Subject:

Winemaking

  • Blogs

    May 21, 2012

    Red, White and Orange: More and More Orange Wines in Houston

    "Old man piss." I hate to say it, but it's the best descriptor to use to describe the color of many of the "orange" wines that are finding their way to our market these days. As you can see from the color of the wine in the glass above, orange wines aren't really orange: They tend to have a deep ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 27, 2012

    From Defender of Wily Politicians, Serial Killers and Drug Dealers to Texas Winemaker

    "I don't read anymore," said Dickson when I asked him to share his thoughts about the recent uproar in the world of Natural wine. "I did enough reading when I was an attorney." On Friday, I drove out to Houston native Lewis Dickson's Hill Country estate and winery, La Cruz de Comal, on the southern ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 7, 2012

    Wine of the Week: A Red That Lasts for Days

    After what's your favorite wine?, the question that I get asked the most at wine tastings and seminars is how do you make wine last after you've opened the bottle? My initial answer is drink good wine: Wine with high acidity will last longer once opened; acidity is one of the key elements that give ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 23, 2012

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    December 5, 2011

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    November 21, 2011

    Wine of the Week: The Aegean Sea in a Glass

    The first time I tasted Thalassitis by the Gaia winery (Santorini, Greece), it was poured for me by the "best sommelier in the world 2008," Aldo Sohm, at Le Bernardin in New York City in 2010. Aldo paired the wine with raw sea urchin: The "saltiness" and intense acidity of this wine, he noted, was ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 4, 2011

    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 >>

  • 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

    September 12, 2011

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    September 6, 2011

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    August 1, 2011

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    May 13, 2011

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    February 28, 2011

    Get Your Passport Stamped Along the Texas Wine Trails

    ​While the trail riders rode into town last Friday, you could be riding out one weekend soon to hit one of Texas's 11 wine trails just as the bluebonnets are beginning to bloom this spring. The fifth most productive wine-producing state in the nation, Texas features more than 200 vineyards wi ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 24, 2011

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    October 25, 2010

    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 >>

  • Calendar

    July 29, 2010

    Messina Hof 2010 Harvest Festival

    Get the full-sensory winemaking experience

  • Calendar

    November 27, 2008
  • Calendar

    August 14, 2008

    Harvest Grand Finale Vintner Dinner

    Messina Hof Winery celebrates its 2008 ports

  • Calendar

    August 2, 2007

    Harvest Festival

    You can squish your wine and drink it too at Messina Hof

  • Dining

    June 28, 2007

    5 Wines That'll Blow Your Mind

    You can squish your wine and drink it too at Messina Hof

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