Wine Life - Houston

Matt Stamp, Master Sommelier I, along with most wine professionals I know, feel fortunate to have the chance to take these special event classes here in our town. Once again, Matt Stamp, Master Sommelier, came to Houston as part of the Guild of Sommeliers ongoing Masterclass series. The focus of this event was the wines of Napa Valley. It was a great class and the wine community of Houston is looking forward to more. Along with a good review of all things Napa, it was interesting to hear Matt Stamp's take on how some of the inner AVA's should be delineated (he feels the current system doesn't do justice to the terroir variation of Napa) and what to expect from the upcoming vintages. We also tasted three flights of great wine. All were well balanced, really nice wines that are worth seeking out. I put stars by some of my favorites. Flight 1: 2011 Matthiasson White - A Friulian style blend with some Semillion added. Fresh, crisp, light. * 2011 Chappellet Chenin B

  My 22 year old son was home for a few days during Spring Break and requested grilled marinated pork chops for dinner. Since he became of legal drinking age, my husband and I have enjoyed sharing different wines with him to see which ones he really enjoys. I invited my father to join us for dinner and my son invited a friend as well. With my manly meal of pork, peppers and potatoes prepped for the grill, I decided to open a Rhone Valley Ros é to start as I had some cold boiled shrimp and Caprese salad kabobs out to nibble on while everything went on the grill. My son's friend was interested to learn that "all rosé is not bad or, you know, cheap wine" and that real men do drink pink wine as role modeled by my husband and father. The wine was Paul Jaboulet Parallele 45 Cotes du Rhone Rosé 2011. This rosé is a blend of 50% Grenache, 40% Cinsault and 10% Syrah. It smelled and tasted of fresh ripe strawberries with a bit of baking spice. Medium- body, alcohol with medi

As originally seen in the March 2013 edition of Galveston Monthly magazine on page 38-39