I’d already been contemplating re-visiting this story, knowing how hard COVID-19 had been on the restaurant industry, when Jodie Schmal, my friend and former colleague at the Chronicle, reached out, asking me to research same for her. (A classic example of great minds thinking alike!) Folks who are still doing it the right way, even after the financial hit the pandemic caused, deserve a shout-out and nobody does it better than Bill Floyd with his Porta’Vino restaurants on the western edge of the Heights and in The Woodlands. His wine pricing model is off the charts as far as being customer-friendly and he allows BYOB, too. Every time I see Bill I just want to hug him.

At any rate, I wrote the piece that follows for the Chronicle. (https://www.houstonchronicle.com/food-culture/restaurants-bars/articleComments/Houston-Restaurants-Best-Wine-Deals-17666611.php) As you’ll see, we bargain-chasers aren’t as well off as we used to be, but Houston still offers much better value than probably any market in the country because of the likes of Floyd, Charles Clarke, Grant Cooper, Shawn Virene and the Brandanis out in Fort Bend County.

Years ago, chef Charles Clark first spoke of his plans for a restaurant that would offer wines at just over their retail cost, and he delivered the goods when Ibiza opened in Midtown. These days Clark presides over Brasserie 19 and, although his markups have increased of late — blame the bottom-line pain wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, he and others in the hospitality industry say — there’s still plenty of value to be found on the well-curated list.

Ditto the lists at Coppa and Flora, run by Clark’s former partner, Grant Cooper. Clark and Cooper may have parted ways, but they’re still on the same page when it comes to making customers smile rather than cringe when they’re looking for a special bottle. Their wine-pricing model inspired others including a’Bouzy’s Shawn Virene, as well as Bill Floyd, who considered their game plan a no-brainer: The lower the markup, the more bottles you’re going to sell, and your happy customers become loyal customers.

Floyd took the model to Potente, the posh spot downtown that he ran for Astros owner Jim Crane (note: prices have jacked way up there since Floyd left) before going out on his own with Porta’Vino. Flying against the pandemic grain, he broke all the old-school pricing rules with more than half of the wines on the Porta’Vino list selling for less than you would pay for them in retail, even at value-driven chains such as Spec’s and Total Wine.

And Floyd is doing this despite offering his guests the option of bringing their own wines from home. Call him the Crazy Eddie of restaurateurs, but he has done as many as 400 covers on a Saturday night at his Washington Avenue location, and a second one in The Woodlands has been a hit, too. Some of the folks who come for dinner find themselves leaving with four or five cases because of deals on wines such as Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay ($46 at Porta’Vino; $47.50 at Spec’s), Flora Springs Trilogy ($55; $81 at wine.com) and Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($79; $90 at wine.com). Silver Oak is one of the more ubiquitous on-premise wines in our area; its price range is $79 to $200 according to Somm.ai, an alcohol beverage data company co-founded by Houstonian Jeremy Hart.

Unfortunately, markups of 400-percent or more are now routinely seen after having seemingly trended downward pre-COVID. Still, thanks to Porta’Vino and the other restaurants listed below, where multiples under 250 percent tend to be the norm, Houston continues to offer better wine value than most major American markets.

a’Bouzy

Champagne and other sparkling wines rule the roost here with prices for everyone’s budget on the voluminous list, starting with a lovely Provençal sparkler, the Jacques Pelvas Grande Cuvee, for $24. Markups are mostly less than twice retail and the Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Brut is $64 per bottle, almost six bucks less than wine.com’s price. Prices range from $12 for a liter of Jolie Folle Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire Valley to $1,352 for a 1982 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, which is about $1,100 online. Several large-format bottles cost more. 2300 Westheimer 

Brandani’s Restaurant & Wine Bar

Ron and Claire Brandani seem to offer better value than any other suburban Houston restaurant that has a for-real wine list. Prices range from $29 for the Duchman Texas Vermentino to $1,800 for a bottle of the 2016 Harlan Estates red blend. (The latter’s tariff is only about double the cheapest online price for the legendary cult wine.) And the La Jota Howell Mountain Merlot goes for $130, compared to $110 on wine.com. 3340 FM 1092 in Missouri City 

Brasserie 19

It was a sad day when the price of one of the city’s most popular rosés, the Domaine de Mourchon Loubie, went from under to $25 to almost $50 on the list here, but most markups remain south of two-and-a-half times retail. Charles Clark’s prices now range from $28 for the Dau Sauvignon Blanc ($17 at wine.com) to $120 for the Howell Mountain Vineyards Cab, which sells for about the same online. 1962 W. Gray

Coppa Osteria

Many markups on the Italian-heavy lists are less than double, including the G. D. Varja Barolo at $84. Bottle prices start at $24 for the Col D’ Orcia Spezieri, a sangiovese-ciliegiolo blend, and the Castiglione Del Bosco Dainero, which pairs merlot with sangiovese, to $488 for two Roberto Voerzio Barolos. (Note that one of the aforementioned, the same 2017 Cerequio, is also on the list at Marmo in Montrose for $990, an almost 500-percent markup.) 5210 Morningside in Rice Village

Flora Mexican Kitchen

Cooper’s prices start at $25 for the lively Portal da Calcada Vihno Verde from Portugal. The most expensive wine is the 2012 L’Evangile from Pomerol for $295, about twice what it would retail for, and that’s the norm for most the wines on the list. Dom Perignon goes for $190 a bottle, only $30, give or take, more than retail. 3422 Allen Parkway in Buffalo Bayou Park

Giacomo’s Cibo e Vino

Most of Lynette Hawkins’ wines are less than double what they would sell for in a store or online. One example is the delicious Roagna Perpentue d’Alba at $40 per bottle, compared to $25 retail. Prices range from $20 for the Marenco Pineto Brachetto d’Acqui to $600 for Emidio Pepe’s 2000 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. The vast majority of Hawkins’ wines sell for well under $100. 3215 Westheimer

Porta’Vino

No markups are higher than 50 percent and more than half of the wines sell for less than retail. The bottle price range is $29 for several whites and sparklers to $316 for both the Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon and Opus One Red Blend. Note that the latter goes for $365 at the winery’s Napa Valley tasting room. 5610 Washington 

Post Beer and Wine

Having opened in the early days of COVID, this super-casual spot remains a bit under the radar, but its wine program and pricing deserve our attention. The most expensive bottle in the Pursued By Bear Cab from Washington State, priced at $150, is a little more than double the retail tariff. The cheapest wines are an Italian Chardonnay from Tenuta San Vito and the Yves Cuilleron Cabernet Franc from France’s Northern Rhone at $40 per bottle. 6417 N. Main

Zanti Cucina Italiana

The two locations — the original is in The Woodlands and another opened not long ago in River Oaks — have their share of overpriced wines, but there are bargains to be found, too. Consider the Gaja Sito Moresco, which is about $70 retail, costs $116; and the Jordan Chardonnay is $75, when you’d pay $42 in a shop. Prices start at $32 for the Cascina Chicco Roero Arnesi. 1958 W. Gray

Sippin’ with Sporty

Goldeneye Anderson Valley Brut Rose

Anderson Valley is arguably America’s counterpoint for Champagne and this complex bottle of pink bubbles seems to prove the point. The blend is 63 percent pinot noir with the rest chardonnay. It was crafted in the traditional method and spent 24 months en tirage. You’ll taste blood orange, honeydew and hazelnut notes, which, together, taste very, very good. $70 at http://goldeneyewinery

2020 Cuvaison Hedon Chardonnay

Made from the-best-of-the-best estate fruit in Los Carneros, where Cuvaison put down roots way back in 1969, the wine spent 18 months on the lees and was 100 percent barrel-fermented in both French and American oak, about two-thirds new. It shows beautiful balance and bright acidity. “Lush” seems the perfect descriptive adjective for Steven Rogstad’s small-lot gem. Rogstad has been in charge of winemaking at Cuvaison since 2002 so, yes, he knows his terroir. $60 at http://cuvaisonwines.com

2019 The Pact Coombsville Cabernet Sauvignon

From the folks at Faust, this cab showcases what a terrific AVA once-unheralded Coombsville has become. Bright fruit flavors combined with silky tannins and a lovely long finish make for a nearly perfect wine. James Suckling scored it a 96 while both the Wine Spectator and the Wine Advocate awarded 93s. From winemaker David Jelinek: “The Pact 2019 lives up to Faust legend with beautiful dark blueberry and blackberry aromas over layers of crushed rock minerality, haunting forest notes and hints of violet. With the texture of velvet — luxuriously dense — the palate wraps that core of blue and back fruit with the barest edge of bright cherry spiced with star anise and savory dried tarragon. Silky tannins and generous ripe fruit linger through an endless, vibrant finish. There’s a long life ahead for this Cabernet.” Suckling suggests holding off drinking until 2024, if you have the patience. I didn’t. $129 at http://wine.com

H-town happenings

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

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Others to follow

Jeremy Parzen (http://dobianchi.com): My podcast partner in crime looks back on a most memorable year for his family, which celebrates its first Christmas in their new Westbury home.

Sandra Crittenden (http://winelifehouston.com): Sandra suggests 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 has a “news flash” on the 2023 Texas Wine Certification courses he’ll soon be teaching at the Texas Wine School. He also takes a close look at Kerrville Hills Winery’s intriguing Teroldego. Yep, that’s a grape varietal.

Jeff Kralick (http://thedrunkencyclist.com): Jeff reports on a recent group blind tasting of North American pink sparkling wines that he conducted.

Katrina Rene (http://thecorkscrewconcierge.com): Kat offers a rundown on Texas wine world happenings during the holiday season.

The Sports Page

Pouring one out for . . . Franco Harris

I got to know Harris during the Houston Oilers’ Luv ya Blue era because the road to the Super Bowl always led through Pittsburgh, and the Hall-of-Fame running back was one of many larger-than-life Steelers who routinely wreaked havoc on the Oilers. He was also an extraordinarily nice guy. We played tennis together a couple times after he retired and he was damned good at that, too. Harris’ death at 72 this week came only days before the 50th anniversary of his “Immaculate Reception,” an impossible catch — and possibly a non-catch, too, because there were no replays then, of course — that turned into a 60-yard touchdown reception, giving the Steelers their first playoff victory since 1947 and proving a precursor to one of the most dynastic runs in NFL history. In Harris’ final AFC Championship Game seven years later, a 27-13 victory over the Oilers, he pounded 21 times for 85 yards on a day when fellow Hall-of-Famer Earl Campbell’s 17 carries netted but 15 yards. No Houston team has been that far in the postseason since, the longest drought by 10 seasons among the league’s current cities.