The brainchild of Patrick McCray, chef/owner at Divino on Alabama, and Thomas Moësse, Divino's wine director, Vinology represents uncharted ground for Houston wine enthusiasts and connoisseurs:
Currently, Moësse plans to offer more than 300 labels to guests, with a more limited selection of wines by-the-glass and by-the-bottle. And while he is well-known among Houstonian wine cognoscenti as one of the city's leading experts in the wines of Italy, he intends to make Vinology one of Houston's top destinations for the wines of France.
"I'm determined to have the best Loire Valley list in the city," said Moësse when a reporter for the Houston Press visited the newly opened space. He was referring to the largest stretch of farmland in France, a region that spans scores of wine appellations, including Muscadet, Savennières, Anjou, Vouvray and Saumur, among many others. Not only is the Loire Valley one of the historic epicenters of the Natural wine movement, it's also home to producers of nearly every category of wine, from classic-method sparkling wines to macerated white wines and dessert wines and everything in between.
It's an ambitious opening volley for this modern but warm space, where McCray, an accomplished Italian chef who speaks Italian fluently, will also be serving classic and mostly Italian-inspired small plates.
Moësse plans to hold regular tastings with visiting winemakers and winery representatives. An Italian producer from the Marches (a region in central Italy on the Adriatic coast) and his Houston-based importer were pouring wines for a small crowd on one of the first nights that the space was open to the public last week.
Vinology's website is still under construction but according to its Facebook, it's open every day but Sunday; until 7 p.m. on Monday; until 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; and until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. 832-849-1687.
