-
An eclectic mix for you today, to say the least . . . Cheers!
BUBBLES
Pizzolato Prosecco Fields Brut
From the winemaker: “Aromas of pear, orange blossom, green apple and nettles. Palate delivers lemon zest, pear, white peach and almond, with crisp acidity, consistent refined perlage and a long finish.”
From me: La Cantina Pizzolato, whose organic vineyards cover 58 hectares in the countryside north of Treviso, is said to produce Italy’s best-selling Italian organic wines. Five generations of Pizzolatos have been in the wine business in the Veneto. It seems they’ve got this wine-making thing down pat.
$18.99 at http://wine.com
WHITE
2017 Chêne Bleu Aliot
From the winemaker: “An attractive golden yellow, bright and clear with lime tints. Rich and complex aromas with notes of toasted vanilla, rich ripe white fruits and a touch of hazelnut and brioche. Lovely rich and fresh primary flavors linger, supported by a natural acidity which extends the finish. The palate mirrors the nose with buttery notes, white fruits and a saline minerality.”
From Jeb Dunnuck, who scored it a 96: “It sports a still-vibrant gold hue as well as an awesome nose of buttered pineapple, white flowers, brioche and marzipan. This carries to a medium-bodied white with beautiful overall balance, a rich, layered mouthfeel, nicely integrated acidity and a gorgeous finish. This stunningly good white will stand up to the best from the Rhône. I’d say it’s fully mature now, but guessing the drinking window on Rhone whites is fraught with peril.”
From me: A classic Southern Rhone blend of roussanne (55 percent) and grenache blanc (38) plus clairette and rolle, it over-delivers even at 50-plus bucks and pairs splendidly with hard-to-pair dishes, even those that are asparagus-centric. No, really.
$55 at http://doubledecanted.com
2021 Cormorant Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Dry Creek Valley
From the winemaker: “I have been making this Sauvignon Blanc since August 2018. The organic Sauvignon Blanc comes from Martorana Family Vineyards in Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County. The wine is fermented in a few drums and a couple of French oak barrels. Stirring the barrels a few times each year enables the wine to build mouthfeel.”
From me: It’s all unfined and unfiltered savignon blanc from Dry Creek’s Martorana Vineyards. And, at 12.7 percent alcohol, feel free to pour yourself a third glass . . . if you’re not driving. Really refreshing, this one.
$24 at http://cormorantcellars.com
2018 Smith-Madrone Riesling
From the winemaker: “Aromatically, the wine opens with Meyer lemons, pomelo, orange flowers, and just a dab of mandarin orange hiding shyly behind a rose bush. This is all backed up with a solid dose of minerality. On the palate the wine is racy and beautifully balanced with a backbone of juicy fruit acidity. Wonderfully stylish and delicious and built to last.”
From James Suckling, who scored it a 92: “This is bright and full of energy with notes of tangerines, sliced pears and spices. Attractive minerality to it with a medium body and round, creamy texture. Bright acidity and a flavorful finish.”
From me: I’m actually sipping this one as a write, and it’s indeed special — fruity and flowery but surprisingly complex with a veneer of Old World elegance despite its Spring Mountain provenance. I don’t drink a lot of riesling, and certainly not from California, but that may have to change thanks to the folks at Smith-Madrone.
$33.99 at http://wine.com
2022 Goosecross Chardonnay Napa Valley
From the winemaker: “The 2022 vintage displays a beautiful bouquet of vibrant summer peaches, golden pear, banana, toasted brioche, and bergamot lemon. There is a burst of freshness and balance on the palate highlighted with bright flavors of green apple, honeydew melon, kiwi fruit, lemon meringue, graham crackers and green tea.”
From me: Winemaker Bill Nancarrow aged half the wine in steel tanks on the lees and the other half in French Oak, also on the lees. It’s Old World in style but the bright Carneros fruit shines through nonetheless.
$46 at http://goosecross.com
ROSÉ
2021 ViNO Rosé Sangiovese Columbia Valley
From the winemaker: “Lovely pale pink hue, beautiful, vibrant, and pure. Passion fruit, wild strawberry, watermelon, tarragon and white lilac rise up to a crescendo. Focused and long with orange blossom, hints of star anise and juicy white nectarine. The wine is dry and refreshing like a sunny day in a mountain meadow.”
From James Suckling, who scored it a 92: “A fragrant nose of sliced apple, rose and orange blossom. Medium-bodied. Rather fresh and mineral with good depth and presence. Very tasty.”
From me: Charles Smith strikes again. I can’t think of anyone who delivers more value and quality in the same bottle than the magic man from Washington state. This 100-percent sangiovese pink has been around since 2014, but I only recently discovered it at Costco. My bad!
$11.99 at http://wine.com
2022 Hampton Water
From the winemaker: “This beautiful wine reflects South of France know-how and terroir, paying a tribute to the Hamptons and South of France’s art de vivre.”
From Decanter, which scored it a 90: “A joint-project between Languedoc wine maestro, Gerard Bertrand, Jon Bon Jovi and Bon Jovi’s son, Jesse Bongiovi, this rosé is inspired by those of Provence but has its own identity. Ripe, fresh cherry and strawberry fruit aromas are joined by a herbal touch, while in the mouth it’s impressively sapid and mineral. Flavors of strawberry and herbs lead the way, with some peppery spice emerging on the fresh finish.”
From me: Bertrand first met Bon Jovi when he performed at his annual music festival at L’Hospitalet in the Languedoc and the rest is history. This pink rocks, as it should given the wine’s provenance. As for the name, Bon Jovi has a home in the Hamptons, of course.
$18.99 at http://wine.com
RED
2020 Ridge Geyserville
From the winemaker: “Ripe cranberry and cassis on the nose. Focused dark bramble fruit on the palate, layered with cocoa and clove. Vibrant acidity balances beautifully with opulent fruit and carries through to a long and elegant finish.”
From Decanter, which scored it a 96: “Enormously complex and full of personality. Lots of juiciness and briary-ness, with notes of espresso, soy sauce and gaminess. Very rich, impressive and structured. 2020 was Ridge’s 55th consecutive vintage of Geyserville, a wine that many Ridge collectors consider the winery’s best zinfandel blend. Made from old vines, some of which are more than 125 years old and 60 percent of which are 50 years old or older. That, of course, leads to tiny yields.”
From me: I’ve been a fan of this red field blend since the 1980s but, regrettably, I hadn’t tasted it in recent years. My bad. To be sure, I’m back on the bandwagon.
$37.79 at Specs
2015 Clos de Trias
From Perfectly Provence: “The Norwegian-American winemaker Evan Bakke is known for his sublime winemaking skills. Above all, he specializes in making sultry reds. These get aged for around five years before the date of release, and are grown on the most ancient soil on the planet, over 200 million years old. All of Evan Bake’s collections are biodynamically grown.”
From me: Bakke spent 14 years learning the winemaking craft in California before launching Clos de Trias in the foothills of Mont Ventoux in 2007. He’s got 25 hectares of old vine grenache, the core varietal in this hearty, earthy gem.
$xx at http://aocselections.com
2020 Spicewood Vineyards Tempranillo
From the winemaker: “Aromas of hazelnut and vanilla cream with flavors of cherry cola and figs.”
From me: Ron Yates, the aforementioned winemaker, suggests trying this tempranillo with angel-food cake or a margherita pizza. I can only vouch for how delicious it was with pulled pork, several kinds of mac-and-cheese and leftover Thanksgiving green-bean casserole. Talk about a versatile red . . .
$39.99 at http://spicewoodvineyards.com
2014 Pinea Red Ribero del Duero
From the winemaker: “Fermented and aged entirely in French oak barrels, it comes from Cardisanto, a unique vineyard from which we obtain the best grapes in our Domain. Such an amazing terroir that surprises in the glass due to its structure, acidity, elegant texture and the echo of aromas on the palate.”
From the folks at Timeless Wines: “It’s clean and balanced, and very intense in aromas. As is typical for the varietal, it is rich in black fruit aromas, predominantly blackberry. The use of new oak gives pungent aromas of bitter chocolate, coffee, cedar and smoky notes that give length and depth. It has a powerful attack on the palate, which fills and envelops the palate from start to finish. Full-bodied, it has high tannins and considerable alcohol, although both are very well integrated. It is perfectly balanced on its passage through the mouth, leaving flavors of black forest fruits, blackberries and spices such as clove and black pepper. It leaves a long, harmonious aftertaste. It all comes together in a finish of smoky, slightly bitter notes, which give it great length and a persistence that lasts a long time after drinking.”
From me: Think I can top that assessment? Nope. So . . . what they said.
$150 at http://timelesswines.com
H-Town happenings
Tastings Every Saturday at French Country Wines: Noon-5 p.m. Free. http://frenchcountrywines.com
Tastings Every Wednesday at Montrose Cheese & Wine: 5-7 p.m. Free. http://montrosecheeseandwine.com
Tastings Every Thursday at Cueva in the Marriott Marquis Houston: 6:30-7:30 p.m. $40 http://eventbrite.com
Symposium Saturdays: 4-5 p.m. at Stella’s Wine Bar in the Post Oak Hotel. $75. http://eventbrite.com
Wine Dinner Celebrating the Season and Cabernet Franc: 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, at the Atkins House. $85. http://eventbrite.com
The Rado Wine Club Tasting Experience: 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16, at the Rado MKT. $50. http://eventbrite.com
Follow me
Podcast: Sporty Wine Guy, wherever you get your podcasts. A new one, hosted by Jeremy Parzen (yep, that’s us pictured above, sharing a bottle in the Piemonte), will be dropping in the next day or two.
Instagram: http://@sportywineguy
Facebook: Dale Robertson
-
Our Gourmet Tours’ spring 2024 ramble through Italy’s glorious Piemonte — bookended by two-night layovers in Turin and Milan with a mid-week chow-down at the three-Michelin-starred Piazza Duomo restaurant in Alba — is shaping up nicely, and we still have four spots available.
I spent three days in the Langhe and environs recently catching up with old friends, all of whom will be hosting our stops, and meeting a few new ones, who will also be in the mix over our nine days in my favorite corner of Italy.
As previously noted in this space, our home base for four glorious nights in the Langhe will be the elegant Relais Luigi Einaudi, which sits on a panoramic hilltop above the town of Dogliani, one of the region’s hidden gems. (Better still, the Einaudi winery sits right next door.) From there, we’ll visit two Ceretto venues, the well-situated headquarters in San Cassiano just west of Alba and the flagship Bricco Roche estate, with its landmark glass Cube that was designed and constructed by the same firm responsible for the Pyramid at the Louvre in Paris.
Note that the Cerettos are partners with chef Enrico Crippa at Piazza Duomo, one of the world’s great restaurants where we’ll lunch after a morning visit to the historic Pio Cesare cellars nearby. They older section dates to the late 19th century and the space is split by a 2,000-year-old Roman wall. Pio Cesare is uniquely situated, being the only winery in Alba proper.
The sumptuous lunch at Piazza Duomo will be one of at least four that will be prepared by Michelin-starred chefs. Another, Guido, located at the Fontanafredda winery, has a storied history and personal memories that I’ll be excited to share with you. We’ll also have a lunch catered by a Michelin-starred chef at the magnificent Airbnb owned by the Amistà Winery in Nizza, the happening new DOCG carved out of the Barbera d’Asti DOC in 2014. This is new turf for me and it blew me away.
My partner, Pablo Valqui, will soon begin working on finding the perfect hotels, restaurants and tasting venues in Turin and Milan. We’ll convene in the former, which I got to know well during my nearly three weeks spent there covering the 2006 Winter Olympics, on Thursday, May 23, and wrap up our grand adventure in the latter on Saturday, June 1. There will be a quick day trip out to Franciacorta’s bubbles country, too, in order to visit the spectacular Ca del Bosco property.
And, before we hit the wine trail, we’ll detour up and over the Alps into my neighborhood, the Ubaye Valley (http://ubaye.com) for a special late-afternoon dinner with my great friend, chef Hubert Longeron, at his gîte in one of France’s most remote and breathtakingly beautiful corners.
For more information about our destinations, click on the following links. For pricing and bookings, go to http://gourmettours.biz.
WINERIES
Amistà: http://amistapiedmontwine.com
Bruno Rocca: http://www.brunorocca.it
Ca del Bosco: http://cadelbosco.com
Ceretto: http://www.ceretto.com
Domenico Clerico: www.domenicoclerico.com
Oddero: http://www.oddero.it
Pio Cesare: http://piocesare.it
Poderi Luigi Eiunadi: http://www.poderieinaudi.com
HOTELS
Relais Luigi Einaudi (Dogliani): http://www.relaiseinaudi.com
Villa Morelia (Jausiers, France): http://villa-morelia.com
RESTAURANTS
***Piazza Duomo: http://piazzaduomoalba.com
*Massimo Camia (La Morra) : http://massimocamia.it
*Guido (Serralunga): http://guidoristorante.it
Le Quattro Stazione (Saluzzo): http://le-sanssouci.com
Sans Souci (Jausiers): le-sans-souci.com
Ristorante Moda (Monforte d’Alba): http://modavenue.eu
La Locanda del Sorriso (Dogliani): http://lalocandasorriso.com
Tratorria Il Risorgimento (Treiso): http://risorgimento.yolasite.com
La Piola: http://lapiola-alba.it
OTHER
Wine Museum (Barolo): http://wimu.barolo.it: We’ll visit on Monday morning, May 27, for big-picture purposes and to give everyone a chance to take a stroll through the town of Barolo.
The Sports Page
Raising a glass to . . . C.J. Stroud
The Texans’ prized rookie quarterback out-did himself Sunday, beating Tampa Bay 39-37 with his fifth touchdown pass of the afternoon six seconds before the final gun. Stroud threw for an NFL rookie record 470 yards and once again didn’t suffer an interception. His TD-pick ratio is 14-1 through eight games and the Texans are a playoff-contending 4-4 after going 3-14 last season. By his lonesome, Stroud has turned rookie head coach Demeco Ryans into an early coach-of-the-year favorite while all but locking up offensive rookie-of-the-year honors for himself.
H-Town happenings
Tastings Every Saturday at French Country Wines: Noon-5 p.m. Free. http://frenchcountrywines.com
Tastings Every Wednesday at Montrose Cheese & Wine: 5-7 p.m. Free. http://montrosecheeseandwine.com
Tastings Every Thursday at Cueva in the Marriott Marquis Houston: 6:30-7:30 p.m. $40 http://eventbrite.com
Symposium Saturdays: 4-5 p.m. at Stella’s Wine Bar in the Post Oak Hotel. $75. http://eventbrite.com
Balboa Wine Dinner: 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9, at The Grotto Downtown. $120. http://eventbrite.com
Wine & Real Estate Tasting: 4 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9, at the Texas Real Estate Investment Center. Free http://eventbrite.com
Texas wines made from Italian varietals: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 14. Free. 713 664-7581
Napa Valley Vintners Wine Tasting: 6:30-8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 15, at Station 3. $95. http://eventbrite.com
Bowling & Beaujolais In Celebration of Beaujolais Day: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 16, at Bowl & Barrel. $35. http://eventbrite.com
The French Food & Wine Festival: 6:30-9:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17, at the Post Oak Hotel. $2169 early bird, $229 regular. French Festival 2023 | FACC Texas
Catena’s Wine Garden: 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17, at Brenner’s Steakhouse. $95. http://eventbrite.com
Vino Vinyasa: 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 19, at the C. Baldwin Hotel. $30. http://eventbrite.com
Wine Dinner Celebrating the Season and Cabernet Franc: 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, at the Atkins House. $85. http://eventbrite.com
The Rado Wine Club Tasting Experience: 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16, at the Rado MKT. $50. http://eventbrite.com
Follow me
Podcast: Sporty Wine Guy, wherever you get your podcasts. A new one, hosted by Jeremy Parzen (yep, that’s us pictured above, sharing a bottle in the Piemonte), will be dropping in the next day or two.
Instagram: http://@sportywineguy
Facebook: Dale Robertson
-
I could go on and on and on about all the wonderful array of wines I’ve tasted over the past six weeks here in la belle France and Italy’s Piemonte, but I’ve limited my touts today to wines that I know you can find without too much rooting around. I’ve added some salient sports stuff, too, free of charge. Cheers!
White
2022 Ceretto Blange Arneis
From the winemaker: “Crisp and bright, it’s a perfect match for the white-wine person who enjoys freshness (over oak) on their palate. With vibrant acidity and enticing aromas of green apple, Bartlett pear and orange blossom intertwined with subtle hints of almond, this wine will pair well with a wide variety of food and is lovely on its own.”
From James Suckling, who scored it a 90: “This is fresh and floral with notes of lemons, pears, chamomile, jasmine and chalk. Medium-bodied with juicy acidity and vivid, citrusy character. Flavorful finish.”
From me: This was the first arneis I had ever tasted and, hundreds of bottles later, it continues to be my favorite. The Cerettos didn’t save this once-obscure varietal from extinction, but, with their huge production, super-cool label and consistently excellent quality, they deserve as much credit as anyone for its current popularity.
$22.99 at http://wine.com
Pink
2022 Chêne Bleu Le Rosé
From the winemaker: “Fresh but disciplined. A blend of syrah and grenache, our Le Rosé is a finely textured, complex Syrah-Grenache blend. Importantly, it is made in a multi-step process relying on skin contact – a short maceration, not by the traditional saignée method – in order to reveal the full texture and character of the grape variety and give it nice length and structure.”
From me: This age-worthy pink is a complex blend of grenache (60 percent), syrah (15), vermentino/rolle (12), mourvèdre (8) and cinsault from the Ventoux AOC. It’s equal parts fresh, fruity and floral, with a longer, nuanced finish than you’ll get from most rosés.
$36 at Double Decanted (http://doubledecanted.com)
Red
2020 Pio Cesare Nebbiolo d’Alba
From the winemaker: “The sources of the grapes, enriched by a small proportion of nebbiolo from the Barbaresco and Barolo regions, provide body, structure and a long ageing potential. The fruit is intense and ripe, but at the same time fresh with very sweet tannins. Nice aroma and longevity.”
From James Suckling, who scored it a 92: “Perfumed and floral with hints of citrus. Strawberry. Medium-bodied with firm and fine tannins, and a bright and fresh finish. Pretty. Baby Barbaresco. Drink or hold.”
From me: A mid-1980s Pio Cesare Barolo turned me on to nebbiolo and my love for same has only heightened through the years.
$38.99 from http://wine.com
2021 Pio Cesare Fides Barbera d’Alba
From the winemaker: “Shows full body, balance and concentration. Ripe fruit with a spicy edge. Can be laid down for a very long life in the cellar.”
From James Suckling, who scored it a 94: “A linear and fresh barbera with dark fruit, bark, walnuts and orange peel. It’s medium-bodied with well-integrated tannins. Focused and fine. Sophisticated. Tangy finish. Very long.”
From me: Back in the day, oenophiles didn’t take barbera seriously. These days, that would be a big mistake. Complex, concentrated barberas like this — and those coming out of the relatively new Nizza DOCG — must be taken seriously. I’d also suggest you try the two crazy-good Nizza from Amista that are on the list at Andiron. You’ll very quickly taste what I’m talking about here.
$55.99 at http://wine.com
2020 Domaine de Mourchon Grand Reserve
From the winemaker: “This wine is deep purple in colour with a nose suggesting spices, liquorice and cooked red fruit. The palate is full bodied with elegant fruit intensity, some spice and harmonious tannins.”
From me: A blend of grenache (65 percent) and syrah grown on 60-year-old vines around the lovely village of Seguret in the Southern Rhone Valley, it’s vinified in a mix of barrels and concrete vats. I’ve tried every vintage since 2000 and have never been disappointed.
$31 at http://aocselections.com
2021 St. Pierre de Mejans Côtes de Luberon Rouge Vielles Vignes
From the winemaker: “This red wine from our most beautiful plots delivers strength and power, all coated in sweetness. It’s a beautiful balance between the sun of Provence and the spices of Syrah.”
From me: In a word, it’s simply delicious and pairs splendidly with all manner of meat, fish and fowl. I’d be a huge fan even if the winery’s owner, Wendy Heineken Gobbi wasn’t from the Houston area.
$33 at http://aocselections.com
The Sports Page
Raising a glass to . . . Dusty Baker
They simply don’t come any better than Dusty, who retired this week after the Astros’ Game-Seven ALCS loss to the Texas Rangers. I was of the opinion he should have said his farewells after he became the oldest manager to win a World Series last year, but, in retrospect, Baker made the right call at every level by returning because that’s who he is. If he could claim one championship, he reasoned, why not try to go for a second? And, by sticking around, Dusty treated his players, the media and the fans to an extra priceless year of Dusty.
Sadly, I barely got to know the man because he arrived in H-town just as I was bidding adieu to the city’s press boxes, so I’ll leave to my friend and former colleague Jerome Solomon, the Chronicle sports columnist, to put in proper perspective the remarkable scope of Baker’s first-ballot Hall-of-Fame career:
“The story of baseball cannot be told without including Johnnie B. Baker . . . He broke into the majors as a 19-year-old outfielder in 1968. He shared a box score with Hank Aaron in his first game as a player and carried Satchel Paige’s golf clubs as a rook with the Braves. He finished his playing career on a team with Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco. In Baker’s first game as a manager, 25 years after his debut as a player, Barry Bonds was on his roster. Baker was in the on-deck circle when Aaron hit home run No. 715, and he was in the dugout as a manager when Bonds hit a record 73 homers in 2001.”
Yea, we were truly blessed to have Baker in our midst for four seasons, which became four of the greatest in Astros history:
Pouring one out for . . . H-town’s sports fans
We’ve been through worse times — check out the Oilers’, Rockets’ and Astros’ records in 1972, for example — but have we ever had a more thoroughly disappointing seven-day stretch? Not in my 50-plus years as a resident of Space City. To wit:
- Monday, Oct. 23: The Astros were deprived of an historic third consecutive trip to the World Series by getting blown out 11-4 on their own field by a Rangers team they had routinely pounded all season long.
- Wednesday, Oct. 25: After a promising preseason in which they went 4-1 under new coach Ime Udoka, the Rockets suffered a 30-point thumping in their season-opener at Orlando.
- Thursday, Oct. 26: Dusty retired.
- Friday, Oct. 27: The Rockets succumbed in overtime to the San Antonio Spurs, who were led by their top draft pick, Francis Wembanyama, the generational talent who would have landed in Houston if not for the NBA’s friggin’ draft lottery, which robbed the Rockets of the No. 1 slot.
- Saturday, Oct. 28: The University of Houston Cougars were thoroughly humiliated at Kansas State, going down 41-0 and incurring their first shutout in 23 years and a span of 291 games. They have lost four of their first five games as members of the Big 12.
- Sunday, Oct. 29: Playing at Carolina against the 0-6 Panthers — the NFL’s lone remaining winless team, the Texans were beaten by a walk-off field goal for the second time in three games. Later, the Rockets watched old Warriors nemesis Steph Curry bury them in a flurry of late three-pointers in their home-opener to fall to 0-3.
I should probably also mention the Tennessee Titans’ galling decision to wear throwback Houston Oilers uniforms in their game against Baltimore in Nashville Sunday, At least the scumbags lost.
H-Town happenings
Tastings Every Saturday at French Country Wines: Noon-5 p.m. Free. http://frenchcountrywines.com
Tastings Every Wednesday at Montrose Cheese & Wine: 5-7 p.m. Free. http://montrosecheeseandwine.com
Tastings Every Thursday at Cueva in the Marriott Marquis Houston: 6:30-7:30 p.m. $40 http://eventbrite.com
Symposium Saturdays: 4-5 p.m. at Stella’s Wine Bar in the Post Oak Hotel. $75. http://eventbrite.com
VinellIo Wine Club presents Piedmont Collectibles: 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 30. $45. http://eventbrite.com
A Taste of Tuscan Legends: 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4, at Morton’s Steakhouse Downtown. $169. http://eventbrite.com
The Magic of Tuscany: 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4, at Morton’s Grille The Woodlands. $159. http://eventbrite.com
Wine Tasting: Noon Saturday, Nov. 4, at Light Years. $50 http://eventbrite.com
Balboa Wine Dinner: 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9, at The Grotto Downtown. $120. http://eventbrite.com
Wine & Real Estate Tasting: 4 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9, at the Texas Real Estate Investment Center. Free http://eventbrite.com
Bowling & Beaujolais In Celebration of Beaujolais Day: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 16, at Bowl & Barrel. $35. http://eventbrite.com
The French Food & Wine Festival: 6:30-9:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17, at the Post Oak Hotel. $2169 early bird, $229 regular. French Festival 2023 | FACC Texas
Catena’s Wine Garden: 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17, at Brenner’s Steakhouse. $95. http://eventbrite.com
Vino Vinyasa: 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 19, at the C. Baldwin Hotel. $30. http://eventbrite.com
Wine Dinner Celebrating the Season and Cabernet Franc: 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, at the Atkins House. $85. http://eventbrite.com
The Rado Wine Club Tasting Experience: 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16, at the Rado MKT. $50. http://eventbrite.com
Follow me
Podcast: Sporty Wine Guy, wherever you get your podcasts. A new one will drop in the next day or two. Lots to talk about, particularly regarding my guided tour next spring to the Piemonte. Anyone up for lunching at a three-star Michelin restaurant? Welp, we’ve got four spots open.
Instagram: http://@sportywineguy
Facebook: Dale Robertson
And, finally, from my Podcast Partner in crime, Jeremy Parzen, at http://dobianchi.com . . .
“On Friday of last week, the Consorzio dei Vini d’Abruzzo (Abruzzo wine growers association) published this video of its president Alessandro Nicodemi talking about the current peronospora (downy mildew) crisis in Abruzzo. The average drop in production in the 2023 vintage in Abruzzo, he says, is 70 percent, with estimates exceeding 90 percent in some cases. The cause, as has been widely reported, was peronospora, downy mildew, a fungal disease that affects the vines after excessive rainfall. Last week, I led a group of top U.S. sommeliers through the region. Nearly every where we traveled, we saw entire vineyards that had been left unharvested. We also saw many sites where the plants had lost all their vegetation . . .”
-
Updated 10-17
I used to tell people who asked me — and they would frequently — how I morphed from a sports writer into a wine writer. My pat answer was that covering sports in Houston drove us all of us local ink-stained wretches to drink, and I just happened to choose wine to kill my pain.
During the 20th-century chapter of my career, which began in 1972, H-town’s teams reached at least the semifinals in their respective sports’ playoffs only 11 times with long-gone the hockey Aeros accounting for three of those. In the 21st century? We’ll we’re still waiting for the Texans to get there and the Rockets have done it exactly twice.
By their lonesome, however, the Astros, however, have evolved from being reasonably decent to becoming inarguably dynastic since I turned in my press pass in February of 2019. Their showdown with the Texas Rangers for the American League pennant, which begins tonight at Minute Maid Park, extended their streak of seven consecutive ALCSs to an AL-record seven. And it’s their ninth opportunity — ninth! — to play for a league pennant since 2004.
Hence, my why-sports-to-wine explanation would hardly hold water anymore. Only the 1990s Atlanta Braves, with eight, have played for more pennants in a row. And that record comes with a qualifier because those weren’t consecutive. Remember, there wasn’t a postseason in 1994 thanks to baseball’s last major labor squabble.
Early on, I was fortunate enough to be thrown onto the Houston Aeros bandwagon when they were the twice-defending World Hockey Association champions. And they made it to the finals again in 1976, although, on my watch, they got swept 4-0 in the Avco Cup Finals by the Winnipeg Jets.
The Love ya Blue Oilers reached back-to-back AFC Championship Games after the 1978 and 1979 seasons, only to lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers badly (34-5) in the first, then again a year later when a blown call negated a Mike Renfro touchdown and ruined their chances of pulling off an epic upset that would have sent them to the Super Bowl. No Houston NFL team has played in a conference championship game since . . . not that anyone in our neighborhood needs reminding.
The Rockets reached their first NBA Finals in 1981 — 10 years after relocating from San Diego — despite a sub-.500 record during the regular season, then returned in 1986 with a shocking victory over the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. Both times, though, the Boston Celtics put them back in their place, as did the Mets to the Astros in the 1986 NLCS in their first-ever chance to claim a pennant — almost a quarter-century after they joined the National League.
The Larry Dierker-era Astros fell short of the NLCS three years running and four times in five seasons. Phil Garner got them there in 2004 — after which the St. Louis Cardinals shut the door in a gripping seven-game series — and, finally, into the World Series a year later. But a 4-0 sweep by the Chicago White Sox left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. Still, our baseball franchise has now advanced this far on 10 different occasions, compared to nine by the Rockets (seven), Oilers (two) and Texans (zero) combined.
By any measure, no matter how much the Texans and the Rockets of late have disappointed us, we’re living in the golden age of sports in Houston, all thanks to the Astros. When I raise or, better, quaff a glass to what they’ve accomplished on Jim Crane’s watch, there’s no pain to be killed.
So, cheers, Jim! And thank you for making me regret my exiting, stage right, just when the going got great. Terrible timing, obviously. But, hey, I got old waiting.
H-Town happenings
Tastings Every Saturday at French Country Wines: Noon-5 p.m. Free. http://frenchcountrywines.com
Tastings Every Wednesday at Montrose Cheese & Wine: 5-7 p.m. Free. http://montrosecheeseandwine.com
Tastings Every Thursday at Cueva in the Marriott Marquis Houston: 6:30-7:30 p.m. $40 http://eventbrite.com
Symposium Saturdays: 4-5 p.m. at Stella’s Wine Bar in the Post Oak Hotel. $75. http://eventbrite.com
Houston Chronicle Culinary Stars: 6:30-9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18, at the Houston Chronicle. $125-$175. HC Live Series: Events & Ticketing | Houston Chronicle Culinary Stars (evvnt.events)
Annual Texas Wine Dinner, featuring Ready Vineyards: 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26, at the Rainbow Lodge. $165. www.rainbow-lodge.com/texas-wine-dinner
VinellIo Wine Club presents Piedmont Collectibles: 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 30. $45. http://eventbrite.com
Light Years Wine Tasting: Noon Saturday, Nov. 4. $50 http://eventbrite.com
Marvino’s Italian Steakhouse Wine Dinner: 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 16. $99 plus tax and gratuity. http://marvinositaliansteakhouse.com
The French Food & Wine Festival: 6:30-9:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17, at the Post Oak Hotel. $2169 early bird, $229 regular. French Festival 2023 | FACC Texas
Follow me
Podcast: Sporty Wine Guy, wherever you get your podcasts.
Instagram: http://@sportywineguy
Facebook: Dale Robertson
Others to follow
Jeremy Parzen (http://dobianchi.com)
My Podcast partner in crime writes: “I’ve never owned a gun. Never wanted to own a gun. Have always tried to avoid guns. Once, back when I was a teenager and my father was living in Arizona, one of his friends shamed me into using a rifle to kill a rattlesnake we discovered while on a hiking trip. It was one of the worst experiences of my adolescence.It was the last time I handled a gun. Tracie and I share a personal aversion to guns. We are avid supporters of anti-gun groups. Yet, last night, a friend wrote me to share his family’s solidarity with ours and in case I felt the need, he’d be happy to give me a weapon . . .”
Sandra Crittenden (http://winelifehouston.com)
Sandra writes: “Like so many of the great wine regions of the world, a river runs through France’s Rhone Valley. The Rhone River shapes the landscape and lends its character to the wines grown there. Viticulture arrived with the Greeks in the Fourth Century BC, but flourished during the Roman Empire . . . ”
Russ Kane (http://vintagetexas.com)
The Texas Wineslinger writes: “
I hope you are enjoying the cooler weather.
It’s Fall and it’s time for some Hill Country wine at the Hill Country Wineries Fort Worth Road Show on November 6, 2023, at Tannahill’s Tavern & Music Hall in Fort Worth, Texas. This event will feature wines from 20 Texas Hill country wineries. See details below . . .”
Jeff Kralick (http://thedrunkencyclist.com)
The DC writes: “I am currently experiencing a phenomenon that I could not have fathomed a decade ago: I am awash in samples. According to my inventory, I am currently hovering around 200 bottles that were sent to me to taste. Since I am a bit of a math geek, I did some calculations: If I average going through 15 bottles a week (three a day—I try not to “work” on the weekend), that comes out to about 13 weeks of wine. A quarter of a year . . .”
Katrina Rene (http://thecorkscrewconcierge.com)
Kat writes: “I absolutely love the Wedding Oak Wine Train and had an absolute blast when I rode it last summer. Check out my video recap as well as my blog post . . .”
-
Updated Oct. 8
A random recent tout led to make a quick trip over the mountain to Italy late last week to check out a possible home base for my Piemontese wine tour next spring. And I needed about 10 minutes, with my head on a 360-degree swivel because of the magnificent views in every direction, to decide to reserve four rooms at the Relais Luigi Einaudi above the gorgeous town of Dogliani in the Langhe.
The only bad news is I wanted seven rooms, but four were all they had left for the last week in May. So me and my partner Pablo Valqui are going to have to bunk elsewhere. Hey, our clients always come first with gourmettours.biz (http://gourmettours.biz). But I do intend to drop by for a dip in the cool wine-bottled-shaped pool, show below.
If the name Luigi Einaudi rings a bell, it should. Long before he became a beloved president of the Italian Republic in the post-war years — 1948-57 — he was an aspiring vintner, having purchase the first of his estates at the age of 23 in 1897. But Einaudi (pictured below) would go on to pursue careers in high finance and journalism until the fascists came to power, ultimately forcing him to flee to Switzerland, not returning to Italy until Mussolini fell in 1943. A liberal in the true European libertarian sense, he is remembered as a vocal, pioneering force in economic federalism, the end result of which would become, long after his death in 1961, the formation of the European Union.
But, despite all the years he would spend in Rome, his heart never left his beloved Langhe hills. Today, Einaudi’s heirs own 10 farmsteads with 111 acres under vine from Barolo (Terlo and Cannubi) to Dogliani, where they were instrumental in creating the DOCG Dolcetto di Dogliani. The Einaudi winery with its 240,000-bottle cellar is conveniently located beneath the lovely albergo where my folks will be based.
I can’t say enough good things about the Barolos and the Dolcettos, but the wine in the Einaudi lineup that’s the most special to me personally is the Langhe Rosso, an juicy, well-extracted blend of nebbiolo (30 percent) cabernet (30 percent), merlot (20 percent) and barbera that represents a perfect intersection between flavor profile and price point ($30). Unfortunately, I rarely see it in Houston, although Enoteca Rosa’s Brian Brossa, bless him, has had it on his wine list in the past.
Our tour is good to go as is, but we can still accommodate one more couple. We start in Turin May 23 and finish in Milan June 1 with lots of crazy good winery detours in between, including Bruno Rocca (http://brunoroca.com), Ceretto (http://ceretto.com), Marchesi di Gresy http://marchesidigresy.com), Oddero (http://oddero.it) and Pio Cesare (http://piocesare.it) in the Langhe and Ca del Bosco (http://cadelbosco.com) in Franciacorte.
As Rachel Maddow is wont to say, watch this space for updates. I’ll be returning to the region in late October to knock around, taste and fine-tune the itinerary. I know, dirty thankless work . . .
The Sports Page
Raising a glass to . . . the Astros
Who, improbably, won their consecutive AL West title on the last night of the season despite having entered their final series of the season two games back of the Texas Rangers. Remember Rudy Tomjanovich’s praising his Rockets’ “heart of a champion” back during their championship run? It should be said of these resilient Astros, too. They’ve gotten knocked down with worrisome frequency in 2023 but never knocked out. Another World Series triumph would surprise no one.
And to . . . C. J. Stroud
No quarterback in NFL history — in NFL history, people! — had thrown for more than 1,200 yards without a single pick during his first four starts until Stroud buckled his Texans chinstrap. Through Sunday night’s 21-19 loss at Atlanta, C.J. has thrown 186 passes for 1,461 yards without being intercepted. At the other end of the spectrum, the Oilers’ Dan Pastorini suffered 13 picks in his first five NFL starts . . . but eventually led the Oilers to back-to-back AFC Championship Games, something no Houston QB had done before or since.
And to . . . J.J. Watt
A couple of serious, late-career injuries kept him from becoming one of the greatest players in NFL history, but he’ll still be a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer and would be, of course, a no-brainer pick to go into the Texans’ Ring of Honor on Sunday. What he did for Hurricane Harvey relief alone assures he’ll never not be loved by his adopted home town. Speaking of the “L” word, Watt admitted during his on-field remarks, “I’ve got a lot of love flowing through my veins right now and all that love is directed towards Houston, Texas . . . I’m incredibly honored and thankful to be a part of your family forever and all I want to say is H-Town, I love you. Thank you.” His taking out a full-page ad in the Houston Chronicle to express his appreciation for what the city gave him made me, no kidding, tear up. Here’s hoping young C.J. will in time become another J.J. He’s certainly off to one helluva start.
And to . . . Billie Jean King
Yep, Mother Freedom herself. She whupped Bobby Riggs, who proudly — and profitably — branded himself a male chauvinist pig, on a magical evening in the Astrodome a half century ago that I was fortunate enough to have been a part of. It was the first tennis match I ever saw live, and the first I was assigned to cover. Billie Jean, who became a friend, will always be on my personal sports Mount Rushmore. What a player, what a lady, what a for-real feminist trailblazer.
H-town happenings
Tastings Every Saturday at French Country Wines: Noon-5 p.m. Free. http://frenchcountrywines.com
Tastings Every Wednesday at Montrose Cheese & Wine: 5-7 p.m. Free. http://montrosecheeseandwine.com
Tastings Every Thursday at Cueva in the Marriott Marquis Houston: 6:30-7:30 p.m. $40 http://eventbrite.com
Symposium Saturdays: 4-5 p.m. at Stella’s Wine Bar in the Post Oak Hotel. $75. http://eventbrite.com
Newsom Vineyards Wine Tasting: 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, at 25200 Grogan’s Park Dr. in The Woodlands. $20 http://eventbrite.com
Seghesio Wine Dinner: 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, at Atkins House. $85. http://eventbrite.com
Celebrity Wine Tasting: Lights, Camera, Wine: 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13, at AR Workshop in Cypress. $60. http://eventbrite.com
Light Years Wine Tasting: Noon Saturday, Nov. 4. $50 http://eventbrite.com
Follow me
Podcast: Sporty Wine Guy, wherever you get your podcasts.
Instagram: http://@sportywineguy
Facebook: Dale Robertson
Others to follow
Jeremy Parzen (http://dobianchi.com)
My Podcast partner in crime writes: “Most Italian-focused wine professionals in the U.S. face a sticky linguistic challenge: how to distinguish between the classic expression of an appellation and a vineyard-designated or riserva category. And it’s not an issue confined solely to purely anglophone wine pros. Italian speakers often get tripped up by the tongue-tying conundrum. For many, the knee-jerk reaction in such cases is to call the classic wine normale or normal . . .”
Sandra Crittenden (http://winelifehouston.com)
Sandra writes: “Like so many of the great wine regions of the world, a river runs through France’s Rhone Valley. The Rhone River shapes the landscape and lends its character to the wines grown there. Viticulture arrived with the Greeks in the Fourth Century BC, but flourished during the Roman Empire . . . ”
Russ Kane (http://vintagetexas.com)
The Texas Wineslinger writes: “I just wanted to let you know that Heath Family Brands is pleased to announce the Grand Opening of Invention Vineyards on Highway 16 in Fredericksburg on Friday, September 22nd. Invention Vineyards crafts predominantly Texas blends, with a classic presentation of old-world varietals.”
Jeff Kralick (http://thedrunkencyclist.com)
The DC writes: “Over the course of a week, I taste a bunch of wine, usually with friends, and almost always with my wife. Here are some of the wines we tasted over the past few weeks. These are wines that were not sent as samples—in most cases, I actually paid for these wines (although a few have been given as gifts).”
Katrina Rene (http://thecorkscrewconcierge.com)
Kat writes: “So your girl had to take some time off and settle into back to school, Thing 2’s surgery, not to mention all of the projects on my desk at the office (all that #LawyerLife stuff). Hence, no September roundup of events in Texas Wine Country. But given that October is Texas Wine Month, I most certainly had to share some of the great events that will be happening to celebrate our great wine region.”
-
ROSÉ
2021 Bodegas Breca Rosé
From the winemaker: “An elegant rosé characterized by delicate floral aromatics.”
From James Suckling, who scored it a 91: “A textured rose with subtle raspberries, strawberries and stones. Crisp and bright with fresh acidity and pretty red berries on the palate.”
From me: We have Bodegas Breca’s owner, Jorge Ordóñez, to thank for introducing Spanish garnacha to the U.S. market at a time when we rarely got anything other than the tempranillos from Rioja. He founded this winery in Calatayud in 2010 and made his wines with the garnacha de Aragon, said to be the original and most genetically untouched grenache clone in the world. The vineyards, at 2,600 to 3,500 feet in elevation, routinely experience temperature fluctuations of 45 degrees over a 24-hour period. In other words, the terroir couldn’t be more perfect.
$14.99 at wine.com
WHITE
2020 La Chablisienne Le Finage Chablis
From the winemaker: “Pale gold in color, this Chablis is fairly discreet on the nose at first, revealing notes of sweet spices, particularly vanilla. After opening, more fruity aromas appear with slight vegetal and lemon hints. The palate is fresh with well balanced acidity. The whole is simple and rich with great energy.”
From Natalie MacLean, who scored it a 91: “A crisp, clean and vibrant 100-percenet cardonnay with zesty green apple, laser lemon acidity.”
From me: The La Chablisienne cooperative has been around since 1923 and sources fruit from some 300 growers, who have 17,000 acres in 20 villages on both sides of the River Serein under vine. The sheer volume explains the very friendly price point.
$26.99 at wine.com
2021 La Crema Chardonnay Sonoma Coast
From the winemaker: “Aromas of Meyer lemon, pear and white flowers are supported on the nose by subtle hints of oak. Followed by flavors of crisp apple, tangerine, and pineapple. On the palate, the wine is concentrated and juicy with a lingering finish.”
From the Wine Enthusiast, which scored it a 92: “Hints of almonds and savory herbs in the aroma accompany Bosc pears and vanilla on the palate as this handsome, toasty wine balances fruitiness and an oak-aged spiciness for a complex and complete expression.”
From me: La Crema has been one of my go-to chardonnays for a long, long time. It’s well-made, inexpensive and easy to find.
$14.99 at Costco
RED
2018 Hestan Vineyards Grenache Napa Valley
From the winemaker: “The wine exhibits highly expressive notes of allspice, white pepper, and ripe red fruits, with a medium body mouthfeel it expresses a rich red intensity on the palate.”
From me: I loved this wine, made by Thomas Rivers Brown. It’s 100-percent grenache — we don’t see a lot of these from California — that spent 20 months in neutral French oak and it held its own against the grenache-centric French wine that follows, which happens to be one of the world’s best.
$60 at hestanvineyards.com
2019 St. Cosme Gigondas
From the winemaker: “The wine shows intense blackberry and fig fruit with licorice, violets, and charcoal on the finish.”
From the Wine Spectator, which scored it a 95 (as did Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate and the Wine Enthusiast): “Dark and winey, this structured offering packs red and black currant paste flavors together with threads of charcoal, warm stone, bay leaf and savory, ending with a long tug of cast iron through the finish. A blue chip for cellaring.”
From me: The St. Cosme wines never disappoint, and I’ve tasted every vintage since 1996. The cellar dates from Roman times and the Barruol family has owned the property since 1570. Louis Barruol has been the winemaker since 1992. Nobody in the Southern Rhone does it better.
$61.74 at Spec’s
2018 The Paring Red California
From the winemaker: “This Cabernet-inspired blend displays classic notes of cassis, tobacco and chocolate. Focused fruit and shapely tannins shine as hallmarks of what we’ve come to expect from the sandy soils and slightly cooler climate of the winery’s outstanding vineyard sites.”
From Jeb Dunnuck, who scored it a 90: “It’s a medium to full-bodied, ripe, rounded, nicely concentrated blend with lots of ripe currant and blackberry fruits as well as an herbal kick in its tobacco, earth, and ripe herb aromas and flavors.”
From me: This Bordeaux-style blend — 60 percent cab, 20 percent cab franc, 18 percent merlot and a pinch of petit verdot — checks every box at an outstanding price. It’s from the vineyard and winemaking team behind Jonata & The Hilt Estate with most of the fruit coming from Ballard Canyon and the Santa Rita Hills.
$25.99 at wine.com
-
I’m heading back to la belle France Tuesday with mixed emotions. As special as our little Alpine valley may be — can’t wait for those fall colors! — I’m going to be missing out on some great events in Houston over the next several weeks, including a 50-year reunion of the WHA Aeros and a gathering of Luv ya Blue Oilers to celebrate the completion of a documentary about Bum Phillips. I covered both teams for the Houston Post and they remain very dear to my heart. I’ll also be missing out on several wine tastings and winemaker visits.
But, hey, First-World problems, right?
Fortuitously, however, I was still here when Federica Rosy Boffa Pio paid H-Town a visit last week. Her story is remarkable, as of course are the family’s iconic Pio Cesare wines. It’s Federica’s show to run now — never mind that she’s only 25. And she was only 23 when she had to take over for her father, the larger-than-life Langhe legend Pio Boffa, who tragically died way before his time from COVID-19 complications in April of 2021.
She and her cousin, Cesare Benvenuto, who has been involved in the business since 2000, are fifth-generation proprietors. Poised and knowledgeable far beyond her years, Federica speaks proudly of the Pio Cesare team, adding “that’s why it wasn’t so hard” to step into her new role. Benvenuto may have two decades of experience, but he’s practically a new kid on the block compared to Paolo Fenocchio, who has been the enologist and head winemaker since the 1981 harvest.
Breaking news: The tasting tour that I’m leading through Italy’s Piemonte and Lombardy regions next spring (go to http://gourmettours.biz for the dates, itinerary and price) will now include a stop at Pio Cesare. Founded in 1881 by Cesare Pio, it’s the only one located in Alba proper and, hence, it’s the only one that can display the city’s crest on bottle labels as well as being the only a scant grandfathered-in few to produce Barolo outside the legal geographic confines of the DOCG.
The first time I visited Alba — in 1990 while covering the World Cup — I’d already concluded Barolo would forever be a go-to wine for me and Pio Cesare’s Classico was the finest I’d yet tasted. I wanted to go to the winery but, driving in circles, I was never able to find it. There’s no showy presence and the cellars, soon to undergo a significant expansion, are below ground, as all good cellars should be.
Better late than never, I will finally be paying a visit at Federica’s behest in October, getting a chance to taste some of Pio Cesare’s less widely distributed wines, including the beautiful, barrel-aged Fides Barbera d’Alba from the Mosconi Vineyard near Monforte d’Alba. (Pio Cesare also makes a single-vineyard Barolo from grapes grown on that prime piece of real estate.) Note that Fides means “faith” in the Piemontese dialect. The family has always highly valued its barbera wines and Federica promises it always will, which was music to my ears.
These days, producers in the Langhe these days are all too often inclined to pull out barbera and dolcetto vines to plant nebbiolo in order to make far more expensive wines. But, so many of those plots were time-tested for barbera and dolcetto and just don’t work as well for the higher-maintenance nebbiolo.
Federico is also putting her own stamp on Pio Cesare, having immersed herself in bringing a timorasso to the market in the near future. The once-obscure and almost extinct white grape from the Colli Tortonesi neighborhood in the province of Alessandria is trending big-time and she astutely embraced catching the wave.
Losing her father was traumatic when it happened, but the only way to honor his memory was to stay strong and attempt to fill his giant shoes. Like him, Federica enjoys traveling the world to promote the Pio Cesare brand, and she is already an old pro at handling the media attention she’s receiving.
“It is a great honor and I hope my father would be proud,” she told another writer last year. “At the very least, I know he would be happy that I am putting in 100 per cent of my passion, love, care and commitment every day.”
Oh, he’d be plenty proud, Federica.
The Sports Page
Raising a glass to . . . Coco Gauff
Just just 15 in the summer of 2019, Gauff defeated her idol, Venus Williams, and became the youngest woman to reach the fourth round of Wimbledon since Jennifer Capriati in 1991. Less than three years later, she reached the final of the French Open. But Gauff succumbed to the pressure of great expectations both times. In New York Saturday, however, she closed the deal, winning what should, or at least, could be the first of many U.S. Open titles. American tennis badly needs her to stay on form going forward. Ben Shelton, too. He was a surprise Open semifinalist this year. As you know, no American man has claimed a major championship since Andy Roddick in 2003.
H-town happenings
Tastings Every Saturday at French Country Wines: Noon-5 p.m. Free. http://frenchcountrywines.com
Tastings Every Wednesday at Montrose Cheese & Wine: 5-7 p.m. Free. http://montrosecheeseandwine.com
Tastings Every Thursday at Cueva in the Marriott Marquis Houston: 6:30-7:30 p.m. $40 http://eventbrite.com
Symposium Saturdays: 4-5 p.m. at Stella’s Wine Bar in the Post Oak Hotel. $75. http://eventbrite.com
Three Winemakers, Six-Course Wine Dinner: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12, at Roma. $99. 713 664-7581.
Wine Tasting Event: 6-8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, at The Classy Cork Wine Room. $65. 832-534-1900 or contact@theclassycork.com
Brunello, the Ultimate Sangiovese Tasting with Jeremy Parzen: 6:30-8:30p.m. Tuesday, Sept 19. http://eventbrite.com http://vinellowines.com
Chris Carpenter Wine Dinner: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26, at Mastro’s Ocean Club in The Woodlands. $375 plus tax and gratuity. http://eventbrite.com
Paso Wine Is Headed to Houston: 6-8:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28, at the Majestic Metro. $65. https://pasowine.com/consumer_events/tasting-tour-houston/
Follow me
Podcast: Sporty Wine Guy, wherever you get your podcasts.
Instagram: http://@sportywineguy
Facebook: Dale Robertson
Others to follow
Jeremy Parzen (http://dobianchi.com)
My Podcast partner in crime writes: “On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was heading to the Atlantic Avenue stop to catch the 2 train that would take me to the Fernet Branca space. Before I left my apartment, I called one of my colleagues to confirm a 9 a.m. meeting. He screamed at me: “Are you fucking crazy? Turn on the TV!” And then he hung up. I went upstairs to my landlord’s apartment and we watched — in absolute disbelief and absolute horror — as the second tower was struck by the plane. Had I not called my colleague, I would have been traveling underneath the World Trade Center right around the time that the second plane hit . . . “
Sandra Crittenden (http://winelifehouston.com)
Sandra writes: “Like so many of the great wine regions of the world, a river runs through France’s Rhone Valley. The Rhone River shapes the landscape and lends its character to the wines grown there. Viticulture arrived with the Greeks in the Fourth Century BC, but flourished during the Roman Empire . . . ”
Russ Kane (http://vintagetexas.com)
The Texas Wineslinger writes: “
“We’ve had a phenomenal response to my first Level 2 Advanced Specialist of Texas Wine Course offering and held live via Zoom this past April. Level 1 STW graduates came calling. This first advanced Level 2 class was sold out in less than a month . . .”
Jeff Kralick (http://thedrunkencyclist.com)
The DC writes: “Over the course of a week, I taste a bunch of wine, usually with friends, and almost always with my wife. Here are some of the wines we tasted over the past few weeks. These are wines that were not sent as samples—in most cases, I actually paid for these wines (although a few have been given as gifts) . . .”
Katrina Rene (http://thecorkscrewconcierge.com)
Kat writes: “Looking to broaden your white wine horizons? Why not do it for National White Wine Day? Yes, it’s anther “XXX” day, but I do find the wine days are fun ways to explore things I don’t necessarily think about. It’s funny, because when I first started drinking wine, you were hard pressed to get me to drink much white wine. I was all about Pinot Noir and then eventually bolder red wines. You know, after I got past my 5-gallon box of White Zinfandel phase. Hey, we all have to start somewhere! And it was that way for a while. But over the years, things began to shift.”
-
My circle of friends certainly does its part to keep the wine industry solvent, and my conscience is clear in that regard, too. But lots of folks who have traditionally guzzled wine are dropping the ball to the extent that the French are about to turn 80 million gallons of juice into pure alcohol for the purpose of making hand sanitizer, cleaning products and perfume, and they’re going to be spending some $215 million to do it.
Da hell?
The short explanation is that wine consumption continues to drop globally and the cost of making wine continues to go up, having been dramatically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. The numbers don’t work, so eliminating surplus, France’s agriculture minister Marc Fesneau says, will help “stop prices from collapsing, so that winemakers can find sources of revenue again.”
In 1926, the average French person drank about 136 liters per year. Today, the number is closer to 40. Craft beers and cocktails are a huge part of the reason, but it appears people are also behaving more sensibly, damn them.
France has one of the fastest-growing non-alcoholic drinks markets, Susie Goldspink of IWSR Drinks Market Analysis told the Guardian in late 2022. “Last year, 14 percent of consumers said they were abstainers, whereas this year it was up to 20 percent,” she reported. “Abstainers in France are more likely than in other markets to be from the youngest age group, Generation Z.”
“We have an underlying issue of, ‘How do we better engage with the consumer and make wine more relevant, make wine a relevant choice for consumers that have a lot of options?’” muses Stephen Rannekleiv, the global sector strategist for beverages at Rabobank, a Dutch financial firm specializing in agribusiness.
France, particularly regions in the south such as the Languedoc, went through a similar crisis in the early 20th century when super-cheap Algerian grapes flooded the market and almost destroyed domestic grape-growers. AOC controls first put in place in the 1930s ultimately helped fix that problem, but there’s simply too much wine being made today. High costs — yes, climate change is also part of the problem — plus low demand does not equal a survivable profit margin.
Hence, fewer acres of French land than ever are being used to grow grapes for wine with the government compensating grape growers who rip out their excess vines. Bordeaux grape growers alone, according to the http://winespectator.com, are planning to tear out almost 23,500 acres of vines this year.
And it’s not just French vintners who are suffering. According to the European Commission, wine consumption in 2023 has fallen 34 percent in Portugal, 22 percent in Germany (the same percentage as in France), 10 percent in Spain and 7 percent in Italy. Some doomsayers predict a 20-percent drop in wine consumption by Americans over the next decade.
Most of my Baby Boomer wine buddies have turned 70 or are closing in that milestone, and our doctors insist that we slow down. Therefore, like it or not, we’ll soon become way more of the problem than the solution for our vintner friends. It’s projected that American wine consumption will drop 20 percent over the next decade. Personally, however, I’m going to keep raging against the dying of the light. I will NOT go gentle into the good night without a glass in front of me. No sir!
To sorta quote Willie Nelson, There are more old drunks than there are old doctors, so let’s pop another cork. In vino veritas!
What’s new
Fiora’s Bottle Shop
Natalie Navi, formerly the GM at Paulie’s, and Amir Sed have opened a very cool wine bar/sandwich shop in the Montrose Collective, near the intersection of Montrose Blvd. and Westheimer. Sean McNeely, whom many of us got to know during his tenure at Camerata next to Paulie’s, is the on-site sommelier/manager. Between 15 and 20 wines are available by the glass and some 50 by the bottle, for consumption on site or to take home. The sandwiches, made with Slow Dough bread, are killer — especially the GOAT, which presumably means what it does when people talk about Michael Jordan or Tom Brady . . . Greatest of All Time.
McNeely, FYI, wrote his Master’s thesis at the University of Houston’s Hilton College on sustainability in wine. Hence, Fiora’s happy hour selections will feature juice in cans kegs, and boxes.
KOI
From the folks who brought us Zen (http://www.zenjapaneseizakaya.com) on South Shepherd, it’s a couple blocks east of the Collective, in a dramatically reimagined space where Avondale Food and Wine, L’Olivier and, back in the day, a dirty book store where previously located. The food is upscale Japanese and the eclectic wines are well-chosen (by my great friend Amanda Hu, McNeely’s grad-school classmate at UH) to match the edgy cuisine. Loved the cocktail list, too. Try the Tokyo 75, an Asian take on a French 75, of course.
The Library
Jason Eubanks’ unique Spring Branch wine bar, located at 8510 Long Point, will in fact be a library with some 2,000 books about all things wine available for browsing while sipping on premise and a list with library wines front and center, including 1970s Bordeaux, 1960s Barolo and pre-World War II Madeira. Brennan Harmeier, whose previous postings locally include a’Bouzy and Ciel, will serve as general manager/wine buyer. A soft opening is coming this weekend.
The Sports Page
Raising a glass to . . . Jose Altuve
The Astros’ little big man was having a rare so-so season largely attributable to injuries. But he recorded his 2,000th hit recently, then hit for the cycle for the first time in what will be a Hall-of-Fame career Aug. 28. Even after going 0-for-5 the next night — to quote Craig Biggio, that’s baseball — he’s still batting .316. He’s had seven three-or-more-hit games since July 30.
Pouring one out for . . . Dave Einsel
The former Chronicle photo chief had no peers when it came to shooting football and, back in the day, he had to carry his lab with him on the road with the Oilers. It was a different world, but Einsel, who passed away last week way too soon at 63, was a transcendent talent, a quiet, no-nonsense guy who let his work speak for itself.
H-town Happenings
Tastings Every Saturday at French Country Wines: Noon-5 p.m. Free. http://frenchcountrywines.com
Tastings Every Wednesday at Montrose Cheese & Wine: 5-7 p.m. Free. http://montrosecheeseandwine.com
Tastings Every Thursday at Cueva in the Marriott Marquis Houston: 6:30-7:30 p.m. $40 http://eventbrite.com
Symposium Saturdays: 4-5 p.m. at Stella’s Wine Bar in the Post Oak Hotel. $75. http://eventbrite.com
Grapes and Grooves Festival: 11 a.m.-11:45 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 2, at the Agora Haus. $70-$350. http://members.agorahouse.com
South African Wine Dinner with Winemaker Clayton Christians: 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 11, at Central Market. $95. http://eventbrite.com
Three Winemakers, Six-Course Wine Dinner: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12, at Roma. $99. 713 664-7581.
Wine Tasting Event: 6-8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, at The Classy Cork Wine Room. $65. 832-534-1900 or contact@theclassycork.com
Brunello, the Ultimate Sangiovese Tasting with Jeremy Parzen: 6:30-8:30p.m. Tuesday, Sept 19. http://eventbrite.com http://vinellowines.com
Chris Carpenter Wine Dinner: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26, at Mastro’s Ocean Club in The Woodlands. $375 plus tax and gratuity. http://eventbrite.com
Paso Wine Is Headed to Houston: 6-8:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28, at the Majestic Metro. $65. https://pasowine.com/consumer_events/tasting-tour-houston/
Follow me
Podcast: Sporty Wine Guy, wherever you get your podcasts.
Instagram: http://@sportywineguy
Facebook: Dale Robertson
Others to follow
Jeremy Parzen (http://dobianchi.com)
My Podcast Partner in Crime writes: “There’s a lot more to that deer in the photo (below) than meets the eye. I grabbed it from the Facebook of one of the Brunello producers that I will be presenting at a tasting September 19 in Houston, San Polino. The folks at San Polino have been instrumental in a new movement of winemakers who are rethinking the role of biodynamics in viticulture today. Their work is so compelling that Master of Wine Jancis Robinson has published their findings on biodiversity and mycelia (fungal networks) on her site.”
Sandra Crittenden (http://winelifehouston.com)
Sandra writes: “While big, bold reds are a staple during the winter months, red wine can also be enjoyed all year, especially after chilling in an ice bucket or refrigerator. Many people are drinking their cabernet sauvignon too warm . . .”
Russ Kane (http://vintagetexas.com)
The Texas Wineslinger writes: “If you’ve been anywhere around Texas wines for the past 15 years or so, either at the winery or in just about any major supermarket you’ve seen Becker Vineyards “Claret – Le Trois Dames”. For many years, this was my “gateway” Texas wine for people that ask me for a suggestion and wanted something they could easily find locally . . .”
Jeff Kralick (http://thedrunkencyclist.com)
The DC writes: “Over the course of a week, I taste a bunch of wine, usually with friends, and almost always with my wife. Here are some of the wines we tasted over the past few weeks. These are wines that were not sent as samples —in most cases, I actually paid for these wines (although a few have been given as gifts) . . .”
Katrina Rene (http://thecorkscrewconcierge.com)
Kat writes: “Looking to broaden your white wine horizons? Why not do it for National White Wine Day? Yes, it’s anther “XXX” day, but I do find the wine days are fun ways to explore things I don’t necessarily think about. It’s funny, because when I first started drinking wine, you were hard pressed to get me to drink much white wine. I was all about Pinot Noir and then eventually bolder red wines. You know, after I got past my 5-gallon box of White Zinfandel phase. Hey, we all have to start somewhere! And it was that way for a while. But over the years, things began to shift.”
-
My focus today is on big-boy cabs — plus an all-the-boxes-checked merlot and two kick-ass malbecs — that I’ve tasted recently. I know, that sounds insane, given how poorly said wines tend to pair with our relentlessly oppressive heat. But each remains currently available on line, which might not be the case when you feel like drinking them in the dead of winter. In other words, don’t tarry.
Six of wines showcase some of the best mountain-fruit vineyards on both sides of Napa Valley and another is made from grapes grown high above Paso Robles. The provenance of two of the cabs and one of the malbecs is Mount Veeder.
2019 Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon
From the winemaker: “a Deep ruby color with aromas of black plum, blackberry, fig and ripe cherry, framed by toasted oak and caramel. A hint of dried herb and floral notes. The concentrated fruit flavors and integrated tannins introduce a rich, full-body structure. Sweet fruit is balanced with acidity and savory notes of leather and wet stone, ending with a lengthy finish of dark berry, baking spice, and mocha.”
From the Wine Spectator, which scored it a 92: “Ripe and fresh, with sassafras, sweet bay leaf and savory details that lead into a juicy, compact core of cassis and dark plum compote flavors. The modestly toasty finish lets the fruit and savory sides play out, while acidity and tannins underscore everything.”
From me: The three ranches on the Mayacamas slopes where the grapes grow are at elevations of 1,000 to 1,600 feet. When Mount Veeder came on line in 1970 it was the first winery in the area and the first California winery to plant all five of the primary Bordeaux varietals. This vintage includes four, missing only malbec.
$55 at http://mtveeder.com
2019 Peak Edcora Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
From the winemaker: “Showcasing the concentration and complexity of Edcora Vineyard, this wine offers remarkable depth and richness, with powerful aromas of wild berry, cassis, mountain sage, roasted coffee, graphite, smoke and sweet oak. On the beautifully structured palate, rich tannins and and a natural underlying density provide a sense of balance and cohesiveness to luxurious layers of dark berries and wild herbs, with notions of oak spice and adding sweetness and freshness to the dark fruit and volcanic minerality.”
From the International Wine Report, which scored it a 94: ” The wine begins with an inviting aromatic profile of ripe cherries, blackberries and red plums, which are laced with fresh-tilled soil, dried exotic spices, dried florals, herbs and suggestions of cigar box that all emerge from the glass. On the palate this is full-bodied, structured and well-balanced. It continues to impress with its wonderful concentration as well as a gorgeous combination of ripe red/dark fruits, herbs and earthy nuances that extend through the long polished finish. This is impressive in its youth, but should go on to evolve beautifully in the cellar over the course of the next decade.”
From me: Peak’s 78-acre Edcora Vineyard, situated well above the fog line on the eastern side of the valley, abuts the famed Stagecoach Vineyard and also features shallow, iron-rich volcanic soil atop a hard layer of volcanic andesite. The small, thick-skinned grapes are classic mountain fruit.
$175 at http://acumenwine.com
2018 Duckhorn Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon
From the winemaker: “On the nose, this stunning wine offers a bevy of mountain-fruit aromas including sweet baking spices, black raspberry, currant, and blackberry, with hints of anise, clove, and fresh mint adding nuance and complexity. On the palate it is robust and generous, echoing the aromas in waves of ripe dark berries and spice, with firm tannins and dusty minerality carrying the flavors to a remarkably long, lush finish.”
From James Suckling, who scored it a 95: “So complex and beautiful now with blackcurrants, olives, bark, and oyster shells. Full to medium body. Resolved, velvety and juicy tannins. Then turns firm and beautiful. Drinkable now but will age beautifully.”
From me: Howell Mountain’s vineyards have long been my reference standard, offering the perfect terroir for growing cab and merlot. Wines made there as early as the late 1890s, when more than 600 acres were already under vine, earned a global reputation for excellence before Prohibition temporarily killed the party.
$109.99 at http://wine.com
2018 J. Lohr Signature Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles
From the winemaker: “Beck Vineyard, in the Creston District of Paso Robles, is a unique, high elevation site that sits at 1,700 feet above the early morning fog line. Its calcareous soils and cooling afternoon winds are perfect for growing cabernet sauvignon. The Cabernet from this vineyard ripens early with excellent color, purity of fruit and phenolic maturity. Incorporation of the rare Bordeaux variety Saint-Macaire brings density, color, and savory elements, while a small amount of Malbec contributes bright fruit notes to the finish. The hand-harvested grapes were destemmed and berry-sorted at the winery followed by a 12 percent saignée which brought concentration to the must prior to fermentation. A short, seven-day maceration revealed luxurious color potential with ideal tannin extraction before pressing.”
From the Wine Enthusiast, which scored it a 96: “Toasty aromas of charred pecan, cocoa nib and espresso give a savory edge to the blackberry-paste base of this luxury-level bottling. Smoothed-out tannins carry hearty flavors of coffee, cocoa and coconut on the palate, where dark fruit flavors carry deep into the finish.”
From me: Aged 20 months in new French oak, the wine was released on January 1 in honor of founder Jerry Lohr’s 85th birthday.
$109.99 at http://wine.com
2019 Kelly Fleming Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
From the winemaker: “When poured, black cherry, wild raspberry, cedar and lavender aromas begin to emerge. With a bit of time in the glass, these aromas transform into cassis, plum and black licorice notes. The elegantly layered palate gives first impressions of black currant, kirsch, crushed river rock and cocoa dust. It offers finely integrated tannins and balanced acidity.
From me: It’s 100 percent cab, all of which grew in Fleming’s Estate vineyard near Calistoga. Aging also lasted 20 months with 85 percent of the juice in new French oak.
$185 at http://kellyflemingwines.com
2020 Priest Ranch Snake Oil Cabernet Sauvignon
From the winemaker: “It has a beautiful deep and rich ruby color. On the nose, there are pleasant complex aromas of earth and spice with notes of warm chocolate mocha. Hints of blueberry, black cherries, and berry cobbler immediately scream from the glass. This wine has muscular tannins that grip at the beginning and linger to a beautiful silky long finish. Although graceful now, you can cellar for 10 to 15 years.”
From me: The historic Priest Ranch, originally settled by Joshua James Priest in 1849, is now part of the Somerston Estate, which covers 1,615 acres with 222 of them under vine above Soda Valley. Aging of this cab lasted 24 months in oak, 75 percent of it new French barrels.
$110 at http://priestrachwines.com
2019 Brandlin Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Mount Veeder
From the winemaker: “The wine is fruit forward with blackberry, and boysenberry notes intertwined with a bouquet of allspice, cardamom and black tea. On the finish, savory hints of cassis, tobacco and olive surf gracefully on the palate and are rounded out by an inviting bed of rich but supple tannins.”
From the Wine Spectator, which scored it a 94: “Very expressive, with zesty anise and apple wood mixed with sassafras and sweet bay leaf flavors, all backed by a dense, polished core of blackberry and açaí berry fruit. Features a hint of tar that adds spine and textural contrast to the finish. Big all around, but everything is well-proportioned.”
From me: The Brandlin family, having emigrated to California from Switzerland in the 1870s, settled on the steep, rocky slopes of Mount Veeder and felt right at home there. Five decades later, in 1926, Henry Brandlin planted his first vines . . . just in time for Prohibition. Things turned out fine, though. Note the provenance of the next wine. Steve Rogstad is on a roll.
$110 from http://brandlinestate.com
Malbec
2019 Brandlin Estate Malbec Mount Veeder
From the winemaker: “From a south-facing slope in the middle of our Brandlin Estate, our 2019 Brandlin Estate Malbec has a lovely bouquet of violets and sandalwood that give way to currant and boysenberry fruit with a hint of cocoa, camphor and black tea. The wine feels expansive, silky smooth and velvety on the finish, belying its mountain origins.”
From me: This beautifully expressive wine, which includes all of the Bordeaux varietals in the blend except merlot, spent 22 months in French oak, half of it new.
$75 at http://brandlinestate.com
2018 Corazon del Sol Gran Riserva
From the winemaker: “A beautiful expression of our finest Malbec barrels from a cooler vintage in Los Chacayes. Small berries and low yields resulted in balanced wines with vibrant acidity. Only a few barrels were hand-selected from our seven acres of estate fruit in pursuit of producing the highest quality malbec in the world.”
From Vinous, which scored it a 93: “Purple in the glass with a garnet sheen. The nose presents notes of fresh plum, hints of violet and aromas from the aging process such as cigar box, and hints of cherry, jam and thyme. It’s a nimble, juicy wine with a refined texture and finely grained tannins with compact freshness. The finish lingers at length.”
From me: Houston cardiologist Madaiah Revana initially made his mark with Revana Family Vineyard in Napa Valley and Alexana Vineyards and Winery in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, but a visit to the high Uco Valley on the Eastern side of the Andes in 2008 convinced him he needed to have a footprint in Argentina’s Mendoza neighborhood, too. Revana scored a major coup in securing the services of the famed Santiago Achaval as consulting winemaker.
$90 at http://corazondelsol.com
Merlot
2019 La Jota Vineyards Howell Mountain
From the winemaker: “The 2019 vintage unequivocally contributes to the rich story of Merlot grown in the volcanic soils of Howell Mtn. Rich and dense, the wine sings with flavors of plum, raspberry and graphite. Beautiful at this youthful stage, this Merlot will surely age gracefully over the next decade or two.”
From James Suckling, who scored it a 95: “Lots of black olives with some conifer and mushrooms. Raspberries, too. Full-bodied with soft and round tannins. Really savory and juicy.”
From me: Chris Carpenter, who has overseen the La Jota cellar since 2005, used petit verdot and tannat to round out this intensely flavored, multi-layered merlot that more than lives up to this storied winery’s history. Winemaking pioneer W.S. Keyes planted some of the first vines on Howell Mountain in 1888 and, a decade later, Frederick Hess established the La Jota Vineyard Co., named for its location on the Mexican parcel Rancho La Jota. Both men won medals for their Howell Mountain wines in the Paris Exposition of 1900.
$109.99 at http://wine.com
-
Casey Barber’s back story as it relates to wine makes little sense . . . until you have a sit-down conversation with her. Then it’s easy to grasp how she became one of the world’s least likely vintners, although perhaps a more appropos description of her seems to be “entrepreneur.”
But suggest that to her and she laughs out loud.
“Me? I’d never thought of myself as any kind of business person,” Barber insists. “That’s not me.”
Uh, we beg to differ. Barber doesn’t actually make Rose Gold, her Côtes-de-Provence rosé that has become one of Texas’ most popular summer sippers over the past five years and now has a foothold in 38 states with, by her count, 850 total store shelf placements in 38 states after recent big-deal sales to Targets and Total Wine outlets. The Omni Hotels made it their house rosé pour nationally last summer. Chef Charles Clark, who has become a good buddy, struggles to keep it in stock at his Brasserie 19 resto on West Gray.
Barber’s sales skills are impressive, especially considering that marketing is another self-taught, by- the-seat-of-her-blue-jeans skill set. Now 45, she studied nursing at the University of Texas-Tyler and assumed, at least early on, that her life’s work would revolve around health care.
Growing up country in Palestine, Texas, she had never tasted pink wine save for her mom’s white zinfandel until she went on her honeymoon to Provence in her mid-twenties. Subsequently, their marriage became a whirlwind of food- and wine-centric adventures. She confesses that they stalked Michelin-starred chefs at every turn, from Manhattan to Europe’s foody meccas.
Well, at least until in her early 30s when she gave birth to three beautiful children over a span of four years. Sadly, not long thereafter she and her husband split up. But from those lemons poured forth gallons of lemonade, pardon the mixed beverage metaphor.
“I’ve said this a thousand times,” Barber admitted. “My marriage didn’t last, but my love of rosé did.”
It was as a twentysomething newlywed on her honeymoon, not so far from where Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie also thought they’d found their personal paradise with the purchase of Miraval, that she first tasted Provençal rosé at a café on the outskirts of Cannes. It was love at first sip – and sight. (Fortunately, Barber and her ex didn’t go down “Brangelina’s” nasty divorce path. Today they live “down the street from each other” in a leafy Dallas neighborhood and are coping with co-parenting duties just fine.)
“I can still picture it in my mind today, these tanned and beautiful French people, all of them drinking this wonderful pink wine morning, noon and night,” Barber recalled, wistfully. “I was immediately enthralled. Once you’ve been bitten by the food and wine bug, there’s no going back. It wasn’t a world I’d known nothing about before then, but Pandora’s box had opened.”
Still, it’s a giant leap from sipping somebody’s else vino as a stay-at-home single mother of three to hitting the streets and convincing prominent restaurants and retailers to listen you, Ms. Nobody, as you try to explain to them why they must carry your pink wine, a pink wine they’ve never heard of.
Being the first to admit she didn’t know what she didn’t know, however, Barber plowed bravely forth nonetheless, first finding a boutique production venue in St. Tropez to partner with – “I can only imagine what they were saying behind my back in French when I first came steamrolling in with my big ideas,” she said – and then bravely schlepping a Yeti full of wine from one resto to the next across Dallas, her proverbial hat in hand.
At least many of the sommeliers/managers she visited already knew her as a customer. Barber’s engaging personality and gorgeous countenance aren’t easily forgotten. As the cliche goes, she could have sold ice to Eskimos. But COVID-19 forced her to focus more on retail sales and, as the stats above would indicate, she keeps gaining more and more traction.
A 50-50 blend of grenache and cinsault, Rose Gold is both wonderfully evocative of sunny Provence and offers excellent value (under $18 at Spec’s/Richard’s cash price). The clean, elegant, raised-letter label – her design, of course – turns heads. So does the name, which evolved from her love for rose-hued gold jewelry.
“It’s the only kind I wear,” she said. “I knew somebody in the wine business and started batting around my naming idea with him. He gave me a 30-minute spiel about names and labels, but I told him I already had one. ‘What?’ he asked. ‘Rose Gold, I told him.’ He thought about it for a moment, then said, “Hey, that’s good, really good.”
Production of Rose Gold has doubled every year since the first vintage – 2017 – and has now reached 13,000 cases, with presumably greater quantities coming in the future, to keep up with demand. Fortunately, the Côtes-de-Provence has a bountiful supply of grapes. Those that go into Rose Gold come from vines around Cuers in the Var some 10 miles inland from Toulon with production at Maitres Vignerons Saint-Tropez.
Her winemaker? Florian Lacroux, the boss vintner at Saint-Roch-les-Vignes, and the man who brought Fleur de Mer to market for E. J. Gallo.
Barber, you see, didn’t try to re-invent the wheel. Rather, she simply reinvented herself. Now, if she could only clone herself, too. Barber remains a one-woman band.
“I could use 20 of me,” she said, laughing.
The hard work notwithstanding, the rewards speak for themselves. A huge ancillary benefit of being the woman behind Rose Gold is how many new friends she has made schlepping her wine. Clark for one, as previously mentioned. And she never doesn’t have a glass or two with Ruggles Black proprietor Neera Parador, another loyal supporter, when she’s in Houston (That’s Casey pictured above at the Ruggles Black bar) .
“You meet unbelievably cool people wherever you go – restaurant owners, chefs, bar managers, sommeliers. Barber said. “I’ve added hundreds of contacts in my phone. Some of my nearest and dearest friends today are because of Rose Gold. They tell me, ‘You’re great and your juice is good.’ Hey, that’s where the rubber meets the road.”
But nothing feels more satisfying, or makes her prouder, than when the kids come home wide-eyed from the grocery store and say, breathlessly, “Mom, guess what? They had a big display of your wine.’ There’s another level of emotion involved when your children can see and appreciate what you’re doing.”
Barber flies a lot, to say the least. Because, she says, “I always get cold” (and it’s also good marketing) on planes, Barber’s travel top of choice is a Rose Gold sweatshirt. Recently, while “zoning out” on the tarmac to take off from somewhere – “I think it was New Orleans,” she said. “We sell a bunch there.” – a woman lugging a carry-on down the aisle startled her by stopping and saying, “Hey, that’s my favorite wine!”
Flashing a Texas-sized smile, Barber replied, “Mine, too.”
H-town Happenings
Free Tastings every Saturday: Noon-5 p.m. at French Country Wines. http://frenchcountrywines.com
Free Tastings every Wednesday: 5-7 p.m. at Montrose Cheese & Wine
Tastings every Thursday at Cueva in the Marriott Marquis Houston: 6:30-7:30 p.m. every Thursday. $40 http://eventbrite.com
Pinor Noir Tasting: 5:30-7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 15, at We Olive & Wine Bar. $35-$140. http://eventbrite.com
Free Tasting: 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 15, at Roma. 713 664-7581
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
Cheers for Charity Benefiting Second Chances: 4-7 p.m. Saturday at Red Oak Ballroom at Norris Conference Center. $75-$125 http://eventbrite.com
JMP Wine Night Featuring Hope Family Wines: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 24. $75 http://eventbrite.com
SERCA Gran Corte Vertical Tasting: 4-6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 26, at the SERCA Tasting Room. SERCA Wines – Upcoming Events $80 ($64 members)
Follow me
Podcast: Sporty Wine Guy, wherever you get your podcasts.
Instagram: http://@sportywineguy
Facebook: Dale Robertson
Others to follow
Jeremy Parzen (http://dobianchi.com)
My podcast partner in crime writes: “Man, what a trip it was to roll up to my friend’s new bar on the Sunset Strip in LA . . .”
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: “Texas Native Grapes: Know Them, Grow Them… Cherish Their Worldwide Legacy – Part 1 (click here), we reviewed what are native grapevines, how they can benefit wildlife with cover and sustenance and humans providing grapes, jellies and jams, and wine. We also discussed how to identify some of the more common Texas native grape varieties in the wild. Now, we are moving on to the roles of Texas native grapevines in history up to modern day, and finishing with how to grow them . . .”
Jeff Kralick (http://thedrunkencyclist.com)
The DC writes: “This morning, my wife and younger son, Sebastian, left me and my older son, Nathan, and took the TGV from Lyon up to Charles de Gaulle airport outside of Paris. Sebastian will be starting school this week in Houston and they therefore needed to cut their trip a little bit short. Nathan and I are soldiering on, as it were, and we are currently on a Frecciarossa train headed to Milan and then on to Lake Como. We will eventually make our way back to Lyon, where Nathan will be starting his semester abroad in about eight days.”
Katrina Rene (http://thecorkscrewconcierge.com)
Kat writes: “Looking to broaden your white wine horizons? Why not do it for National White Wine Day? Yes, it’s another “XXX” day, but I do find the wine days are fun ways to explore things I don’t necessarily think about. It’s funny, because when I first started drinking wine, you were hard-pressed to get me to drink much white wine. I was all about Pinot Noir and then eventually bolder red wines. You know, after I got past my 5-gallon box of White Zinfandel phase. Hey, we all have to start somewhere! And it was that way for a while. But over the years, things began to shift . . .”
The Sporty Wine Guy
All things wine… but a little sports talk, too
