Alcoholic Beverage Manufacturing

Hello Budweiser American Ale

75 Years of Beer

Raise a glass and toast the 75th anniversary of the day that Texas ratified the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution repealing Prohibition. Although the national repeal of Prohibition did not become final until December 5, 1933, the beer industry salutes Texas on November 24th for bringing us ... More >>

Recession Thanksgiving Tip: Drink Beer Instead of Wine

Airline travel is down, grocery stores are giving away free turkeys to get customers in the door, and everybody is looking for ways to economize this Thanksgiving. But before you decide to save money by buying a jug of Riunite instead of an expensive wine, consider serving your guests American cra ... More >>

Alcohol-Free Wine: Poorly Conceived Dreck

Sutter Home Winery is a reasonably credible wine maker. Sure, to some people they may be one step up from Two Buck Chuck, but you have to think the wine makers at Sutter Home retain some shred of pride and dignity.Or not.

Beer Wars

Ben Stein leads a live world-premiere screening and discussion on American suds

Texas Wants Beer: Change This Law!

Ben Stein leads a live world-premiere screening and discussion on American suds

Texas Wants Beer!

Our state is the top beer market in the country, so why are we falling behind in the microbrewery movement?

5 Wines That'll Blow Your Mind

Our state is the top beer market in the country, so why are we falling behind in the microbrewery movement?

Drink and Walk

Our state is the top beer market in the country, so why are we falling behind in the microbrewery movement?

Getting Stomped

Texas boasts the soil, the climate and the grapes for a strong wine industry. So what stands in its way? Bad taste and politicians.

Uncorking a Bargain

A champagne buyer's guide

Texas Traveler: Bluebonnet Wine Trail

While in Navasota lovin' on some alpacas, Texas Traveler had a hankerin' thirst. So we got on our trusty iPhone and found the closest winery, a funky l'il shack called the Purple Possum Winery. While in the air-conditioned comfort of the Purple Possum's tasting room, we met a lovely couple we'd se ... More >>

Japanese Chardonnay: The New Frontier?

Photo by Katharine ShilcuttWhile in Chinatown browsing the aisles at Hong Kong City Mall's grocery store, Hong Kong Market, last weekend, I ran across something interesting among the hundreds of bottles of sake: Japanese Chardonnay and Merlot, made by Chateau Mercian. It's highly possible tha ... More >>

Snackshot: The Lone Star State

This week's old school Snackshot comes to us courtesy of Samantha Bales and the good folks at Lone Star Beer. From the photographer's description: "peace. love. & lone star."

Joe Lopez Is Ready for White Linen Night

​Joe Lopez says he used to have an inferiority complex. That's hard to believe when you consider that the now outspoken San Antonio-based artist took on the Gallo wine company -- and won! Gallo in English is a family surname. Gallo is Spanish means rooster. Lopez found the rooster image a strong c ... More >>

Wine of the Week: Israeli Wine

​The other Saturday, we went to a wine tasting at Block 7 devoted to Israeli wines. We hadn't really heard of Israeli wines but were assured that we would love them. A few glasses later, we were hooked. We even took a few bottles home, and it wasn't in an alcohol-induced shopping frenzy. In ... More >>

$50-Plus Wine for $10 (And How the Hell This Is Possible)

​A friend called about a week ago.  She excitedly relayed the details of a Cameron Hughes Wine presentation she had seen at Costco that afternoon. My reply: "That sounds great, but I think you're leaving something out. There is just no way this guy is buying up someone else's high-priced fin ... More >>

We're Buzzed About Houston Beer Week

foshydog​From October 11 to 17, local taprooms, eateries, breweries and beer aficionados will join forces to pay homage to all the creative combinations of hops, malt, yeast and water - better known as beer. The first ever Houston Beer Week will be eight days of beer magic taking place in Hous ... More >>

Raise Your Glass to Texas Wine History

​The last few years I had the opportunity to live in both San Francisco and Napa Valley and work in the thriving California wine industry. Overall it was a very enriching experience; I learned a lot about the micro-climates that dictate Northern California's growing seasons, met some notable w ... More >>

Top It Off

Petrol Station gives Garden Oaks full-service charm.

Vintners Own Winery: Wine (in a Freaking Keg!) in the Heights

Happiness is eight different wines on tap.​I called my most wine-savvy friend upon receiving the invitation to the event. "Did you know there's a freaking winery in the Heights, just a few blocks from your house?" This was followed by a string of expletives (apparently she was not aware). I co ... More >>

An Afternoon of Free Wine at Archway

Photo by CrosslersAn example of home winemaking supplies.​Take a late lunch tomorrow, if you can. And maybe bring along a designated driver. Archway Gallery (2305 Dunlavy, 713-522-2409) is hosting an afternoon of free wine in its Montrose space, and this isn't your typical gallery showing. Fr ... More >>

Made in Texas

Think all bourbon comes from Kentucky? Think again.

Pierre Celis, Brewer of Hoegaarden and Celis Beer, Dead at 86

Flickr user wolfworld​Pierre Celis, the "King of Belgian White Beer", died over the weekend. He was 86. In spite of several unfavorable transactions with major brewing companies, Celis is widely considered one of the forbearers of the craft-brewing movement in America. His self-named brewery ... More >>

Wine of the Week: Truchard 2007 Carneros Pinot Noir

At $11 by the glass, the Truchard 2007 Carneros Pinot Noir is a great value from one of California's most famous winemakers.

Brew Blog: Texas Beer Fest

​Despite having some really terrible beer laws, Texas has some really great beer. While efforts are currently underway to change the law, we don't have to wait to get our hands on some wonderful brews. Not only are there many bars around town serving up Lone Star libations, we now have the Tex ... More >>

Wine of the Week: Righting the Wrong of Rosé

​Remember the "pink" and "blush" wines from the 1970s, like the one pictured right? They were mass-produced and mass-marketed blends of white and red grapes with high alcohol content (and often with added sugar) intended for the swinging cocktail set of the era. And while we all had a grand t ... More >>

Odd Pair: Carne Asada Tampiqueña and Nebbiolo

​On paper, this pairing breaks every rule of Wine 101. The heat of this dish -- the spiciness of both the marinade for the beef and the mole -- would overwhelm nearly any fine wine. The classic match would be ice-cold, dry beer served in an iced pony glass (perhaps even with a twist of lemon) ... More >>

Wine of the Week: "Oaky May Be Bad, but Oak Is Good."

​If you're anywhere between 21 and 51 years of age (I'll be 44 next month), you were brought up with the notion that oak flavors were a sign of a fine wine. Back in the 1970s, when huge investment in the Californian wine industry began to take shape, the dudes in charge -- think Gallo and Mo ... More >>

AB InBev Trademarking Our Area Code for Crappy Beer

Filling a stein with Budweiser is tantamount to filling a Riedel glass with Boone's Farm, just FYI.​Anheuser-Busch is counting on civic pride to make its next product a smash seller: beer named after America's various beer-drinking cities, based on their area codes. To that end, AB has alread ... More >>

Zelko Bistro Puts Female Winemakers and Craft Beer Front and Center

Photo by Tam VoChef Jamie Zelko.​Zelko Bistro, although it's only been open for less than two years, has already garnered a reputation for its wine list: Aggressively priced, the list offers an excellent selection of wines between $28 and $46 a bottle. Chef and owner Jamie Zelko wanted it that ... More >>

Open the Taps: Houston Lobbies for Statewide Access to Better Beer

Will you support the cause?​It's one thing to sit and complain about the wretched restrictions the State of Texas has placed on the sale and distribution of craft beer. It's quite another to actually do something about it. And because Houston is a city of do-ers, five Houston craft beer lovers ... More >>

Wine of the Week: Orange Wine (Yes, Orange)

​White wine, rosé wine, red wine, orange wine... Orange wine? Qu'est-ce que c'est? No, it's not a wine concocted by Longhorn fans. (They call UT the orange tide? Call me Deacon Blue Nun). Orange wine is a loosely codified category of winemaking and winemakers who macerate the juice obtained ... More >>

Wine of the Week: Texas Blanc du Bois

​Above: Blanc du Bois grapes from the 2010 harvest at the Cruz de Comal Winery in the Texas Hill Country. To tell the story of winemaking in Texas today, we need to start with what happened in California back in the 1970s and the way wine has been marketed historically in the U.S. When I was ... More >>

Tasting Notes: This Week in Wine Blogs

Know a Houston-based blog we should be paying particular attention to? Leave the address in the comments section below. ​TweetChat #TXWine: If you've been following along here at Wine Time, you know that Texas wines have been on our minds. We found out about the TweetChat #TXWines thanks to t ... More >>

Spec’s Second Annual Brewmasters Craft Beer Festival

Know a Houston-based blog we should be paying particular attention to? Leave the address in the comments section below. ​TweetChat #TXWine: If you've been following along here at Wine Time, you know that Texas wines have been on our minds. We found out about the TweetChat #TXWines thanks to t ... More >>

Wine of the Week: A Rosé from the Texas Hill Country

​The more I read about Texas Hill Country winemaker and San Antonio endocrinologist Richard Becker, the more I am intrigued. Any doctor-cum-vintner who quotes readily from one of my favorite 20th-century American poets, Wallace Stevens, sounds like someone who puts more thought into the art an ... More >>

Beer & Brass

​The more I read about Texas Hill Country winemaker and San Antonio endocrinologist Richard Becker, the more I am intrigued. Any doctor-cum-vintner who quotes readily from one of my favorite 20th-century American poets, Wallace Stevens, sounds like someone who puts more thought into the art an ... More >>

Wine of the Week: Another Oaky Buttery Chardonnay

Photo by Jeremy Parzen.The marketing campaign by Educated Guess wines is one of the most successful in recent history.​Yesterday, after arriving at the Newark, NJ airport from Milan, Italy (where I admired a statue of Leonardo da Vinci across from the famous Scala opera house), I headed straig ... More >>

Odd Pair: Wine and Legs (or Tears That Rhyme with Ears)

Photos by Jeremy Parzen.The legs of 2005 Langhe Nebbiolo Sperss by Gaja (Piedmont, Italy), tasted this week in Houston.​How many times have you been at a dinner party and heard some blowhard say something like the following (uttered with a fake British accent): Observe carefully: After swirli ... More >>

Natalie MacLean's Unquenchable Search for the Best Cheap Wines

​To research her new book Unquenchable: A Tipsy Quest for the World's Best Bargain Wines, Natalie MacLean traveled to wineries in eight countries including Australia and Italy over a five-year period. Each chapter in Unquenchable pairs a wine with a day of the week and a meal. While the book ... More >>

Wine of the Week: A Wine with "No Detectable Sulfites"

Photos by Jeremy Parzen.The Madoff segment on last night's 60 Minutes was made more palatable by a tasting of the utterly transparent Frey Vineyard's "Natural Red."​One of the chief complaints often expressed by advocates, champions, and militants of Natural wine (with a capital N) is that ove ... More >>

Wine Time: Wine and Sulfur Dioxide

Image via HomeBrewers.com.No, that's not cocaine. It's potassium metabisulfite, one of the many forms of sulfites employed by winemakers for a variety of purposes.​A post earlier this week ("Wine of the Week: A Wine with No Detectable Sulfites") inspired a lot of acidic (pun intended) discussi ... More >>

Wine of the Week: An "Old Vine" Zinfandel from California (Where Else?)

Photo by Jeremy Parzen.The "Old Vine" Zinfandel by Bogle showed judicious restraint in its alcohol content and concentration.​What does the designation "old vine" mean, anyway? And how did it come to be a "brand name" for California wines in the 2000s? Vine age is a key element in the qualit ... More >>

What Do Wine and Saddles Have In Common? The Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo

​Over the course of a weekend, volunteers with the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo wash 20,000 wine glasses in two days. It's just one of the staggering statistics behind the annual International Wine Competition, the contest that leads to the Rodeo Uncorked! Wine Show and to a few lucky wineri ... More >>

Absurdity of Texas Wine Shipping Law Reaches New Heights

Photo by Jeremy Parzen.Castell'in Villa Chianti Classico is one of the greatest values in Italian wine today, but out-of-state retailers can't ship it to me in Texas... at least not legally.​On Friday, one of the most bizarre press releases I've ever read found its way to my inbox. "The Texas ... More >>

Wine of the Week: 2000 Valpolicella by Giuseppe Quintarelli

Photo by Jeremy Parzen.Giuseppe Quintarelli, one of the greatest winemakers of our lifetime, passed away on Sunday in the Valpolicella, Italy. He was 84.​From the tiny village of Negrar in the picturesque Valpolicella (Veneto, Italy) to the upper reaches of the One-Percenter wine collectors in ... More >>

Must Like Texas Wine: The Wine Slinger Chronicles, a New Guide to Texas Wines

Photo by Jeremy ParzenLeading Texas wine authority Russ Kane (left) and his wife Delia love meatballs. That's Russ with Coppa executive chef Brandi Key. Russ has called Brandi's meatballs "the best in town."​It seems inevitable that the authors of the two guides to the wines of Texas have name ... More >>

The Natural Wine Debate Gets Ugly

Photo by Jeremy Parzen.Houstonian Lewis Dickson is the only Natural winemaker in Texas.​"Natural wine is wine to which nothing has been added," said the leading advocate of Natural wine in the U.S., Alice Feiring, when she visited Texas in October 2011 to promote her new book Naked Wine: Letti ... More >>

Wine of the Week: Natural Wine in Texas

Photos by Jeremy Parzen.Back in October 2010, I visited the sole Natural winemaker in Texas, Lewis Dickson (left), together with the leading Natural wine advocate in the U.S., Alice Feiring (right).​As we noted in last week's post on a new era of Nastiness and a call for civility in the Natura ... More >>