The wine list at Philippe Restaurant + Lounge is not the most expensive, nor does it try to impress you with big-name labels (though it offers those if you want them). What it does possess is character and a breadth of choices that marry seamlessly with Philippe Schmit's Texan-French cuisine, a credit to Sommelier Vanessa Treviño-Boyd, our 2012 Best Of winner in the Sommelier category. For certain, you'll find the wines of France well represented — Chassagne-Montrachet, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Burgundy and Bordeaux. But mixed in with those impeccably curated wines are the gems that you'll remember — an unassuming Bandol from Provence, a delightfully crisp Vouvray, a surprisingly amazing Txakolina from the Basque region of Spain — wines that you would never explore on your own but that, with expert guidance from Treviño-Boyd, leap to the top of your list of all-time favorites. The new by-the-glass offerings at Phil's Wine Lounge on the lower floor of the restaurant are also a force to be reckoned with. A Bordeaux from Pomerol for under $20 a glass? It's practically unheard-of, but it's de rigueur at Philippe.