Updated August 2

We all have special wines that serve as reference points on our oenological journeys. Two of mine converged in Houston last week. Michael Honig conducted a tasting of his Hoenig wines (http://honigwines.com) at Double Decanted on Tuesday evening and David Gates, representing Ridge Vineyards (http://ridgewines.com), took the spotlight Thursday evening at Vault & Vino.

I first met Honig, pictured below, back in the late 1990s at his Rutherford winery on a trip with a restaurant friend. She had turned me on to the Honig Sauvignon Blanc, which, as it happened, was his best-known wine. Unfortunately, it still wasn’t that well-known because, he said, “Nobody wanted to drink sauvignon blanc in those days. Remember, Robert Mondavi changed the name of his to Fume Blanc.”

Things have changed, of course, although not the Honig Sauvignon Blanc. Or, better, sauvignon blancs. The 2021 Reserve ($38 at http://honigwine.com) really sings. To quote James Suckling, who scored it a 92: “The extraordinary interplay between fruit and oak creates a richly textured mid-palate that is seamlessly balanced on solid acidity and minerality.” Suckling suggests it will drink nicely through 2026, if not longer. The Honig cabs rock, too. Note that Fleming’s is featuring the Honig sav blanc this month ($13 for a glass, $57 for a bottle) as a surf & turf pairing.

Check out the website and you’ll see a picture of him on a tractor in 1984 at the age of 22 as he began the process of reviving what was then a failing winery. At 61, Honig’s still in the game, spending more time on the road spreading the good word than he does at the property. He loves meeting his customers almost as much as he loves drinking his wines.

Ridge, of course, is the stuff of legend. In the late 1950s, three Stanford Research Institute engineers pooled their resources to purchase a gorgeous plot of land high in the Santa Cruz Mountains above the Palo Alto campus. The land, bought for recreationally purposes only, came with an abandoned winery and a scraggly vineyard. But it produced enough grapes for the three “garagistes” to make a quarter of a barrel of damned good cabernet. by 1962, they had released a first official vintage and the rest is history. You can get all the details at http://ridgewine.com.

Gates, shown below, oversees the extensive vineyard operations for Ridge and has been part of the Ridge team since1989, which was about the time I was all in on the Ridge Zinfandels from Lytton Springs, Pagani Ranch and Paso Robles, and the Geyserville red blend. In fact, those were my go-to reds for at least a decade, until putting down roots in southeastern France turned my focus to the Southern Rhone and Italy’s Piemonte.

But it was a splendid tasting experience to revisit all of the above plus Ridge’s Chardonnay, Estate Cabernet and, of course, the big dog cab, Monte Bello. My discretionary spending budget never quite caught up with the latter’s price point (it’s now $250 at Spec’s) for me to become a regular imbiber, never mind collector, but there’s real value in the others. I will be reloading on my next trip to the Midtown store.

Another notable H-town visitor has been David Keck (pictured below), back in Houston on Tuesday to lead a trade seminar on Rhone Valley wines at the Art of Cellaring (http://artofcellaring.com). Keck, of course, became a leading figure in H-Town’s vibrant wine scene first as the somm at Uchi before running the show at Camerata and then laying the foundation for March’s extensive wine program.

In 2020, as COVID-19 was turning the hospitality industry upside down — and before March opened — he packed up and returned to his native Vermont to reinvent himself as a winemaker, “the most humbling experience I’ve ever had,” he concedes. But his Stella XIV Wines business (http://stella14wines.com) is helping put Vermont on the world’s wine map. You’ll find a nice story about Keck’s recent New England adventures at http://thinkvermont.com.

But subsequently things have gotten even more complicated. A hard freeze with frost on May 25 — May 25! — cost Keck 85 percent of his grape harvest for 2023. Therefore, he has taken a couple new “day jobs” such as partnering with groups such as the Rhone Valley Vineyards and working remotely for the AI wine-and-spirit firms http://preferabli.com to augment his income. His presentation was spot-on, of course. Keck knows his stuff and he’s a great entertainer. I thought I knew everything about the Rhone Valley. Boy was I wrong, and I’ll be sharing at least some of what I learned in a future blog.

I told Keck, “Don’t be a stranger. Come back and see us.” He promised he would.

The Sports Page

Raising a glass to . . . Jim Crane, Justin Verlander and Framber Valdez

August has been a great month for the Astros through the years, but they never had a day in August like yesterday. Crane, the best and brightest Houston owner team in history by far, is always in it to win it NOW and that’s why Verlander returns after being on loan to the Mets for a few months. The news so juiced Valdez, who hadn’t pitched well of late, that he tossed a 93-pitch no-no at Cleveland, the Astros’ fifth in the last five seasons — an historic major-league first. (Yep, Verlander had one of those, too, on Sept. 1, 2019.) Framber’s gem was the 16th no-hitter in franchise history and left the now-quaking-in-their-boots Texas Rangers just a half game up in the division standings.

Raising a glass to . . . Mark Berman

My great friend and longtime press box colleague surprised me by retiring recently, although his timing was perfect — before the start of Texans training camp, because there’s nothing worse than covering training camp. Berman was the sports anchor at Channel 26 for more years than either of us care to count, but he was also the hardest working reporter on the local sports scene. Not for nothing did we call him “Scoop.” He broke more stories than the rest of his TV colleagues combined. While it’s hard to picture Berman kicking back in the recliner Mattress Mack gave him for a going-away present, he swears his been-there-done-that time had come. Cheers, Scoop!

And to . . . Lawson Craddock

The 31-year-old Houstonian’s first Tour de France start — and finish — since 2018 proved a memorable one. Riding for Team Jayco Ulula, he completed cycling’s greatest race for the third time in three career starts. A personal highlight would be his fourth place finish in stage 15, a brutal day in the Alps near Mont Blanc when he led a dramatic breakaway. And his team boss, Simon Yates, copped fourth in the yellow jersey standings. Although this Tour lacked the poignant drama of five years ago, when Craddock broke his scapula during the first stage yet still pedaled — in last place — all the way to the Champs Elysees over three agonizing weeks (raising nearly $300,000 to repair the Hurricane Harvey-damaged Alkek Velodrome in the process), he said it best himself: “If you make it to the Tour de France, you’re doing pretty well.” Damn straight, Lawson!

And to . . . Case Keenum

The onetime fancy-passing Houston Cougar has come full circle, coming home to the Texans, where his NFL career began 11 years ago. An undrafted free agent, Keenum never left the practice squad as a rookie in 2012, then went 0-8 as a starter during the disastrous 2013 season. But he won both his starts a year later before moving on to the Rams –playing in both St. Louis and Los Angeles — Minnesota, Washington, Cleveland and Buffalo. Replacing the injured Sam Bradford, he led the Vikings to the brink of the Super Bowl in 2017. Here, he’ll help mentor rookie top draft pick C.J. Stroud and serve as an all-around positive veteran presence in the Texans locker room. Fact is, Keenum should be raising a glass to himself, given that he’s also part owner of the Haak Vineyards & Winery down in Sante Fe.

But pouring one out for . . . Bob West

Another great sports journalist passed this week. West was a beloved and revered columnist in Port Arthur for decades and I had the privilege of spending lots of time with him back in the Luv ya Blue Oilers era. Nobody got closer to his fellow Golden Triangle homey Bum Phillips than Bob. RIP, my friend.

 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

Stella’s Wine Games — 7 p.m. Tuesdays at Stella’s Wine Bar in the Post Oak Hotel. $50. http://www.thepostoakhotel.com/restaurants/Stellas-Wine-Bar/Stella-Wine-Games.asp

Nickel and Nickel 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.

SERCA Gran Corte Vertical Tasting: 4-6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 26, at the SERCA Tasting Room. SERCA Wines – Upcoming Events $80 ($64 members)

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Others to follow

Jeremy Parzen (http://dobianchi.com)

My podcast partner in crime writes: “

Racially charged comments posted on Facebook yesterday by Friulian grape grower and winemaker Fulvio Bressan have sparked outrage in the online food and wine community.

In a statement evidently addressed to Italian integration minister Cécile Kyenge — Italy’s first African-Italian minister — Bressan offered his opinion on a recently implemented government program that provides temporary housing for undocumented immigrants . . .”

Sandra Crittenden (http://winelifehouston.com)

Sandra writes: “For Galveston Monthly’s July issue, I wrote about chillable red wines to beat the heat during the hot days of summer and beyond. Try one of these wine recommendations and keep your cool today . . .”

Russ Kane (http://vintagetexas.com)

The Texas Wineslinger writes: “Until earlier this year, Grüner Veltliner was not in my Texas wine lexicon. But, there it was. My first thought was how could this be so?After all, Austria is a cool winegrowing region, right? Texas is actually the opposite, being described politely as a “warm” winegrowing region, and less than politely as just “damn hot . . .”

Jeff Kralick (http://thedrunkencyclist.com)

The DC writes: “It is time for another edition of “Random Samples”–I occasionally get samples from marketing agencies and/or producers. These can often be grouped together into some sort of over-arching theme. Other times, I get just a bottle or two that do not have any apparent connection or link. Instead of holding on to those bottles until the “right” combination comes along, I decided to link all these “random” bottles together, making their own category (and, being the math geek that I am, “random sample” has a bit of a double entendre) . . . “

Katrina Rene (http://thecorkscrewconcierge.com)

Kat writes: “Sure, for those in the know, my title for this article is a no-brainer. But if you’re not in the know, please be sure to check out my article on the work that John Rivenburgh is doing through his Kerrville Hills incubator for the Texas wine industry. You can find it over at the Vintner Project: “John Rivenburgh & his Kerrville Hills Incubator Propel Texas Wine Growth.” I had a great time talking to John about what he does as well as getting the perspectives of others in the industry who have worked with him. He really is great for Texas wine . . .”