Sicily

World's Most Radical Natural Wine Now Available in Houston

Ever since the New York Times first reported on the radically Natural wines of Mt. Etna, Sicily producer Frank Cornelissen in 2009, the wines have captivated the attention of Natural wine writers, enthusiasts and detractors across the United States. To my knowledge, the wines have never been availa ... More >>

Upcoming Events: Punch Parties and Greek Eats

Can you believe it's been nearly 50 years since the first Greek Festival in Houston? Here we are on the 46th anniversary of the beloved festival, and it's bigger and better this year than ever -- but it's still only $5 at the gate, with kids getting in for free. The festival actually started yester ... More >>

Nundini: Straight from the Old Country

Italian kitchen, still lacking its sea legs, shows real promise.

1981 and Now

The Top 12 Texas Junk Foods.

The Top 5 Wines for Summer

One of the things I love the most about summers in Texas is pool parties. When the heat is on, we tend to congregate with our friends around the pool, the grill, and our favorite wines. There's no better time -- in my experience -- to break out all those under-$25, easy-drinking, low-alcohol wines t ... More >>

Today's Cover Story on the Texas Wine Industry

See our slideshow of Texas wines and wineries. The cover story for this week's issue of the paper, coming out online this afternoon, is an article on the Texas wine industry by my colleague Katharine Shilcutt and me. In the piece, we take a hard look at the challenges that Texas winemakers face. ... More >>

Wine Time: A Favorite Wine for Easter Lamb

When it comes to pairing wine with food, we live by two maxims at our house. 1. If it grows with it, it goes with it. (Motto attributed to the great New York restaurateur Danny Meyer.) Look to traditional pairings as rules-of-thumb. For example, the inhabitants of the western coast of France famo ... More >>

Wine Time: What To Do When Fine Wine Service Is Really Bad?

Historically, a sommelier was a cellar master who managed a wine collection. He -- and I say he because in the pre-sexual-revolution era, the sommelier was always male -- tracked and tallied the sums of wine (originally stored in cask and later in bottle). Today, the word is used loosely to denot ... More >>

St. Joseph Altar Is A Tasty New Orleans Catholic Tradition With Italian Roots

This past weekend and Monday, March 19, Southern Catholics gathered to celebrate the feast day of St. Joseph, aka San Giuseppe, the patron saint of fathers, workers, families and the Sicilian people, among others. Sicilian immigrants first brought the custom of St. Joseph's Altars to south Louisiana ... More >>

Wine Time: A Natural Sicilian in Houston

If you've been following along here at Wine Time, then you certainly know a thing or two about Natural wine and the often heated debate in the U.S. about exactly what Natural wine is, who makes true Natural wine, and who's allowed to write about Natural wine (it's a good thing that the self-appointe ... More >>

Wine of the Week: Who Needs Another Merlot When You Have Cerasuolo di Vittoria?

Did the world really need another Merlot and Chardonnay in 1995? Evidently, the Planeta family thought so, and when the younger generation of this Sicilian clan launched the eponymous winery in the mid-1990s, they delivered bold, oaky, concentrated, and highly alcoholic Chardonnay, Merlot, and Syrah ... More >>

Odd Pair: Sushi and Wine (a Preview of Uchi's Wine List)

There's a lot riding on the launch of the new Uchi in Houston. Tyson Cole's Austin outposts -- Uchi and Uchiko -- stand apart as "destination" restaurants in Texas, venues that have attained national recognition in part because of Cole's success as a competitive chef on television and in part becau ... More >>

Odd Pair: Asparagus and Wine

Today we think of asparagus as one of the standard vegetable side dishes in the contemporary canon of American gastronomy. But in another era, asparagus was considered one of the world's greatest delicacies: The insatiable King Louis XIV built greenhouses so that he could eat asparagus all year rou ... 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 >>

The Eight Toughest Soldiers Texas Ever Produced (Featuring Heroism, Betrayal & Many Dead Bodies)

Audie Murphy, starring in the story of his own life​Our war heroes are presented to us in different varieties. There are those we create for ourselves, in the mold of what we think a hero should be: David Crockett (nobody but Walt Disney called him Davey), astride the ramparts at the Alamo goi ... More >>

Odd Pair: Top 5 Wines to Pair with Pizza

​Above: "Pizza al Trancio" (Pizza by the Slice) in Rome, paired with Coca Cola. Here in the U.S., we don't think of it as an "odd pair." But in Italy, homeland of pizza and a country where wine is considered an essential element of healthy dining, pizza and wine are rarely if ever paired. Do ... 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 >>

Wine Tip: How to Open a Bottle with Wax Seal

​An old-school wax seal (closure) on a bottle can be intimidating -- even for experienced wine professionals. Very few bottlers still use a wax seal and of the few that do, many have converted to faux wax seals that are actually very easy to remove. (For one type of faux wax seal, there is a ... More >>

Odd Pair: Fish and Red Wine

​Whenever I am faced with a conundrum like the age-old question of whether or not it is imperative to pair white wine exclusively with fish, I look to antiquity. Indeed, in more cases than not, the ancients were much wiser and more well informed than we are. And as I pore over (excuse the p ... More >>

Chef Chat, Part 3: Renato De Pirro of Ristorante Cavour

Photo by Matthew DresdenSicilian smoked swordfish and eggplant involtini. Note the Sichuan peppercorn "sea foam" on top.​After our energetic and wide-ranging discussion (covered in Chef Chat, Parts One and Two), Chef De Pirro brought out a few of Ristorante Cavour's representative dishes, each ... More >>

Tasting Notes: This Week in Wine Blogs

​This is the first of a series of wine blog roundups. Know a blog we should be paying particular attention to? Leave the address in the comments section below. Wine Camp: Craig Camp out on the west coast is always at the top of our Google reader feed. This week he ponders the nature of wine c ... More >>

Arancini at Union Kitchen

Great balls of fire

Wine of the Week: Cusumano Nero D'avola 2008

​After tasting a rare, white Vallone Nero d'Avola at Caffe Bello, it was time to try its more common counterpart, the red. Nero d'Avola is also known as Calabrese, and according to www.winecountry.it, it is the "most important red grape in Sicily." With flavors of blackberry, plum, chocolate ... More >>

Pasta Ammuddicata: And You Thought You Hated Anchovies

​One of the things that helped me get through the week of eating on $20 like a breeze was making a meal plan and sticking to it. Seriously, this $20 thing wasn't even a challenge. Next time, I'm eating only out of what I have in my pantry and freezer for a week. And that's where this recipe w ... More >>

Celestial Sandwiches - Day One

Fried egg sandwich at Avalon​Since picnic season is upon us, we've got sandwiches on the brain. Sandwiches, we feel, are nature's perfect food. You can eat them on the go, pack them up for school lunches, or fancy 'em up for company. They work for vegetarians, pescatarians, and carnivores alik ... More >>

Dish: Mancuso's Italian Table

Texas Traveler: Pignataro Castle

Photos by Mr. Kimberly​Most people haven't even heard of Santa Fe, TX, so you wouldn't expect them to know that there was a real life castle in the small community. It's one of about 30 castles in Texas, the closest one to Houston, and its origins are a bit of a mystery. The house is on High ... More >>

Fall Wine Tasting at Simposio Ristorante

​In 2007, Vasco Luti, owner of Simposio Ristorante, opened the restaurant's new location in an unlikely shopping center at the corner of Westheimer and Dunvale. Historically, this native Tuscan focused on Northern Italian cuisine, but last night, Simposio debuted some new wines and Southern It ... More >>

Barker Cypress Poor Boy

Would you drive to Cypress for an enormous roast beef poor boy at Mama's Cajun Cuisine?

Andrea Ristorante Italiano and Corleone Bar and Grill

All In The Family

Dominic Mandola

Panettone in a Pear Tree

Carlo Molinaro reminisces about Italian holiday traditions

Pasta Perfect

At Fabio's, the atmosphere and the Alfredo sauce are old clichés. But so is "Mom's apple pie," and it's still good.

Don't Mess with the Family

Lunch with Michael May

Truck-Stop Italian

Big Humphrey's serves up all the comforts of home - assuming home is a double-wide

Back to the Classics