Charles Clark has been a mainstay of the Houston culinary scene for decades. His approach to food and wine is bold and dynamic; time spent in Spain early in his career had a profound effect on the way he hosts and feeds his guests.
Charles Clark pours for guests at his Brasserie 19. (Andrew Hemingway)
I always enjoy spending time at Brasserie 19, Clark’s popular and lively place on West Gray Street. Seated at the bar is best, and the people-watching opportunities are legion. The wine list is large and full of value, the food commendable.
Clark is the subject of the latest Wine Talk, and he has a lot to say. It was published in PaperCity Magazine, and you can read it here.
Seyval blanc. Heard of it? If not, you are not to feel badly. While it is a grape that has been around for a while, and has proven its place in the wine world, it is not widely planted in North America — estimates hover between 700 and 900 acres in the United States and Canada. For comparison, upwards of 75,000 acres of pinot noir, and more than 115,000 of cabernet sauvignon, are planted in the two countries.
This is 100 percent seyval blanc from Virginia’s Barrel Oak Winery & Brewery. (Brockhaus Images)
Seyval blanc is a hybrid, and was developed by Bertille Seyve and his father-in-law, Victor Villard, in the 1920s in their nursery in France. For those who appreciate such information, it is a cross of 50 percent Vitis vinifera, 37 percent Vitis rupestris, and 13 percent Vitis licencumii. It is a high-acid grape, and it tends to ripen early, which makes it particulary suited to cooler climates.
And cooler regions is where it shines, including England, where makers of sparkling wine are using it to great effect; the Finger Lakes region; Canada; and the Lake Erie AVA.
Virginia is also a player here, a state in which recent statistics indicate that about 40 acres of seyval blanc are planted. It is produced by myriad wineries, including Barrel Oak Winery & Brewery, a 78-acre estate responsible for my wine of the day.
Barrel Oak Winery & Brewery encompasses 78 acres in Virginia’s Piedmont region. (Barrel Oak Winery)
The 2024 Barrel Oak Seyval Blanc is a cork-closure wine whose fruit is grown in the estate’s B-Block plot, which is situated between 500 and 700 feet above sea level in the Middleburg AVA. Soils are marked by clay with deposits of gneiss and granite, a composition that gives this wine an appealing minerality on the palate. Alcohol is 11.25 percent, 353 cases were produced, and it did not go through malolactic conversion. This is an all-stainless steel creation, crisp, bright, and lively.
Jeremy Ligon, Barrel Oak winemaker, joined the estate in 2021. (Barrel Oak Winery & Brewery)
In the glass, the wine is a pale, soft yellow, and body is light to light-plus. Harvest brix of 22.0 should leave us with ample acidity, and a first taste of the wine makes that evident. Orange flower is definitely in the aroma and on the palate, along with bright apple, perhaps Granny Smith. I served this bottle with sautéed crayfish and angel hair pasta, and the winemaker team, led by Jeremy Ligon, suggests seared trout with lemon and capers, which I’ll try next time I drink this wine. It carries a suggested retail price of $30 (purchase from the producer or search here.
I’m working on a profile of Barrel Oak that will include a discussion with Ligon, and I’ll soon be sampling the estate’s 2022 Chocolate Lab, a port-style product, and the 2023 Vidal Blanc. Keep your eye on Virginia, a state with more than 300 wineries within its borders.
This story was originally published in PaperCity on Sept. 1, 2026. Read the original version here.
I take wine and food very seriously, but not so seriously that their true meanings and place in life become obscured by human vanity. I began drinking and learning about wine while in high school, in the Rheinland-Pfalz. It was everywhere, a part of daily life, consumed by most everyone in one form or another, held in high esteem but not made into a personal badge of “sophistication” and “discernment.” It was and is a beverage made possible by the humble yet vital work of farming.
That said, I think about wine constantly, and have been learning about it — a never-ending journey — since that first sip of Basserman-Jordan. I love wine, I respect wine and the people and lands that birth it, and I am glad it is part of human existence.
June Rodil also respects wine, and thinks about it daily while keeping it in proper and sane perspective. “You don’t need to know the producer’s elevation, soil composition or preferred method of canopy management before you’re allowed to enjoy the bottle. You don’t have to pretend to recognize an aroma. You’re also allowed to dislike an expensive wine and love an inexpensive one,” Rodil says. I respect that take, and agree.
Rodil, a master sommelier and lover of chicken fingers, is featured in the latest edition of Wine Talk, which you can read here.
June Rodil’s brut rosé is perfect for any occasion. (June’s Rosé Instagram)
The weekend is here, and a roast chicken is part of it. On Wednesday morning I liberally sprinkled salt and pepper on a chicken, stuffed some thyme and garlic under its skin, and put it in the refrigerator, uncovered. It would stay there, brining, for about 40 hours.
Some of you might have, upon reading the above, thought of Judy Rodgers. Yes, I based my prep method on her beloved recipe, which you can find in one of my favorite collections of recipes, “The Zuni Café Cookbook.” I was not to make the bread salad this time, for various reasons, but if you have never enjoyed this dish I urge you to try it — either make it yourself, or get a table at the San Francisco restaurant.
A perfect way to roast a chicken. (Brockhaus Images)
What I had in mind for my chicken was to enjoy it over a few days and meals, the first one being a dinner of roast chicken, baked spaghetti squash, and a beet and chèvre salad. On the next day I would boil potatoes I had sliced, then add some green beans to the water for about three minutes at the end of the process. I also sautéed green bell peppers. I put all of the warm vegetables into a large bowl and covered it loosely while I pulled the leftover chicken into suitably sized pieces.
To the warm vegetables I added salt, black pepper, some red wine vinegar, thinly sliced shallots, and olive oil. Finally, the chicken went in. That mixture was gently tossed, then tasted for seasoning. More salt. Plated it in a bowl, and topped with a few dollops of chèvre. Comforting, wonderful acid from the vinegar, crisp beans, and melting-sensation potatoes.
A light-golden hue in the glass: The 2023 Rhys Vineyards Mt. Pajaro Chenin Blanc has a lot going for it. (Brockhaus Images)
To the bottle of wine, which I paired with both dishes. It was a chenin blanc, from Rhys Vineyards, the 2023 to be exact, fruit from Mt. Pajaro Vineyard. This is a stellar example of domestic chenin blanc, full of gravelly minerality and ocean influence — Mt. Pajaro, about 8 miles from the Monterey Bay, is Rhys’ sole vineyard in the southern region of the Santa Cruz Mountains, and the soil profile of the 18-acre vineyard has had a profound effect on this wine. Brown and black shale and sandstone, plus shallow topsoil, have produced concentrated fruit and a wine with thrilling tension. The vineyard lies between 717 and 980 feet above sea level.
I am working on a longer, more in-depth piece on Rhys, because these wines are impressing me and they deserve attention.
The wine spent 12 months in oak — 100 percent neutral barrels — and six months in stainless steel; whole cluster was used. The clone here is 982, and Rhys farms .94 acres of chenin blanc in the vineyard, which is mainly planted to pinot noir and chardonnay. On the palate, I appreciated the combination of wet stone and paraffin, along with lemon and pear. You can find this wine for around $60, and I’d love to taste this vintage five years from now.
Mt. Pajaro Vineyard was planted by Rhys in 2014 and 2015. (Rhys Vineyards)
Here’s a look at a few other things I have cooked lately, including a banana bread into which I swirled a mixture of chocolate and peanut butter; picadillo tacos; two-egg pasta with a long-simmered Bolognese made of beef and pork; and king oyster mushrooms.
A bread made with five overripe bananas, sour cream, and a few eggs. (Brockhaus Images)
A touch of chocolate and peanut butter … (Brockhaus Images)
Sautéed corn, radish, Good Mother Stallard beans, and queso fresco are all here. (Brockhaus Images)
Flour, egg, and olive oil: pasta of irregular shape but wonderful texture. (Brockhaus Images)
Beef and pork a good Bolognese make. (Brockhaus Images)
I found these at a local Asian grocer. (Brockhaus Images)
Score the mushrooms and the sauce permeates them in grand manner. (Brockhaus Images)
There’s something to be said for a winemaker’s long tenure at one estate. It would be a fine thing to, season after season, become one with a vineyard, with its vines and insects and rows and birds and microclimates. Don Schroeder, the winemaker at Sea Smoke, has been at the estate since 2003, and he knows every square inch of it.
I met Schroeder recently in Los Angeles at a Sea Smoke lunch tasting. The wines were very good, and I enjoyed speaking with him about his experiences in Alaska (we both once lived there), his education, his family, and his enthusiasm for Alsace, which I share. We also, of course, talked about the wines he makes.
Schroeder is the subject of the latest “Wine Talk,” which you can read here.
The Sea Smoke Estate shares an intimate relationship with the Pacific Ocean. (Courtesy Sea Smoke)
It was 1976, and a little thing we call The Judgement of Paris took place that year. In short, American wines largely bested their Gallic counterparts in the tasting, as determined by some fine French palates. The world noticed.
Chateau Montelena was one of the American producers involved in the tasting, and to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the auspicious event the estate is introducing a sparkling wine and a brandy in limited editions. These bottlings mark the first time that the estate has made a sparkling wine or a brandy.
The 2023 Blanc de Blanc and Brandy Release #01 go on sale today, July 3 (the brandy is available in California only). The wine is $125 for Chateau Montelena wine club members and $150 for everyone else, while the brandy sells for $75 (members) and $95 for non-members.
“The Blanc de Blancs and the brandy both trace back to the same ground that produced the 1973 Chardonnay,” said Matthew Crafton, president and winemaker at Chateau Montelena. “They aren’t recreations of that wine, nothing could be, but they are honest expressions of the same vineyards, approached with the curiosity and discipline that have always defined Montelena.”
Matthew Crafton, president and winemaker at Chateau Montelena, sits with some bottles at the estate. (Brockhaus Photography)
The sparkling wine’s fruit — 100 percent chardonnay — comes from Napa Valley’s John Muir Hanna Vineyard, which played a pivotal role in the 1973 Chateau Montelena selection that finished on top in the chardonnay category at The Judgement of Paris. The brandy was distilled from fruit (all chardonnay) harvested from the John Muir Hanna, Belle Terre, and Bacigalupi vineyards, the three sites that provided grapes for the famed 1973 vintage. Montelena plans to release nine additional bottlings of brandy over time.
Speaking of the Spirit of 1976, Montelena put together a great kit for the sparkling wine and brandy that includes a bottle of each, along with all of the ingredients needed for the Montelena 76, a cocktail I am looking forward to try.
In honor of a grand occasion and a storied cocktail. (Brockhaus Photography)
If you want to get a bottle of the sparkling wine, click here beginning on July 3. As noted, the brandy is for the moment available solely in California — contact the winery for information on that.
Evan White is the star of the latest “Wine Talk,” and he got his start in the hospitality industry at one of my favorite restaurants in Manhattan. That would be Babbo.
White now resides in Houston, Texas, and he’s the wine director for the Bludorn Hospitality Group, for he which oversees a number of wine lists and beverage programs. I liked hearing his take on problematic customers, and share his enthusiasm about pairing wines with Vietnamese cuisine. Wait until you hear what he says is the best cabernet sauvignon made in the United States.
Bludorn occupies one of my favorite spaces in Houston. (Julie Soefer photo)
The latest “Wine Talk” is here, and this one is heavy on pinot noir. Specifically, pinot noir from California. Adam Lee, of Siduri fame, opens up about his journey from Austin, Texas, to making wine with his former wife, Dianne Novy, in California, to founding his current main project, Clarice Wine Company.
Along the way Lee debated alcohol levels with Rajat Parr, surprised Robert Parker with some wine left with Meadowood’s concierge, and made myriad outstanding wines. He’s still making them.
I enjoyed speaking with Lee, and his background and story are fascinating. He majored in French History, knows a lot about the French penal system, and has managed to maintain a passion and enthusiasm for wine for decades now. That’s a good thing.
An event I rate highly is right around the corner. It’s the Festival of Undiscovered Grapes, and it takes place this year on March 28 in Los Angeles, directly on the heels of the inaugural San Jose edition of the event. (This year I am offering readers a few discounts on tickets to the festival, so read on.)
More than 60 wineries from California will be pouring everything from clairette blanche, bourboulenc, counoise, xarelo.lo, fiano … Wait, what is that I hear from some of my readers? What is bourboulenc, you ask, and fiano? Pouring what? Well, for those who are unfamiliar with those grapes, that is, in a nutshell, the focus of this event: to highlight lesser-known varieties and introduce them to more people.
Rob Sinton, who along with his father, Tom Sinton, owns Starfield Vineyards, is returning to the festival this year. (Sandoval Media)
Nine varieties — chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, pinot noir, zinfandel, syrah, and petit sirah — comprise 93 percent of total wine grape plantings in California. However, 110-plus varieties are planted in the state, which means an abundance of other wine grapes are looking for attention and love. No, those other grapes are not literally “undiscovered,” but they are unknown to and underappreciated by many people, something the Festival of Undiscovered Grapes hopes to rectify.
Kevin Lee, co-owner of Marchelle Wines, greets a taster at last year’s festival. (Sandoval Media)
“It’s exciting to understand and appreciate the vastness of the wine world in California, and this is an event that you’ll want to come to with an open mind and have fun discovering things,” says Allison Levine, the event’s founder. “We’ll have more than 70 great varieties being poured.”
Tablas Creek Vineyard will be back at the festival this year. (Sandoval Media)
Levine owns Please the Palate, a marketing, branding, events, and education firm focused on wine and spirits. She’s also a friend of mine, a fact that in no way biases my assessment of The Festival of Undiscovered Grapes. This year’s Undiscovered will be my third — I was unable to make it to the San Jose premiere edition — and the first two were among the best wine events I’ve experienced. Smaller producers are given the opportunity to shine, and I love that attendees can meet and talk with them one on one. There are some outstanding people behind these wines, and I never tire of speaking with them.
Allison Levine, founder of The Festival of Undiscovered Grapes, toasts attendees at the 2025 event in Los Angeles. (Sandoval Media)
Of course, one of the main reasons to attend a wine tasting is to sample as many wines as one can. To do so in an efficient and responsible manner, be sure that you carry a spit cup, drink lots of water, and eat something — food will be available for sale at the festival. Finally, consider using rideshare
Rebekah Wineburg, winemaker and co-owner of Post & Vine, helms her table at the 2025 Festival of Undiscovered Grapes. (Sandoval Media)
Another reason to attend an event such as Undiscovered is that you can purchase wines from myriad producers in one place. What makes Levine’s event special is that there are no minimums: You can pick up a case or two of a particular wine, or mix and match without restriction, or you can buy a single bottle and call it a day. There is no pressure, and no complicated details. In addition — and this is a big deal — if you purchase 12 bottles or more and reside 60 miles or closer to the event venue delivery will be free.
Larry Schaffer, Tercero Wines owner and winemaker, pours at the 2025 Festival of Undiscovered Grapes in Los Angeles. (Sandoval Media)
You’ll need a ticket to attend, of course, and I recommend getting VIP passes, because the $125 price gives you a lot, including noon admission (as opposed to 2 p.m. for general admission tickets), a pre-tasting discussion on Lodi wines with Stuart Spencer, executive director of the Lodi Winegrape Commission, and David Glancy, a master sommelier and instructor at the San Francisco Wine School, free delivery of any wines you order at the event with no minium requirement, a ticket for one food item, an Undiscovered Grapes T-shirt, and, last but not least, a Festival Passport, which includes offers from participating wineries and sponsors such as free tastings and tours, special experiences, and discounts.
Attendees at the 2025 edition of The Festival of Undiscovered Grapes. (Sandoval Media)
As promised, and because I want to see as many of you on March 28 at the festival as possible, here are some discount offers for tickets to the festival. First, for those planning to go solo, click BROCKHAUS10 to get $10 off any ticket (VIP or GA). Going with a friend or partner? Click BROCKHAUSBUNDLE to save $30 on two tickets.
DETAILS The Festival of Undiscovered Grapes Saturday, March 28 Mica Studios 356 South Mission Road Los Angeles, CA 90033 Click here for map 12:00 p.m.: VIP Entrance 2:00 p.m.: General Admission 5:00 p.m.: Event ends VIP: $125 plus Humantix fee GA: $75 plus Humantix fee
One should not judge a bottle of wine by its label. To begin, aesthetics are for the most part subjective. A cute kitten on a label might appeal to you, while your partner finds it sappy and not suitable. However, labels are not to be overlooked or disregarded.
At the basic level, one can learn the specifics of a wine, say, a riesling or Champagne, by reading the label. Trocken? Demi-sec? Monopole? There you go. Labels are also — or can be — art. They can espouse a philosophy or viewpoint, and they can represent a family or region. They can do and be all of those things. Don’t buy a wine based solely on its label (but if you choose to do that I will not shame you), but do keep in mind that the label is there for a reason.
I recently received a four-bottle shipment from Cadre Wines, and the labels are beautiful. Some might even say they constitute art. Again, that can be subjective, but I love these labels. And there’s a bonus here, because the wines are also lovely, and each is one you’ll want to pair with food. (Which brings up another topic: I am a firm believer that wine should always, or mostly always, be enjoyed with food, but some wines go better with food than do others.)
Three white wines from the San Luis Obispo Coast. (Cadre Wines)
The couple behind Cadre, John and Lucy Niven, are no strangers to the wine world. John’s grandfather, Jack Niven, was a San Luis Obispo luminary and is referred to by many as the pioneer of the Edna Valley. In 1973 he established Paragon Vineyard, which is the oldest continually producing property in the Edna Valley. The family sold Paragon and Niven Family Wines in 2020; John and Lucy founded Cadre Wines the same year and source fruit from the vineyard.
Lucy and John Niven took out a second mortgage to launch Cadre Wines.
John Niven is a third-generation vintner, and one can taste his experience in these wines, all of which are fermented and aged solely in stainless steel, have screw cap closures, and retail for a suggested price of $30.
Here is the Cadre lineup I sampled: 2024 “Stone Blossom” Sauvignon Blanc 2024 “Sea Queen” Albariño 2024 “Band of Stones” Grüner Veltliner 2024 “Beautiful Stranger” White Blend
I recently participated in a virtual tasting hosted by John Niven, and he led us through the four bottles after sharing the story of his family’s history in the wine business. A few nights earlier I had opened the grüner veltliner with friends while dining at an Ethiopian restaurant, and it was perfect with the vegan cuisine (lentils, cabbage, carrots, potatoes); the grüner’s fruit is the product of the first coastal planting of the variety in California, which dates to the late 2000s. The three other wines I first tasted during the virtual session. The word “crisp” could be used frequently in this piece, because these wines demonstrate that characteristic in abundance. Cool-climate white wines is the key phrase here, and Niven has made some stellar examples.
Try this with a curry dish.
The “Band of Stones” veltliner comes mainly from block 168 of Paragon Vineyard, a plot marked by well-draining soils containing limestone, sandstone, shale, and mudstone, all playing their roles in the wine’s sharp and complex texture. I loved the structured depth here, which certainly is influenced by fruit from Jack Ranch Vineyard, a steep, sandy property located at the northwest edge of the San Luis Obispo Coast AVA. The typical white pepper and floral aromas are lively here, as is a minerality melded with flavors of white pepper, citrus, and a note of ginger. Pair with curry dishes, grilled asparagus (yes, try it), or chicken schnitzel.
A wine influenced by the sea.
I like cool-climate sauvignon blanc, and Cadre’s “Stone Blossom” is an impressive one. It’s 100 percent sauvignon blanc (Clone 1, Musqué, and ENTAV Clone 530) from the Paragon and Salaal vineyards. Profound salinity was my initial impression, both on the nose and palate. Paragon Vineyard is about 5 miles from the ocean, and the maritime influence is strong in this wine. If you like sauvignon blanc, this is for you, and if you think you don’t like sauvignon blanc, please try this one. Aromas of Persian cucumber, lime, and soft coriander, followed by that salinity, mimosa, melon, and a bright herbaceous note, primarily tarragon and basil. I’d love to pair this with a meal of poached and grilled artichokes followed by a chicken and goat cheese salad.
Cadre’s 2024 “Sea Queen” has an interesting backstory that involves a relationship with Rías Baixas and the Morgadío Estate. In 2007, Niven journeyed to the region in Spain, which is considered the birthplace of albariño. He tasted a lot of wines and talked with as many winemakers and growers.
“We came back energized and knew immediately that Edna Valley could produce albariño to rival anything in Europe,” he said. Niven then procured cuttings from California growers whose vines had come from Morgadío, arguably Spain’s top source of albariño, and planted 45 acres in Paragon Vineyard, what he terms “the most ambitious albariño planting outside of the Iberian Peninsula.”
Cuttings from Spain resulted in this bottle.
Referring to similarities between the Spanish region and the San Luis Obispo Coast, Niven added: “Much of California’s albariño is grown in warmer inland regions. Our vineyards lie just 2 to 5 miles from the Pacific, shaped by the ocean in ways that echo the Atlantic influence in Spain’s Rías Baixas. Albariño is most at home by the sea. The cool breezes, fog, and maritime moderation allow it to fully express vibrant acidity, lifted aromatics, and salty mineral character indigenous to this stretch of California coastline. I believe the San Luis Obispo Coast is the New World home of albariño.”
Paragon Vineyard was established in 1973.
The “Sea Queen” is made with fruit from Paragon (block 163) and Morro View Vineyard, and this wine is one of the best examples of albariño I’ve had in a while. I’m going directly to the food pairing here, because if you have grilled shrimp (with garlic and parsley) on your mind do not hesitate to open this bottle when you sit at the table with your shellfish. I closed the bottle after the virtual tasting session and enjoyed it immensely with that very dish the next day. As with the Cadre sauvignon blanc, one can smell and taste the sea in this acid-driven wine, along with captivating aromas of peach and citrus and flavors of stone fruit, most notably apricot and muted nectarine.
Three things come together for one great bottle here.
The final Cadre bottle I tasted was the “Beautiful Stranger,” a blend of 60 percent grüner veltliner, 30 percent sauvignon blanc, and 10 percent albariño. Fruit from Paragon and Salaal vineyards is used here, and tasting this one after the other Cadre bottles was a revelation. I could, by focusing on them, discern the individual components, and the interplay between the three was magical. The aromatics of the albariño, the concise minerality of the grüner veltliner, and the sauvignon blanc’s herbaceousness combine for something complex yet approachable. I have no doubt this would pair well with roast chicken, as well as with pasta al limone.
Cadre also has an Ode series, which includes “Ode to the Few,” a sauvignon blanc, and “Ode to the Sea,” an albariño. Both retail for $45. The former’s fruit comes from a single block marked by volcanic soil rich with iron, while the latter’s is sourced from Spanish Springs Vineyard, which lies 2 miles from the Pacific. I look forward to tasting these wines; you can purchase all of them here, or ask for Cadre at your favorite merchant.
My next tasting session will feature wines made from traditional Italian grapes — carricante, nerello mascalese, and nebbiolo —grown in Northern Sonoma County.
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