We’ve nailed down the details for the Dec. 7 wine tasting that will kick off a fundraising campaign to restore the Alliance Française of Houston’s historic home on Lovett Blvd. in Montrose to its former glory. The timing is perfect because the venerable language school/cultural center celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2023.

The event will be 6-to-9 p.m. in the gorgeous ninth-floor indoor-outdoor entertainment space in my new home, the Hanover River Oaks on Kirby Drive, across from Whole Foods. We’re asking for a $150 donation per person, but that comes with an array of appetizers prepared by the guy I call “the food god,” Ruggles Black’s chef-owner Bruce Molzan, and a wide array of French wines provided by four importers with strong ties to the Houston area. There will also be a couple of excellent door prizes on offer in a drawing that evening, including a dinner for four and a personal tasting with yours truly.

The vintners Matthew Massey, who has Madame Zéro champagne and Jeremy Hart, who recently released his Explicit Content Châteauneuf-du-Pape, both super-serious for-real French wines, plus two importers, Douglas Skopp, whose Dionysus Imports offers a splendid lineup from a variety of boutique producers, and Jean-François Bonneté, who owns the import company BCI and is man behind the Liberation de Paris and Bonneté wines.

I’ve been a member of the Alliance’s Board of Directors since the late 1990s and have fond memories of a many a wonderful event there that celebrated all things French. The COVID-19 mess pretty much shut us down socially, but we’re ready to flap our wings again. Some classes are again in-person at the site (www.alliancefrancaisehouston) and we intend to resume hosting regular wine tastings — we lost a huge asset when Spec’s legendary fine-wine buyer Bear Dalton passed away a couple years ago — as well as readings, art showings and and just-for-fun get-togethers for local Francophiles.

Our home needs some upgrading, though, and moving forward with that starts with our Dec. 7 soiree, so please come and invite your friends. But be forewarned: Capacity is limited to 40 and we’re about halfway there already. In short, don’t tarry with your ticket purchases! To register, call Angela Gomez at 713 526-1121 or send an email: info@alliancehouston.com. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to email me at sportywineguy@outlook.com.

Our home needs some upgrading, though, and moving forward with that starts with our Dec. 7 soiree, so please come and invite your friends. But be forewarned: Capacity is limited to 40 and we’re about halfway there already. In short, don’t tarry with your ticket purchases! To register, call Angela Gomez at 713 526-1121 or send an email: info@alliancehouston.com. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to email me at sportywineguy@outlook.com.

I can’t think of a better way to kick off the holiday season!

Travels with me and Pablo

Pablo Valqui, a travel-industry pro and true gourmand, has begun nailing down the precise details for our May 25-June 4 tour of some of my favorite wineries in the South of France, ranging from the Languedoc to the Southern Rhone to the Luberon to the Var. We’re close to filling up — 10 spots maximum are available — so, again, don’t wait much longer to peruse the details at http://gourmettours.biz or reach out to me personally at the aforementioned email address.

I can’t tell you how excited I am to being a part of this adventure, which will include an afternoon aperitif at my home in the magnificent Ubaye Valley above the dreamy little town of Barcelonnette.

Sippin’ with Sporty

White

2020 MacRostie Sonoma Coast Chardonnay: Quality meets value in this bottle. Checks all the California chardonnay boxes. $26 at http://macrostiewinery.com

2019 Grgich Hills Estate Chardonnay Napa Valley: The organically grown grapes are from Carneros and American Canyon, Napa’s coolest climes. The winemaker is Ivo Jeramaz, whose uncle’s name adorns on the bottle. Mike Grgich, of course, is the man who put Chateau Montelena on the map with the 1973 chardonnay that won “the Judgment of Paris” competition. Mike’s still with us at the age of 98. $42.59 at Spec’s

Pink

2021 Bonterra Rose: Made with organically grown grapes — grenache grown in Mendocino County is front and center — it’s got wonderfully crisp acidity, reflective of how the wine was made. Winemaker Jeff Cichocki fermented and aged each varietal separately for two months before blending. $15.99 at http://wine.com

Red

2021 C.L. Butaud Texas Mourvèdre: It’s a nicely structure, full-flavored blend of mourvedre grapes from two High Plains vineyards, Farmhouse in Brownfield and Desert Willow in Seminole. Owner-winemaker Randy Hester thinks it can age nicely for a decade, but it’s drinking splendidly today. $30 at http://clbutaud.com

2016 Viberti Buon Padre Barolo: I saw it on the list at Porta’Vino for $54 so I decided to give it a try. After all, we rarely encounter many Barolos under 60 bucks, do we? I wasn’t disappointed. Neither, apparently, was the critic Suckling, who awarded a score of 95, calling it “a rich, flavorful Barolo with plum and chocolate character. Hazelnuts and meat, too. It’s full-bodied and layered with a wonderful combination of ripe fruit and ripe tannins. Yet, it remains tight, focused and fresh.” $46.49 at Total Wine

2018 Medlock Ames Kate’s & B’s Cabernet Sauvignon: Suckling also gave this cab a 94, and Jeb Dunnuck thought it deserved a 95. I’m in full agreement. Kate’s & B’s is named for the wives of co-founder Chris James and Ames Morison. Owners Chris James and Ames Morison believe their Bell Mountain vineyard blocks on the Sonoma side of the Mayacamus Mountains “are reflective of classic Bordeaux terroir with high-density vine spacing, gravely clay soils, tiny yields of small inky-black berries, and a thoughtful clonal selection matched by a rigorous farming regime.” $105 at http://medlockames.com

2019 Mouton Cadet Bordeaux : It’s hard to find a better red Bordeaux at such a price point. I hadn’t tried a bottle in years until recently. Truth to tell, the high quality surprised me. I’ve tasted a lot worse while spending a lot more on other Bordeaux wines. Kudos to the late Baron Philippe de Rothschild, who first released this lovely little red in 1930. $17.99 at http://wine.com

Reddy Vineyards The Superior Texan: A rustic Tuscan-inspired blend with a Texas twist, it’s a blend of mostly sangiovese and tannat with a little montepulciano and malbec thrown in to add depth and complexity. $45 at http://reddyvineyards.com

H-town Happenings

Happy Cab Franc Day wine dinner: 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4. Atkins House. $60. http://eventbrite.com

Holiday Sampling Happy Hour: 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 29. We Olive and Wine Bar. $40 http://eventbrite.com

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Others to follow

Jeremy Parzen (http://dobianchi.com): My podcast partner in crime (and, yes, we’ll get another one up soon!) reports on Pisa university research that shows it’s possible to prove a correlation between soil type and aroma. He also touts a wine country dining experience he enjoyed recently in Sebastopol.

Sandra Crittenden (http://winelifehouston.com): Sandra shares the “Beginners Guide to Bordeaux” piece she did recently for Galveston Monthly. She’s hardly a beginner herself, however, having traveled there frequently.

Russ Kane (http://vintagetexas.com): The Texas Wineslinger goes deep with Hill Country winemaker Doug Lewis about a very special wine for him, the 2012 Round Mountain Vineyard Reserve.

Jeff Kralick (http://thedrunkencyclist.com): Jeff’s fifth annual blind tasting of domestic pinot noirs featured 55 wines. He tells you about 20 of them in his latest blog with more installments to come.

Katrina Rene (http://thecorkscrewconcierge.com): Kat weighs in on Texas wines that have captured her fancy of late.