kickoff party to start raising funds for a sprucing-up of our historic home on Lovett Blvd. in Montrose.

But, before I go further, I must offer a heartfelt merci bien! to Valerie Baraban, France’s consul general in Houston. Baraban is a little over a year into her four-year stay and wants to leave her mark on a city she and her husband have already come to love. It was 100-pecent her idea to help the Alliance and, as the board’s vice president, I delightedly accepted on our behalf.

This soiree will be our first in a long time — thanks to the pandemic — and it’s going to be extra fun. Yes, of course, wine will be front and center. Although many details remain to be sorted out, this much is certain: It will be 6-to-9 p.m. on the 7th in a gorgeous indoor-outdoor entertainment space in my new home, the Hanover River Oaks on Kirby Drive, across from Whole Foods (with complimentary valet parking).

The stars of the show will be a quartet of Houstonians who sell French wine: Matthew Massey with his Madame Zéro champagne and Jeremy Hart with his Explicit Content Châteauneuf-du-Pape, plus two importers, Douglas Skopp, whose Dionysus Imports offers a splendid lineup from a variety of boutique producers, and Jean-François Bonneté, who owns BCI and is man behind the Liberation de Paris wines plus his new Bonneté lineup.

Heavy appetizers will accompany the tasting – chef announcement coming soon! – and we’re hoping to have live music. Attendance will be limited to 40 folks maximum and it will be a ticketed event with every dime of profit going to the Alliance for capital improvements. Anyway, to quote Rachel Maddow, watch this space. I will be updating frequently as things come together.  

Travels with me and Pablo  

My late-May/early June tour of my favorite wine neighborhoods in the South of France with Pablo Valqui is shaping up with only a couple spots remaining, so don’t hesitate to get signed up. This is going to be a marvelous adventure and will include a tasting-aperitif at my house in the off-the-beaten-path but magnificent Ubaye Valley in the Southern Alps. Chef Hubert Longeron, whose Refuge de la Pare in the Vallon de Maurin has been destination for adventurers since his father opened the doors in 1969, will take over my kitchen that afternoon.     

Details can be found at gourmettours.biz or right here, at my sportywineguy.com blog.  

Sippin’ with Sporty Coming in an update Sunday. But I know what I’ll be tasting tonight — the wines from Saint Pierre de Mejans in the Luberon — because I’ll be attending my first-ever live team handball match with Wendy and Jean-Marc Gobbi, who own both the winery and the team. Can’t wait for the game and after-party! H-town happenings A Taste of Darkness and Spirits — Camerata, Oct. 27-31. $40 each flight plus tax and gratuity. http://cameratahouston.com Texas Wine and Cheese Tasting — We Olive and Wine Bar, Sunday, Oct. 30. Noon. http://eventbrite.com Kemah Fall Wine Fest — Kemah Boardwalk. Saturday, Nov. 19. From $60. http://eventbrite.com Raising a glass to . . . the Astros! Six consecutive ALCS appearances? Really? The franchise went 4-for-52 years chasing spots in the NLCS. Speaking of which, only the Atlanta Braves have also gone six-for-six — a couple of those came at the Astros’ expense, too — but it’s worth noting that just once did Atlanta win a World Series during their ’90s glory days. These Astros are currently 1-for-4. Still, sweeping the Mariners and getting their boots quickly on the necks of the hated Yankees are well-worth celebrating. They’ve made October the most fun sports month of the year in H-town. Pouring a bottle over the head of . . . Jack Easterby What a con artist. But at least Cal McNair finally woke up to same. Sacking the preacher man won’t solve any of the Texans’ current problems, some direct biproducts of Easterby’s incompetence, but at least they’ve awakened from this nightmare. Addition by subtraction if ever there was such a thing. Hit the road, Jack.