Updated June 11

Back in February I was planning to write about Tony Parker’s buying a piece of the La Mascaronne winery in Provence, and we had a nice phone conversation about same. Despite his French roots, Parker gave most of the credit for his becoming a serious oenophile to Greg Popovich. The San Antonio Spurs coach was a super-serious collector and, to his credit, Pop wasn’t the least bit hesitant to pop corks on special bottles with his players.

But he proved real hesitant talking about same. The man is a superb coach with five championship rings, but he’s also intensely private away from the arena, and it didn’t help that Pop was enduring his worst season ever with the Spurs. I got nowhere trying to nail down a wine-centric chat with him, so my story stayed in limbo.

Fortunately.

Had it been written after our first interview, some rather significant stuff wouldn’t have made the piece, which finally ran Sunday in the San Antonio Express-News (Spurs legend Tony Parker toasts to the future (expressnews.com). In mid-March, the news broke that Parker would be going into the Basketball Hall of Fame this summer — along with Popovich. Then, in May, the Spurs won the right to make Victor Wembanyama the first pick in NBA draft.

Parker is France’s greatest basketball player ever. But, should he ever loses that title, it’s likely going to be claimed by the 7-3 Wembanyama, who, like Parker did back in the day, will make his NBA debut at 19 this fall. Needless to say, a second conversation with Parker would be required and it happened the morning after the Spurs called Wembanyama’s name.

Tony said he’d been doing interviews with French journalists for more than an hour before we hooked up and many more were scheduled. He promised to text me with the wines he’ll be tasting once he’s officially a member of the Hall of Fame — that happens Aug. 12 in Springfield, Mass. — and we discussed a rendezvous at La Mascaronne in September, when he’ll be there for his second harvest. My home in the Southern Alps is less than three hours from the winery, located in the Var above St. Tropez, and it’s a beautiful drive. Can’t wait to clink glasses with him.

But you don’t have to fly to Provence to taste the excellent La Mascaronne lineup. The wines are available in Houston at French Country Wines, 2433 Bartlett, in Rice Village (http://frenchcountrywines.com).

The Miraval mess

Speaking of Provence, If you’re curious about how Chateau Miraval devolved from being a very good under-the-radar rosé to mass-produced plonk, check out the latest issue of Vanity Fair: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/06/brad-pitt-angelina-jolie-miraval-rose-divorce While the story is primarily about the nasty “Brangelina” break up, the inside stuff about the winery was fascinating, too. Key fact: Under Tom Bove, who sold Miraval to the now-divorced Hollywood power couple, production had been 150,000 bottles annually. When Pitt partnered with the Perin family (Château Beaucastel), Bove said it skyrocketed to 10 million. That explains everything.

In fairness, the wine has gotten better over the last couple of years, but it’s still way down on my list of favorite pinks from Provence.

Bove, by the way, was also the proprietor of La Mascaronne before selling that property to Parker and the French entrepreneur Michel Reybier. In its case, however, there has been no drop-off whatsoever in quality.

Breaking news

Pastore Italian kitchen (https://pastorehouston.com/) has finally opened on Dunlavy in the same complex as George James, but it’s hardly the casual red-sauce and pasta joint chef Chis Shepherd seemingly envisioned before he parted ways with his Underbelly Hospitality investors suddenly last year. Rather, it’s starkly sleek and sophisticated space with a seafood-centric “coastal Italian” menu and a small but tantalizing wine list presided over by sommelier Zach Newman, who was previously part of Mollie Austad’s wine team at Bluedorn.

Newman inherited the Pastore list and, although there’s nothing to fix, he’ll surely want to put his own stamp on it going forward. When I popped in recently with Jody Schmal, my former Houston Chronicle Flavor Section editor, Newman sold us on the Ca’ Del Bosco Cuvee Prestige Edizione 45 from Franciacorta in Lombardy at $75. Bravo, Zach.

“Pastore,” fyi, means “shepherd” in Italian and Georgia James is, of course, Shepherd’s mother’s name. So he’s still part of same, even if he isn’t.

Sippin’ with Sporty

Pink

2020 Natura Rosé

From the winemaker: “Fragrance reminiscent of bunches of fresh strawberries. Bright, fresh red fruit flavors are silky and elegant on the palate. Slightly off-dry with good acidity. Delicate and easy to drink.”

From James Suckling, who scored it a 91: “Pristine, Pure and the freshest rosé possible. The organically grown grapes are handpicked in March, sorted and then directly pressed. Vinification takes place in stainless steel tanks with gentle pump overs and delicate lees stirring. The wine is aged for three months in stainless steel tanks and is filtered prior to bottling. Bright light pink. Bouquet: Intense fruity aromas, such as cherry and black currant. Taste: Good body, silky and elegant on the palate. Tremendously fresh, fruity, and balanced. Delicate and easy to drink.”

From me: What he said, and what a price! I love Costco.

$9.49 at Costco

White

2021 Laird Family Estate Sauvignon Blanc

From the winemaker: “The eye-catching clear white gold color is followed by tantalizing aromas of lemongrass, key lime pie, guava, and lilikoi. The palate is a continuation of the aromatic journey with flavors reminiscent of Thai basil, grapefruit, white peach, and elderflower. This wine is gleaming with lively acidity and rounded out by a strikingly smooth finish.”

From me: From what’s truly a family operation that dates back to 1970, when Ken Laird bought a 70-acre plot covered with scraggly prune trees on Tubbs Lane near Calistoga, it’s a splendidly fruit-forward gem made from sav blanc fruit grown in Napa Valley’s Big Ranch Vineyard.

$30 at http://lairdfamilyestate.com

Red

2021 C. L. Butaud PaPa Frenchy Red  Wine

From the winemaker: “Soft sandalwood, taut black cherry, and graham cracker crust aromas give way to a spirited palate, elevated by gentle acidity. There is a focused texture on the entry that migrates to the edges of your mouth, with bright red fruits from the grenache (60 percent), herbed ham flavors from the mourvèdre, and sweet tobacco from the tempranillo. The succinct and structured finish is reminiscent of the crispness of fresh strawberry seeds.”

From me: The wine, and the winery’s name, is an homage to winemaker Randy Hester’s great grandfather, Clet Louis Butaud, whose friends called him “Frenchy.” Frenchy would be proud of this bottle, which represents outstanding value.

$18 at http://clbataud.com

H-town Happenings

Free Tastings every Saturday: Noon-5 p.m. at French Country Wines. http://frenchcountrywines.com

Tasting Thursdays at Cueva in the Marriott Marquis Houston: 6:30-7:30 p.m. every Thursday. $40

Women of Wine Charities 9th Sangria Throwdown: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 12, at Mercedes Benz of Houston Greenway. https://www.wowcharities.org/sangria2023/ $95

Avignonesi Wine Dinner with Giuseppe Santtarelli: 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 19, at Roma. 713 664-7581 $99

Drop It like It’s Hot: An Evening of Savory, Sweet & Wine: Seatings at 6 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. Thursday, July 27, at Fluff Bake Bar. (fluffbakebar.com, drinkwithdodie.com). $125.

Nickel and Nick Winery dinner: 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 10, at the Atkins House. http://eventbrite.com $130

Platinum Wine Vault Luxury Tasting Event: 6:30-9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 11, at Bayway Cadillac in The Woodlands. https://www.wineandfoodweek.com/events/2023/platinum-wine-vault-2023

Women & Wine Empowerment Weekend: 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 12, at Norris Conference room at CityCentre. http://eventbrite.com $97-$1,500.

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Others to follow

Jeremy Parzen (http://dobianchi.com)

My podcast partner in crime writes: “What an incredible year it’s been already! From Lucciola in New York City to The Wine Country in Long Beach, California; from Pasta And… in Margate, Florida to Cry Wolf in Dallas and Davanti in Houston. Over the last six months, I’ve had the opportunity to interact with some of the brightest and best people in our business . . .”

Sandra Crittenden (http://winelifehouston.com)

Sandra writes: “I was very excited to visit the Asolo DOCG Prosecco region at the end of May on a press trip as it is an Italian area that I have not previously traveled through. Asolo is located in the Province of Treviso at the foot of Monte Grappa in the high hills to the west of the Piave River with views of the Dolomites. The grapes are grown in 17 communes surrounding the town of Asolo . . .”  

Russ Kane (http://vintagetexas.com)

The Texas Wineslinger writes: “I made an interesting comparison between what I called our Texas red sandy loam over porous caliche limestone and the coveted red sandy loam and limestone found in the Australian Coonawarra wine region that they called “Terra Rossa”. Literally the next day from half the world away, I received a comment to my blog coming back at me from seasoned wine critic Philip White who has written for Australia’s major newspapers and many magazines worldwide. White said that I had a bad case of “Coonawarra Envy . . .”  

Jeff Kralick (http://thedrunkencyclist.com)

The DC writes: “When I first started writing about wine, I really never envisioned that wineries would actually send me wine to review on this site. Sure, I secretly hoped it would happen, but I really harbored no illusions that my furtive desire would come to fruition. Fast forward nearly a dozen years into this blog and I still am a little flabbergasted that I receive wines on a regular basis. While I genuinely feel fortunate to receive any wines from producers, there are certainly some boxes that elicit euphoria, and at the top of that list is Tongue Dancer Wines . . .”

Katrina Rene (http://thecorkscrewconcierge.com)

Kat writes: “Oh Zinfandel, I was wrong! Zinfandel, America’s Heritage Wine, as it is referred to by some, is literally living American history. As a person who legit went out of her way to avoid Zinfandel, my anti-Zin stance started to thaw several years ago when I attended a master class on the grape and got to experience several iterations of the wine from various producers. Before then, a couple of bad experiences made me (wrongly) assume that Zin was just an alcoholic fruit bomb with very little substance or complexity. While I was indeed thawing, I still wasn’t all the way there. However, after attending a three-day wine and food extravaganza dedicated solely to Zinfandel . . .”