Mise en Place

Month: September 2020

Nick and Adam Franscioni's great-grandfather came to California from Switzerland in 1886. You might have heard of their father, Gary, who began the family's wine adventure. (Richard Green Photo)

Brothers in Wine: Adam and Nick Franscioni Talk Pinot Noir, Family, and ROAR

September 29, 2020 / / 0 Comments

I love to talk about wine with people who share my passion for it. We open bottles, we trade stories about travel and soil types, terroir and residual sugar, and we talk of taste and food and restaurants. We recommend wines to one another, we drink, and we learn a lot.

In Wine Talk, I introduce you to friends, acquaintances, and people I meet as I make my way around the world, individuals who love wine as much as I do, who live to taste, who farm and make wine. You’ll appreciate their insight, and I hope you’ll learn something from them as well. 

One thing (among many) to which I am looking forward when we can venture forth and mingle with those outside of our quarantine pods is meeting in person some of the individuals I have met during Zoom virtual tastings and seminars. Adam and Nick Franscioni are two of those people.

The brothers — and sons of Gary and Rosella Franscioni — participated in a Santa Lucia Highlands AVA gathering and seminar (virtual) to which I was invited, and their enthusiasm and dedication appealed to me immediately.

Adam is the vineyard manager at ROAR — the Franscioni family’s label — and Nick holds the position of winery manager. Adam graduated from the University of San Diego, and joined the family business in 2011, while his brother has a degree from USC and, following a stint in the consulting world, began working at ROAR in 2017.

ROAR was founded by Gary and Rosella in 2001 (Scott Shapley has been their winemaker since 2012), and the wines the family produces — Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah, Grenache, and Viognier — need to be on your radar screen and in your inventory.

After the SLH virtual seminar, I knew I wanted to feature Adam and Nick in Wine Talk, and here they are:

James Brock: How has COVID-19 changed your work and life?

Nick Franscioni: Outside of our workplace, it completely shut down our market visits and tasting events. At work, it hasn’t had a significant impact, since our winery team consists of just three people and our vineyard team maintains a natural spacing of 6 to 8 feet per vineyard row. We are small but mighty!

The bright side is that we have spent more family time and meals together. Also, we have a new family member to welcome, and that has brought a lot of excitement for us. We are excited for my brother Adam and his wife, Tamara.

Rosella’s Vineyard is named after Rosella Franscioni, Nick and Adam’s mother. It was planted in 1996 and is composed of Arroyo Seco sandy loam. (Wildly Simple Productions)

JB:Tell us about three wines you think are drinking well at the moment. What makes them worthwhile? How about a food pairing for each one?

Adam Franscioni: My wife and I are always fans of Champagne, and we are enjoying Champagne Gonet-Medeville Premier Cru Brut, ( around $30 a bottle). We love the bang for your buck. It is so fresh and has beautiful apple crisp notes. We pair it with blue cheese or Salmon.

Next, the 2016 Walt Bob’s Ranch ($80 a bottle). Walt is a label of Hall Wines and Bob’s Ranch is their part of their estate fruit. They always make great wines and their Bob’s Ranch is no different. I am enjoying it with lamb.

And Jacob Toft 2017 Mary Jane’s Cuvée ($60 a bottle). Jacob Toft is small label located in Paso Robles, and the Mary Jane’s Cuvée is their GSM blend. The winemaker sources from great Paso Robles vineyards, and this wine is just fun. A lot of dark, red fruit and the tannins are beautiful. It’s a very complex wine. I usually enjoy this bottle with steak.

JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why?

NF: My pick is very cliché, but I’m okay with that. Romanée-Conti. My reasoning is because it is consistently heralded as the most fascinating and desirable piece of history in wine. More important than the wine itself is the place that it comes from and the hands that carried it. I would take 1989 vintage as a birth year, please).

JB: What is your favorite varietal, and why?

AF: That’s a tough question, as I enjoy a lot of varietals, but I’d have to say Pinot Noir is probably my favorite because of it s versatility. It goes well with so many meals, yet you can find Pinot Noirs that can stand alone on their own. Whatever the social situation calls for there is a Pinot Noir out there to enhance the experience.

Rosella’s Vineyard is the source of some outstanding Pinot Noir. (Nick Franscioni Photo)

JB: How about one bottle that our readers should buy now to cellar for 10 years, to celebrate a birth, anniversary, or other red-letter day? 

NF: A great family friend of ours is winemaker Adam Lee. Adam makes wines under several labels nowadays, and one of the most special Pinot Noir bottlings comes from our home ranch, Rosella’s Vineyard. He created a new label called Clarice in honor of his own family member. The 2018 vintage was very special in California and one that has incredible aging potential. After tasting this bottling, I am sure that it is bound to dance and delight for the next decade and beyond.

JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle? COVID-19 has put a crimp on going out, but pre-pandemic, where did you go?

AF: Spruce Restaurant in San Francisco. They have an amazing by-the-glass menu and their food is unreal. 

JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?

NF: Think about what type of wines you enjoy, and more specifically what exactly you love about those wines. Whether it’s the fruit, the spice, the herbs, whatever … take note of those things you love to taste and that will help you find more of the wines you enjoy.

Gary, Nick, and Adam Franscioni during harvest. (Richard Green Photo)

JB: What is your “wine eureka moment,” the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever?

AF: It was December 2012 and I was at a Pinot Noir blind tasting amongst friends.  Most people brought Burgundy and we guessed AOC’s until we were blue in the face. Most of the wines were young (2008-2010), so they weren’t hitting their stride yet. But one wine stole the show — it was a 1985 Chalone Vineyard Pinot Noir. I could not believe how fresh it was still tasting. We all thought it was Old World. It was so fun to see that California wine could age that well and it taught me about judging wines before tasting them.

JB: What has been the strangest moment or incident involving wine that you have experienced in your career?

NF: Well, at the ripe age of 10, I was visiting France with my family for a summer vacation and experienced my first barrel tasting, for which I was busy training my palate. We quickly learned that I could not hold my liquor after stumbling around, blowing out candles, and using “adult” words. Our French guide was notably courteous and asked that I be excused. My memory is hazy from that day, but it is a moment that no one else will forget.

The Sierra Mar Vineyard’s Island Block. The vineyard, planted in 2007, is situated 1,100 feet above sea level, and is marked by decomposed granite and gravelly loam. (Richard Green Photo)

JB: What is your favorite wine reference in a work of literature or in a film?

AF: “Sideways” has two moments that I appreciate. I loved the end scene in which Paul Giamatti’s character is drinking 1961 Chateau Chevval Blanc at what appears to be an In-N-Out. I found that so funny and, sadly, something I might find myself doing. 

A thin skin, temperamental …

He also has a beautiful line about Pinot Noir in the middle of the movie. It still rings true to me: “It’s uh, it’s thin-skinned, temperamental, ripens early. It’s, you know, it’s not a survivor like Cabernet, which can just grow anywhere and, uh, thrive even when it’s neglected. No, Pinot needs constant care and attention.”

Want more wine? Read on:

Two Bottles From Priest Ranch
A Derby Day Cocktail
Nate Klostermann is Making Some Great Sparkling Wines in Oregon
Matt Dees and the Electric Acidity of Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay
Baudelaire, Pinot Noir, and Rosé: Kathleen Inman’s Passions
Colombia, France, and California: This Winemaker is a Complex Woman
Michael Kennedy Talks Sailing and Zinfandel
Spain Opened the World of Wine for Spottswoode’s Aron Weinkauf
Alta Colina’s Molly Lonborg Wants a Bottle of Château Rayas
Mumm Napa’s Tami Lotz Talks Wine and Oysters
James MacPhail on Pinot Noir, White Burgundy, and Russell Crowe
A Very Proper Sparkling Wine
Talking With David Ramey
A Merlot That Your Snob Friend Will Love
French Couple Make a Sauvignon Blanc in California
A Perfect Afternoon Chardonnay
Terry Theise Talks Reisling
A New Wine Wonderland
Paris Wine Goddess Tells All
Rice Village Wine Bar Has a Cleveland Touch
A Texas White Blend for Your Table
A Pinot Noir Full of Flavor
This Pinot Gris From Oregon Pairs Well With Cheese
Willamette, Dammit!
A Value Rioja
Drink Pink!
Underbelly Veteran Goes for Grenache
A Man of Letters and Wine
Ms. Champagne Wants a Nebuchadnezzar
The Wine Artist Goes for Chardonnay
This American Loves Spain and Its Wines
Houston’s Wine Whisperer Has a Soft Touch
Blackberry Farm’s Somm Pours in Splendor
Mr. Pinot Noir: Donald Patz of Patz & Hall
A Cork Dork Wants to Spend More Time in Tuscany
Sommelier Turned Restaurateur Daringly Goes Greek
Texas Master Sommelier Debunks Wine Geeks
A Bottle From Gigondas Changed This Houston Man’s Life
Oil Man Falls in Love, and the Rest is Good-Taste History
Ryan Cooper of Camerata is a Riesling Man
Mixing It Up With Jeremy Parzen, an Ambassador of Italy
Sommelier at One of Houston’s Top Wine Bars Loves Underdogs

The Somerston Estate, 1,682 acres of abundance and beauty. (Courtesy Somerston Estate)

Two Bottles From Priest Ranch That You’ll Drink Happily

September 23, 2020 / / 0 Comments

James Joshua Priest was his name, and he was a gold prospector. In 1869, he established Priest Ranch, in Napa Valley, 660 acres in an area then known as Soda Valley. (Priest, who died in 1896, at 70 years of age, had nine sons, and for a while marketed a spring water that came from his land, located on the eastern side of the Vaca Mountain Range.)

In 2004, businessman Allan Chapman bought the Priest estate, and David Ramey and Biale were among the first purchasers of grapes under his ownership. In 2006, Chapman added to his holdings with the addition of Lynch Vineyard (also known as Elder Valley), and the combined Priest-Lynch properties — 1,682 acres — were rechristened Somerston Estate.

Add this venue to your 2021 tasting schedule. (Courtesy Somertson Estate)

Winemaker Craig Becker had entered the picture in 2005 by buying grapes from Chapman. Becker is now the general manager and director of winemaking at Somerston Estate, having co-founded the Somerston Wine Company with Chapman.

Craig Becker, head winemaker at Somerston Estate, has at his disposal “fruit so distinctive that it requires only minimal processing.” (Courtesy Somerston Estate)

Which brings me to the two bottles of the headline: Becker and Chapman honored the legacy of Mr. Priest by founding the Priest Ranch Winery in 2006, and the 2018 Priest Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon ($50) and Sauvignon Blanc ($22) are those two bottles. I tasted them recently, and have added Becker’s portfolio to my “buy” list.

The Sauvignon Blanc is a wine I could happily drink every day. Crisp is a word often overused to describe a wine, but here it is more than apt. I chilled the bottle for 25 minutes or so, then poured. My initial taste was lively, refreshening. Becker produced some great value here. Light, pale yellow in the glass, bracing acidity.

This is a wine that deserves more recognition.

Some details: Stainless steel fermentation (100 percent) with native yeast at 60 degrees Fahrenheit, 1,480 cases produced, harvested on August 30 and September 4 and 10, released in June of this year. Drink this now, with sautéed or poached shrimp (I paired it with the latter).

The Priest Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon would be a fine choice to serve at a dinner featuring lamb as its main course (with a sparkling and the Sauvignon Blanc preceding it). I sampled this 2018 immediately following the Sauvignon Blanc, and the two provide an informative taste of Becker’s style: He respects each terroir at his disposal, and is unafraid to let them shine. He has confidence in his fruit, and in his ability as a winemaker.

The 2018 Priest Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon is priced well at $50.

This is a big wine, and while it is drinking well now, I look forward to revisiting it in a decade’s time. Deep, dark red in the glass, oak, licorice, and soil on the nose, cassis, evanescent lavender, mushroom, and dark cherry in the mouth. It comes in at 14.9 percent alcohol, and 5,880 cases were produced. It is 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, and was released on May 1, 2020.

(Note: On September 23, Becker issued the following statement concerning the 2020 vintage:

“Today we made the difficult decision to not harvest any fruit from our 1682-acre estate for the 2020 vintage. In mid-August, the Hennessy fire engulfed our property, burning nearly 1,400 acres of native grasslands and woods. We take pride in the grapes we grow, sell, and vinify and make no compromises. We stand unwavering in our long-term commitment to this property, our winery partners, customers, and distributors. Quality in our world of fine wine is paramount, and due to smoke damage caused by Northern California’s Hennessey Fire, we won’t be making any wine this year.On a positive note, while the scrub pine, madrona, manzanita, bay trees, and other shrubs did burn, about 98% of the oak trees on our property did not. We expect that the estate will regain its beauty with thriving oak woodlands and grasslands in a few years. We look forward to the 2021 growing season next year, producing high-quality grapes for our wines and those of our partners.”)

Want more wine? Read on:

A Derby Day Cocktail
Nate Klostermann is Making Some Great Sparkling Wines in Oregon
Matt Dees and the Electric Acidity of Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay
Baudelaire, Pinot Noir, and Rosé: Kathleen Inman’s Passions
Colombia, France, and California: This Winemaker is a Complex Woman
Michael Kennedy Talks Sailing and Zinfandel
Spain Opened the World of Wine for Spottswoode’s Aron Weinkauf
Alta Colina’s Molly Lonborg Wants a Bottle of Château Rayas
Mumm Napa’s Tami Lotz Talks Wine and Oysters
James MacPhail on Pinot Noir, White Burgundy, and Russell Crowe
A Very Proper Sparkling Wine
Talking With David Ramey
A Merlot That Your Snob Friend Will Love
French Couple Make a Sauvignon Blanc in California
A Perfect Afternoon Chardonnay
Terry Theise Talks Reisling
A New Wine Wonderland
Paris Wine Goddess Tells All
Rice Village Wine Bar Has a Cleveland Touch
A Texas White Blend for Your Table
A Pinot Noir Full of Flavor
This Pinot Gris From Oregon Pairs Well With Cheese
Willamette, Dammit!
A Value Rioja
Drink Pink!
Underbelly Veteran Goes for Grenache
A Man of Letters and Wine
Ms. Champagne Wants a Nebuchadnezzar
The Wine Artist Goes for Chardonnay
This American Loves Spain and Its Wines
Houston’s Wine Whisperer Has a Soft Touch
Blackberry Farm’s Somm Pours in Splendor
Mr. Pinot Noir: Donald Patz of Patz & Hall
A Cork Dork Wants to Spend More Time in Tuscany
Sommelier Turned Restaurateur Daringly Goes Greek
Texas Master Sommelier Debunks Wine Geeks
A Bottle From Gigondas Changed This Houston Man’s Life
Oil Man Falls in Love, and the Rest is Good-Taste History
Ryan Cooper of Camerata is a Riesling Man
Mixing It Up With Jeremy Parzen, an Ambassador of Italy
Sommelier at One of Houston’s Top Wine Bars Loves Underdogs

Our evenings at the home of Russ and Judy Labrasca were full of laughter, conversation, cooking, and great food and wine.

He Was A Friend of Mine: Farewell, Tony Vallone

September 14, 2020 / / 1 Comment

I know he wanted otherwise, but I wish Tony Vallone had taken my advice and spent his final years in Italy, with Donna, near his beloved Naples.

Whenever I would tell him about my wish, he’d laugh, get a wistful look in his eye, and repeat what he had been telling people for years: “They’ll carry me out of the restaurant, a fish in one hand, and pasta in the other.”

Tony Vallone: January 3, 1945 – September 10, 2020

Tony has left the building. He passed away early on the morning of September 10 at home in Houston. He was 75, and had reigned over his beloved Tony’s for 55 of those years. He was laid to rest today. An era in Houston has ended, and I am sad.

Vallone was my friend, and I’ll forever cherish the meals and conversations we shared, from the first time I sat with him, at lunch at his restaurant on Richmond Avenue — the occasion our initial interview for a piece I wrote marking the 50th anniversary of Tony’s — to casual evenings with him and Donna and Angela and Russ and Judy at home, to our final encounter, perched at the bar at Tony’s on a crisp September evening in 2019. I was preparing to leave Houston, and Vallone had invited me for a last supper at my favorite restaurant in that city.

I introduced Patricia Baglioni, whom I met in Florence, Italy, to Tony in 2014, and our annual repasts at Tony’s were something I looked forward to with relish.

At the bar that night we discussed, as we always did, many things, including politics and the arts and our families. He told me I was a lucky man — he was referring to Angela — and I replied that he was as well, because, Donna. We meant those things, because we knew we had been given second chances at love.

But above all, we talked food. Always food, and the preparation of it, and the joy of dining, in restaurants or with friends and family at home. We could discuss that forever.

Angela and Tony

We talked of Alfred Portale and the best way to prepare sweetbreads, we joked about the latest food trends, and we recounted our experiences at the tables of favorite restaurants in Manhattan. I told him about a dish I was working on for one of my Brockhaus dinners — a foie-stuffed morel — and he told me to make him one so he could consider adding it to his menu. He asked me to hold a Brockhaus event at Tony’s, which I did, back in 2017. It was an honor to cook in that kitchen, and to serve my food in his domain.

I miss Tony’s smile, and I miss sitting with him. I was honored that he solicited my opinion about the food coming out of his kitchen. One evening, he asked me to taste a sauce — if I recall correctly, it was what the restaurant was serving with beef short ribs during Houston Restaurant Weeks. I told him I thought it was lacking a bit of salt. He excused himself from the bar, where we were sitting, and walked to the kitchen. He came back a few minutes later and thanked me, agreeing with my appraisal.

I miss the softness in Tony’s voice, and the way the skin around his eyes would crinkle when we talked about this or that restaurant or an article about food or a restaurant review. I miss the way his hands grew animated when we discussed cooking. Never before had I enjoyed such engaging, profound, and respectful conversations about the culinary world. I hope I can find that again, because I need it.

Dinners at home …

Tony’s was my favorite restaurant in Houston, and I dined there often. I liked it for many reasons, among them that it reminded me of some of the places I missed in New York. Detail matters, and Vallone and his team rarely missed a beat. I felt comfortable there. To me, it was at the time one of the few restaurants in the city that could have been picked up lock, stock, and barrel and placed down in New York, or Paris, and be received with open mouths (and wallets) by the citizens of those dining meccas.

And I ate well chez Tony. Corona beans, and lamb chops from Colorado. A perfect artichoke salad and soft-shell crab. Halibut and salmon and Kobe beef and red snapper and pasta stuffed with duck and langoustines and a delicious Caesar salad and … so many dishes whose flavors I remember still, including one of my all-time favorite pasta dishes, Tony’s Bolognese Bianco, which will be on my final meal menu.

Tony’s, my home away from home.

I wrote the following in the piece I mentioned above, marking the 50th anniversary of Tony’s: Watching Tony Vallone preside over the perfect little world that is Tony’s — in my opinion, the best restaurant in the state of Texas and among the best in the U.S. — the concepts of order, harmony and zen mingle in my mind. Vallone, who celebrates his namesake restaurant’s 50th anniversary this month, conducts every movement at the Richmond Avenue institution with the grace of a consummate and controlled artist. If a dining-room chair is not where it should be, a nod from the 71-year-old puts it in place. If a guest is on the verge of making a request, Vallone is the first to anticipate it.

Vallone was an institution, a Mensch; he was among the very few to have owned and run a restaurant for 50-plus years, anywhere. He founded fine dining in Houston, and set the bar high in a city whose diners were more accustomed to steak sauce than Béarnaise.

Again, from the story about Tony’s 50th anniversary: My first glimpse of Vallone in his restaurant is something I recall often. I was walking across the dining room, and through the large (mostly glass) wall that separates it from the kitchen, this is what I saw: The maestro was wearing a dark-blue suit, and he was sitting in a simple chair in the kitchen, in front of the pass, one leg crossed over the other at the thigh, cell phone in hand. His face spoke of calm order, though all around him cooks and waiters went to and fro with haste, plates and cutlery and food in hand.

Tony in his element. (Photo by Jay Tovar)

That image of Vallone will stay with me forever. Now, when I cook, I’ll be cooking with him (he joins my maternal grandmother, Ida, in my spiritual kitchen brigade). I have lost a dear friend, and though I know I’ll feel the need to make my way to Tony’s the next time I am in Houston — Donna has decided to keep the restaurant open, and about that I am glad — I am not certain I want to be in Tony’s place knowing that he’ll never again grace its environs. Whenever I sit at my favorite table, I’ll long to see him make his way around the dining room, greeting each of his guests, and I’ll want to shake his hand. I’ll miss feeling his hand caress my shoulder.

Tony and Donna Vallone

Of one thing, however, I am certain. Very soon, I am going to cook a meal at home, and it is going to be in honor of my friend, of his life and legacy and struggles and successes. It will include pasta and a fish and lamb. We’ll open a bottle or two of something Italian; a Barolo will definitely be on the table. And with every course, I’ll toast Tony.

Bye, my friend. I’ll miss you for a long, long time. I’ll miss you forever.

The cordon rouge sash has been around since 1876.

One Thing I’ll Be Drinking on Derby Day This Year

September 3, 2020 / / 0 Comments

I have always admired horses, and if I owned land enough would love to share my life with a few of them. One of my uncles raised cattle — Black Angus — and also always had a horse two around. They were my introduction to the equine world.

Since then, I have ridden on occasion, and I’ve attended horse shows and equestrian exhibitions. And I’ve been an avid fan of the Kentucky Derby.

I don’t know which year marked my first Derby viewing, but it’s must-see television for me. In 2013, I was in Louisville for the running, and neither inclement weather nor a haunted bed and breakfast dimmed my experience.

A day at the Derby, 2013 edition

This year, I will not be in Louisville for the Derby. I’ll be in Los Angeles, but the horses will be running and the television will be on and I’ll make a cocktail to celebrate the occasion. The foundation of that cocktail is already chilling in the refrigerator …

It’s a bottle of G.H. Mumm Grand Cordon, and with it I’ll concoct a (modified) Ken-Tiki Derby Julep (more on that soon). This Brut Champagne is 45 percent Pinot Noir, 30 percent Chardonnay, and 25 percent Pinot Meunier (residual sugar is 8 g/l). It is cellared for 30 months.

Lots of tradition in this bottle.

During the past several months I have tasted a number of Mumm Napa sparkling wines, including a Brut Prestige, a Brut Rosé, the 2013 DVX Rosé, and the 2011 DVX, and I’ve featured Tami Lotz, the Mumm Napa winemaker, in Wine Talk. I’ve also popped open a few G.H. Mumm bottles in that time, and not one of them was less than highly pleasing.

Here’s how I’ll make my Kentucky Derby cocktail:

Ingredients:

2 ounces G.H. Mumm Grand Cordon Champagne
1.5 ounces Aberfeldy 12 (the original Ken-Tiki uses Jameson Black Barrel)
.5 ounces lime juice
.25 ounces pineapple syrup
5 mint leaves

In a highball glass, combine mint, pineapple syrup, and lime juice. Muddle the mix, then add the Aberfeldy. Next comes crushed ice and a stir to combine. Pour Champagne over the top and add 3 dashes of Angostura bitters.

Storm the Court is my pick to win the 2020 Kentucky Derby. (Photo: Emily Shields)

My Derby tip, you ask? Well, if I was betting, I’d pick Storm the Court to win, followed by, in this order, Authentic and Ny Traffic.

Want more wine? Read on:

Nate Klostermann is Making Some Great Sparkling Wines in Oregon
Matt Dees and the Electric Acidity of Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay
Baudelaire, Pinot Noir, and Rosé: Kathleen Inman’s Passions
Colombia, France, and California: This Winemaker is a Complex Woman
Michael Kennedy Talks Sailing and Zinfandel
Spain Opened the World of Wine for Spottswoode’s Aron Weinkauf
Alta Colina’s Molly Lonborg Wants a Bottle of Château Rayas
Mumm Napa’s Tami Lotz Talks Wine and Oysters
James MacPhail on Pinot Noir, White Burgundy, and Russell Crowe
A Very Proper Sparkling Wine
Talking With David Ramey
A Merlot That Your Snob Friend Will Love
French Couple Make a Sauvignon Blanc in California
A Perfect Afternoon Chardonnay
Terry Theise Talks Reisling
A New Wine Wonderland
Paris Wine Goddess Tells All
Rice Village Wine Bar Has a Cleveland Touch
A Texas White Blend for Your Table
A Pinot Noir Full of Flavor
This Pinot Gris From Oregon Pairs Well With Cheese
Willamette, Dammit!
A Value Rioja
Drink Pink!
Underbelly Veteran Goes for Grenache
A Man of Letters and Wine
Ms. Champagne Wants a Nebuchadnezzar
The Wine Artist Goes for Chardonnay
This American Loves Spain and Its Wines
Houston’s Wine Whisperer Has a Soft Touch
Blackberry Farm’s Somm Pours in Splendor
Mr. Pinot Noir: Donald Patz of Patz & Hall
A Cork Dork Wants to Spend More Time in Tuscany
Sommelier Turned Restaurateur Daringly Goes Greek
Texas Master Sommelier Debunks Wine Geeks
A Bottle From Gigondas Changed This Houston Man’s Life
Oil Man Falls in Love, and the Rest is Good-Taste History
Ryan Cooper of Camerata is a Riesling Man
Mixing It Up With Jeremy Parzen, an Ambassador of Italy
Sommelier at One of Houston’s Top Wine Bars Loves Underdogs


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