Subject:

White Wine

  • Blogs

    April 24, 2013

    When Master Sommelier Bobby Stuckey Pours at Uchi, Houston's Top Sommeliers Listen

    Houston, is that a frico dropping? By my count, there were roughly forty of our city's top wine professionals in the room, all listening with rapt attention and relishing savory nuggets of wine wisdom imparted by Master Sommelier Bobby Stuckey (above). And I'm not talking benchwarmers. This was an ... More >>

  • Dining

    March 21, 2013

    So Delicious, a Caveman Could Eat It

    Paleo-friendly restaurant menus abound in Houston.

  • Blogs

    March 11, 2013

    Jordan, a California Chardonnay with Restraint

    A few years ago, a holiday weekend drive to Palm Springs from my native San Diego delivered me at the doorstep of Chardonnay Hills, an upscale homeowners association in Temecula. In this day and age, it's not surprising that a community would name itself after a grape. After all, ampelonyms (that's ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 9, 2012

    Pinot Grigio, I Love You Just the Way You Are

    "Italy's finest white wine," reads the copy in an advertisement for Pinot Grigio that appeared in an issue of New York published in November, 1980, "magnificently dry with a beautiful straw-like color, Cavit Pinot Grigio has opened to rave reviews from wine critics. If you love white wine, discover ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 2, 2012

    Cat Piss, Horse Sweat, Wet Dog, Barnyard (Unusual Wine Descriptors)

    One of the pet peeves at our house is gooseberries. No, not the berries themselves. But the people who use the descriptor gooseberry when writing a tasting note. As one wine blogger put it, "New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc's classic description is smelling like cats' pee on a gooseberry bush. If you g ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 24, 2012

    A California Chardonnay without Sin

    I just love that the good folks over at the Chamisal winery in the Central Coast of California call their entry-level Chardonnay "stainless." To anyone familiar with the science and art of winemaking, the term "stainless" denotes a commonly employed technique and associated style of vinification. B ... More >>

  • Blogs

    August 31, 2012

    Celebrity Wine: Tasting Notes for (Drew) Barrymore Pinot Grigio

    According to the Decordi winery's website, "the 2011 Barrymore Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie IGT is a dry and fruity wine made with grapes from the Veneto, Friuli and South Tyrol regions." The Decordi winemaking facility is located in Cremona (in the region of Lombardy), a two-hour drive -- minimum -- ... More >>

  • Dining

    August 30, 2012

    The Best Beer Labels

    The most iconic and creative on Texas shelves.

  • Blogs

    August 28, 2012

    Skin Contact Is How Wines Get (or Don't Get) Their Color

    Last week's post on our Pinot Grigio Nation reminded me of the first time I visited a winery, when I was 20 years old. I was a senior in college at U.C.L.A. (majoring in Italian), and I made a road trip to northern California with some European friends to visit the wine country. During a tour of the ... More >>

  • Blogs

    August 22, 2012

    Pinot Grigio Nation

    "Soon as we walk through the door," sang Mariah Carey in her 2008 hit, "Migrate," "Fellas be grabbin' at us like yo / Tryin' to get us going off the Patron / We sippin' Grigio... slow." These lines came to mind last night when the day's umpteenth press release caught my eye from an over-saturated i ... More >>

  • Dining

    August 16, 2012

    More Than Just Nolan Ryan

    5 food-related reasons to drive to Alvin.

  • Blogs

    August 9, 2012

    Wine Lost and Found in Translation with Sean Beck

    "The sommelier is there to 'translate' the wine" for the patron, says sommelier Sean Beck. Beck runs one of the city's most respected wine programs at Backstreet Café. "You're there to make the guests feel confident about their choice" of wine, he explains. In a city like petrochemical-based Houst ... More >>

  • Blogs

    August 6, 2012

    Life Before Pinot Grigio: A Favorite Pinot Gris from Oregon

    Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio from northern Italy changed everything. I'll never forget the first time I saw a bottle of the wine in a Southern Californian gourmet super market in the 1980s. The bottle was not the classic green but transparent (a stroke of marketing brilliance) and showed off the w ... More >>

  • Blogs

    August 1, 2012

    Gumbo and Half Bottle of Riesling for a Lonely Diner at Brennan's

    Yesterday evening, when I found myself in the peculiar predicament of having to dine alone, I decided to treat myself to a bowl of gumbo at the bar at Brennan's, a landmark where I still hadn't eaten after nearly four years in Texas. Beyond the social awkwardness, dining alone for a wine lover can ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 30, 2012

    Low-Alcohol Vermentino from California Makes Me Happy

    The winemakers behind Uvaggio Vermentino from Lodi have a theory. "If we grow the right grape in the right place," they write on their website, "we can manage to get by with our respective degrees in psychology and geography. (If one of us gets lost then other can figure out why.) However, when you ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 17, 2012

    A Shameless Plug for Finger Lakes Wines

    I'm no Jeremy Parzen, but I do know a little bit about wine. Growing up in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York, I took the proximity and availability of local wine (and a decent wine education) for granted. When I was 21, "wine trailing" was a cheap way to get drunk. Tastings only cost a b ... More >>

  • Dining

    July 5, 2012

    1981 and Now

    The Top 12 Texas Junk Foods.

  • Blogs

    June 25, 2012

    Like That Wine? Try This One: A Guide to Texas Wine Varietals

    In last week's cover story, we discussed the fact that Texas vineyards still stubbornly grow varietals that aren't suited to the Texan weather or soil -- well-known grapes such as Merlot, Cabernet and Chardonnay. But they're doing it for a reason: Too many wine drinkers don't want to stray from the ... More >>

  • Dining

    June 14, 2012

    Texas Wines: Behind the Cellar Door

    Not all the Texas wine you buy is made from grapes grown in our state. In fact, most of it isn’t.

  • Blogs

    June 4, 2012

    Aromatic White Wines for the Foods of Summer

    Salade niçoise is a favorite summer dish at our house (and I've already made it twice since Memorial Day). Its simple summer flavors, combined with chunky olive oil-cured tuna and gently hard-boiled eggs, make for a nearly perfect balance of lightness and substance. While Bandol rosé is always g ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 27, 2012

    Oyster Po' Boy with Remoulade: Only One Wine Will Do

    At our house, we're already cranking up the A/C and bracing for the Texas summer. But with the arrival of the heat also comes my favorite time of our yearly gastronomic cycle, when fried and grilled foods are guiltlessly consumed in mass quantities. Summertime holidays -- from Memorial Day to the ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 19, 2012

    Wine of the Week: Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Noir (Willamette)

    Of all the wine-growing regions in the U.S., none seems to make more sense to me than the Willamette Valley, Oregon (although the Finger Lakes in New York state comes in at a close second). When rich white dudes were inspired to plant French varieties in Napa like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Ch ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 5, 2012

    Wine of the Week: An Albariño That Really Delivered

    Some people tend to drink more red wine than white during winter. At our house, we tend to drink more white than red -- year round. And it's not because we have an issue with red wine. In fact, some of our best friends are red wines. On Saturday nights at home, when I might treat myself to a black ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 29, 2012

    Tasting Notes: This Week in Wine Blogs

    TX Wine Lover: As the still youthful Texas wine industry continues to grow and find its footing (shifting away from the California Chardonnay-Cabernet-Sauvignon-Merlot paradigm), a handful of European grape varieties (beyond the classics of Bordeaux and Burgundy) have emerged as winners. Their succe ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 20, 2012

    Wine of the Week: Chardonnay

    Photo by Tracie P.Although Chardonnay has become synonymous with "white wine" in North America, its true homeland is the Côte de Beaune in Burgundy, France, where it is grown and raised in some of its most celebrated expressions.​Chardonnay has been on our minds. Last week, our colleague Chr ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 17, 2012

    Odd Pair: Mile-High Wine

    Photos by Jeremy Parzen.​"What are my white wine choices?" I asked the other day after boarding one of the roughly 24 Southwest Airlines flights that I will take this year, as I commute monthly to work with one of my clients in California. "Chardonnay," answered the steward. "Is there more t ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 16, 2012

    Ingredient of the Week: Chardonnay

    Valentine's Day came and went. You cooked some fancy meal with your significant other, uncorked a bottle of wine, and then after dinner, fed each other bon bons by the fire. Okay, realistically, there was no fire because Houston just hasn't stayed cold this winter. But all the other parts really ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 9, 2011

    Odd Pair: Wine and Soup

    Photos by Jeremy Parzen.​Whether we're making Tuscan ribollita, Mexican tortilla soup, or French soupe à l'oignon, wine is always a key ingredient at our house (where there's always a spare cup of wine in the kitchen). And while the sugar is the main component of the wine that adds flavor to ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 2, 2011

    Odd Pair: Ice Cubes and Chardonnay (Water and Wine)

    Back in the 1990s, when a new awareness of fine wine began to emerge in the U.S., the combination of "ice cubes in your Chardonnay" became a sort of litmus test, a line in the sand dividing those who knew and appreciated fine wine and those who didn't. Even today, when we're invited for over for d ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 25, 2011

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    November 17, 2011

    10 Thanksgiving Wines (That We Actually Drink)

    Photos by Jeremy Parzen.Dolcetto can deliver character without overwhelming the palate or breaking the bank.​Yes, folks, it's that predictable time of year when everyone posts their Thanksgiving wine recommendations. Among the literally hundreds of blogs and feeds that I follow, one of my favo ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 2, 2011

    Tasting Notes: This Week in Wine Blogs

    Photo via @SanCrittenden.Houston wine blogger Sandra Crittenden.​Wine Thoughts: One of the things that we love about Sandra Crittenden's blog Wine Thoughts is how she seamlessly alternates between a big, boisterous Chilean red that she picked up at the Tasting Room for "approximately $100," an ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 18, 2011

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    October 6, 2011

    Tasting Notes: This Week in Wine Blogs

    Vintage Texas: Budget cuts by the Texas legislature have slashed funding for the promotion of Texas wines, reports Houston-based blogger and wine writer Russ Kane, author of the top Texas wine and winery blog, Vintage Texas. In an email sent to "partners" of the "Texas Wine Marketing Program" (and r ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 22, 2011

    Wine of the Week: $15 Is the New $10

    ​"What's your favorite wine for under $10?" If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me that question, I'd probably have about $15. When it comes to wine pricing, you'll often hear wine trade folks talk about "price points," in other words, a "maximum" price that allows us to categorize ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 9, 2011

    Odd Pair: Turkey Chili, Fritos, French's, and Demi-Sec Vouvray

    ​Labor Day weekend found us in Orange, Texas, visiting with Tracie P's parents and family. Following our nephew Brady's football game, Mrs. B -- my mother-in-law -- had a lot of hungry mouths to feed on a rainy East Texas evening, including her three grandchildren, a six-months pregnant daught ... More >>

  • Blogs

    June 17, 2011

    Odd Pair: Zucchini Blossoms and Austrian Riesling

    ​Today, we typically associate zucchini and zucchini blossoms with Italy and Southern France. I've just returned from Italy, where summer months find fiori di zucca (literally, squash flowers) at the height of their glory. We often forget that zucchini and zucchini blossoms, despite their Ital ... More >>

  • Blogs

    June 15, 2011

    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. Vintage Texas: Top Texas wine blogger Russ Kane may be based in Houston, but, man, this dude gets around. His blog is always our No. 1 go-to resource for wine events happening aro ... More >>

  • Blogs

    June 14, 2011

    Wine of the Week: Riesling, the Perfect Poolside Wine

    ​If you've been following along recently here at "Wine Time" on the Eating Our Words blog, you know that my credo and top criteria for picking wines are balanced alcohol and bright acidity. These words-to-live-and-drink-by go hand-in-hand with a motto often repeated at our house: no wine with ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 31, 2011

    Wine of the Week: Cat Piss in Your Wine? No, That's Jalapeño

    ​Of all the "aromatic" white grapes in the world, there is probably none more distinctive than Sauvignon Blanc. In France, it can be steely and intensely fragrant, as in Sancerre where it often takes on a cat piss (more properly called "tom cat") note on the nose. In Bordeaux, Sauvignon Blan ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 14, 2011

    Canned Champagne: For All Your Picnic Needs

    ​Alright, so Sofia Mini isn't technically champagne. It's a sparkling Blanc de Blancs from California made with a blend of Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscat grapes. But for the purposes of this post, as well as ease of description, I like to call it champagne in a can. Last year, I did ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 11, 2011

    Wine of the Week: Clos du Bois 2009 Pinot Grigio

    ​I've never quite figured out what it is about Pinot Grigio that I don't "get." It's just not something I buy, but not because I don't like it. It is one of the most popular wines in America. Is my snub a subconscious rebellion against popular culture, or just a matter of taste? When sampling ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 23, 2011

    Wine of the Week: Franciscan Estate 2009 Sauvignon Blanc

    Pairs well with gardening. ​I know what you're thinking - "not another Sauvignon Blanc write-up" - but as I try to review every wine that is sent to me as a sample, it's unavoidable. But, on the bright side, Sauvignon Blanc is probably one of the best wines suited for this incredible spring ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 4, 2011

    Odd Pair: Mangos and 2009 Alamos Torrontés

    sahgal_rahul​The arrival of the warmer temperatures of March has put me in a springtime frame of mind. I suppose that's why I went a little overboard stocking up on tropical fruit last time I grocery-shopped. The mangoes proved to be particularly golden and juicy, especially for this time of ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 21, 2011

    Wine(s) of the Week: Duel Napa Valley Chardonnay

    ​I had a couple bottles of Chardonnay sent to me from different wineries, and noticed they were both within a year's vintage of one another, in the same price range, and both from the Napa Valley. So, why not do a Wine of the Week, "Food Fight" style? It was on like Donkey Kong, only a little ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 1, 2011

    Germany Meets Texas: Rieslings at The Tasting Room

    Scallops.​Nik Weis of St. Urbans-Hof traveled all the way from Germany to show off his Rieslings, and after a few sips, it was evident why he would make the effort to share this refreshingly light and sweet wine with Houstonians. The first of The Tasting Room's Winemaker Dinner Series events ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 1, 2011

    Wine of the Week: Chasing Venus 2010 Malborough Appellation Sauvignon Blanc

    ​With the recent burst of spring-like weather earlier this week, it just felt wrong to open up another heavy red, so instead, I picked a tingly New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc from a selection of samples I've received lately. It was a nice change up from all the red wine I've been drinking latel ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 20, 2010

    Your Holiday Party Won't Break the Bank with $2.99 Wines From Whole Foods Market

    Three Wishes, available exclusively at Whole Foods for $2.99 a bottle or $33 for a dozen. ​Save your hard-earned cash for presents by stocking your holiday party with Three Wishes wines, available exclusively at Whole Foods Market for $2.99 a bottle. At this point, some of you are no doubt s ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 1, 2010

    Wine of the Week: 2009 Cupcake Chardonnay

    ​Since I'm too old to trick-or-treat, I thought a bottle of California Central Coast Cupcake Chardonnay (sent to me by Underdog Wine Merchant) would satisfy my need for a treat this Halloween. Perhaps it's a mental trick, coming from a confectionary-named vineyard, but it is an exceptionally s ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 15, 2010

    A Twist on Tailgating

    ​There's no denying that Texas stands out from the rest of the 50 states in size, shape and personality. We're an inherently proud and individualistic people. I often demonstrated this during a time when I worked with a group of people from more than 22 countries. In a simplistic way of catego ... More >>

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