Wine Life - Houston

I had the pleasure of tasting the wines of Spicewood Vineyards last weekend with the winery’s visionary and president, Ron Yates. Ron grew up in nearby Marble Falls and graduated from the University of Texas. In his attempt to get the most out of his academic quest, he did a study abroad in Spain in 1999 to fulfill his college Spanish requirement; this led him to his love of Tempranillo wines. Despite his not enjoying his early participation in Texas grape harvests as a kid, he decided to parlay what he called his highly embellished vineyard skills for the opportunity to stay on in Spain for the Ribera del Duero harvest after his Spanish courses ended. While he was in the midst of his personal Spanish wine adventure, he did think about how the terroir of Ribera del Duero reminded him of some areas back home in the Texas Hill Country. The idea of making the Spanish style wines that he loved back in Texas began forming. The longer that I talked with Ron, the more I was repea...

While my daughter was in town briefly between her study abroad and school starting, we took the opportunity to wine and dine our way around Houston. She is always a favorite dining companion of mine because she will taste anything and loves to split items, we can always create our own multi-course menu. Uchi was one of her not-to-miss spots while she was here. Happy hour runs from 5-6:30 daily and there is always a crowd. We arrived at 5:00 pm on Wednesday to find the line already forming but we were able to walk right in and get a table as soon as the doors opened. The restaurant quickly filled up. This time of day at Uchi provides a great opportunity to try smaller portions of some of the regular menu items. The entire menu is also available as well as a menu of daily specials. We ordered some sparkling Loire Valley rosé, the Bouvet Brut NV off the regular wine list. They serve it for $11 a glass or $43 a bottle. Happy hour or "Sake Social" drink selections includ...

A lunch time tasting with Arnaud Saget from Saget La Perrière Wines was definitely a highlight of this summer. Arnaud shared his vision for growing his family's company and his push for greater awareness among consumers about the wines of France's Loire Valley.  Arnaud discussed both the value that can be found in the Loire Valley and the pairing potential of his food-friendly wines with our local cuisine.  We tasted his selections at the Oceanaire with the Alaska Seafood Institute Prefix Menu . This multi-course menu included red king crab salad, pan-broiled weathervane scallops, seared wild halibut, grilled coho salmon and blueberry cobbler for dessert.  All of the wines are recommended. The Tasting: Muscadet de Sèvre & Maine sur Lie Les Cilssages d’Or  (approximately $14) Marie de Beauregard AOC Vouvray (approximately $18) Guy Saget La Petite Perrière Sauvignon Blanc (approximately $12) Guy Saget La Petite Perrière Sancerre (approxi...