I’ve been asked by the Chronicle to come up with a short list of local restaurants that even in these inflationary times continue to offer serious bang for the buck when it comes to their wine pricing. As soon as that story runs in the paper’s Flavor section, I’ll post it here. But . . . spoiler alert: Far and away the best value can be found at my buddy Bill Floyd’s Porta’Vino spots in the Heights and The Woodlands. Never mind that they’re BYOB venues, too. That defines the best of both worlds!

Also, starting with my next blog, I’m going to resume letting some of our best sommeliers weigh in on their wine-list favorites as I did for many years in my weekly missive for the Chron. We’ve got too much collective wine talent in H-town to leave it voiceless. However, one of my wine colleagues is hardly voiceless. It seems that Angelo Ferrari, co-founder CEO of the Houston-based Beviamo International LLC, is also an accomplished opera singer, and the man from Brescia will be performing Tuesday night during a pairing dinner at Alba, the lovely Italian resto in the Granduca Hotel. Needless to day, I’m much looking forward to what’s certain to be one of the most unique winner dinners ever.

The eclectic, Italy-centric (obviously) Beviamo portfolio is built around boutique producers. Ferrari and I have bonded over wine, of course, but he’s also a serious cyclist, so we’ve had our share of Tour de France conversations, too.

Kudos!

Each of the wineries that make up the Texas Fine Wine group have recently copped major honors at international wine competitions:

Bending Branch Winery: Won double gold for its 2019 Estate Tannat, Lost Pirogue Vineyard at the 2022 San Francisco International Wine Competition; double gold for its 2019 Texas Cabernet Sauvignon at the 2023 Houston Rodeo Uncorked! International Wine Competition; and double golds for its 2019 Mourvèdre, Desert Willow Vineyards and 2019 Tannat, Tallent Vineyards at the 2023 San Antonio Rodeo International Wine Competition.

Pedernales Cellars: Won two Jefferson Cups at the 2022 Jefferson Cup Invitational Wine Competition, one for its 2018 Block Zero, the most recent vintage of its merlot-cabernet sauvignon-sangiovese-tannat-malbec blend from Kuhlken Vineyards, and for its 2020 Texas High Plains Grenache. The Block Zero also won a double gold at the San Francisco International Wine Competition.

Spicewood Vineyards: Won a Jefferson Cup for its 2019 Tandem. The winery won double golds at the San Antonio Rodeo competition for its 2018 Syrah (Texas Class Champion), 2019 Tandem and 2019 The Independence.

Sippin’ with Sporty

I’ve been heavy into reds of late — tis the season — so today is a red letter day. You’ll notice a crazy price range here, but they’re all terrific for holiday gift-giving and/or imbibing.

2019 Domaine Bousquet Cabernet Sauvignon Tupungato/Uco Valley

This fruit-forward cab from organically farmed mile-high vineyards satisfies the palate and the wallet in equal parts. There wasn’t a vine in sight when third-generation winemaker Jean Bousquet fell in love with the property in the Gualtallary Valley near the Chilean border when he first saw it while on vacation in 1990, but the Frenchman’s vision paid off handsomely. The critic James Suckling scored the wine a 91. $15.99 at http://wine.com

2020 C. L. Butaud Texas Tempranillo

The 2019 vintage of this 100-percent Texas-grown tempranillo earned an 88+ from the Wine Advocate and made history by becoming the first Texas wine acknowledged by Robert Parker’s platform. Representing an even greater reliance on the outstanding Farmhouse Vineyard in Brownfield, winemaker Randy Hester’s world-class 2020 should score even higher. $54 at http://clbutaud.com

2019 Cardinale Cabernet Sauvignon

At this price, of course it should be good. If there was ever a California cab worthy of a 100-point score, the Cardinale is it. Back in 1983, the visionary Jess Jackson tapped into the premium fruit at Kendall-Jackson’s Lakeport winery — the original vineyard was called Cardinale — and the rest is history. Hillside vineyards in both Napa and Sonoma County provide the cabernet and merlot fruit these days and rock-star winemaker Chris Carpenter then ages his wine in new French oak. Both Suckling and Jeb Dunnuck scored it a 98. I think they’re two points low. $369.99 at http://wine.com

2019 Spottswoode Lyndenhurst Cabernet Sauvignon — I tasted the Lyndenhurst side by side with the Cardinale and there wasn’t a dramatic drop-off despite the dramatically different price points. All the Bordeaux varietals are in this second wine from the Spottswoode folks. It’s a complex, elegant wine and medium-bodied with a lengthy satisfying finish. $89.99 at http://wine.com

2019 Aridus Graciano

The outlier in the group hails from Arizona’s Cochise County and it’s a gem. While the 16.6 percent alcohol content may seem alarming, the wine is as balanced as it can be. Graciano is best known as a blending grape in Spain’s Rioja, which is just as hot and arid to Arizona, but the intensely flavored Aridus proves how nicely it stands on its own. $46 at http://aridiuswineco.com

H-town happenings

Stellenbosch Red & Wine Dinner: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 13. Astor Farm to Table, Katy. http://astorfarmtotable.com $89 http://eventbrite.com

Wine 101 tasting class: 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 17. Chef Bernadette’s Place. http://bernadettesplacellc.com $79. http://eventbrite.com

JMP Wine Night Featuring Orin Swift Wines: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19. JMP Wines Tasting Room, Humble. http://jmpwines.com $70. http://eventbrite.com

Pop-Up Wine Night: 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 12. Serca Wines. http://sercawines.com $35. http://eventbright.com

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Others to follow

Jeremy Parzen (http://dobianchi.com): My podcast partner in crime pays tribute to one of his favorite cities and one of mine, too — Torino, or Turin as we Americans call it. He’s there this week hustling up some wine business. I spent 17 glorious days in the city covering the 2006 Winter Olympics for the Houston Chronicle.

Sandra Crittenden (http://winelifehouston.com): Sandra offers up 10 pinot noirs you need to try now, sharing an inciteful piece she wrote for Galveston magazine.

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 shares his favorite wines of late, an eclectic mix as always.

Katrina Rene (http://thecorkscrewconcierge.com): Having returned from a whirlwind couple weeks of globe-trotting, Kat focuses on Texas wine happenings during the holiday season.

The Sports Page

Raising a glass to . . . Brittney Greiner

What an obscene ordeal she was made to endure, but she’ll be fine. Can’t wait to watch her hoop again.

And to . . . the Texans

For providing such wonderful comic relief in these stressful times. They have perfected ineptitude.