Wine Life - Houston

 From the August issue of Galveston Monthly magazine This month I featured Guy Stout, Master Sommelier, and his upcoming class at the Galveston Island Wine and Food Festival. Guy is a fixture on the Houston wine scene and a friend. I tasted with him for many years on Dale Robertson's Houston Chronicle Tasting Panel. His event is sure to sell out quickly so if you are planning to attend on Labor Day weekend, get your tickets now.

 As seen in the July issue of Galveston Monthly magazine. For the July issue, I wrote about chillable red wines to beat the heat during the hot days of summer and beyond. Try one of these wine recommendations and keep your cool today.

Dinner Views at Osteria Alla Baracca. I was very excited to visit the Asolo DOCG Prosecco region at the end of May on a press trip as it is an Italian area that I have not previously traveled through. Asolo is located in the Province of Treviso at the foot of Monte Grappa in the high hills to the west of the Piave River with views of the Dolomites. The grapes are grown in 17 communes surrounding the town of Asolo. The days were very warm while I was there but I needed a sweater or light jacket on most evenings due to the diurnal swing that makes it a great area for grape growing. Wines from the Master Class Tasting. Asolo was elevated to the DOCG level in 2009. The majority of the Prosecco that I have found in Houston is Prosecco DOC which is mostly from very large producers. Asolo was separated from this category and the region was given this higher status because there are terroir elements that make it distinctive in the world of Prosecco. The Sant'Anna Vineyard. Many of the vin

In the June issue of Galveston Monthly , I share some favorite white wine and food pairings.  

On a recent zoom tasting with Collavini owner, Luigi Collavini, I was able to taste six of the top selling wines from the Eugenio Collavini collection. Collavini winery is located in Corno di Rosazzo in the Collio DOC appellation, this area is a highly regarded part of Friuli. The winery is near the border with Slovenia is the area where the hillside slopes become steeper and the cooling Bora wind helps maintain the grapes natural acidity.  Luigi Collavini shared that the mountains were still white with snow and the shimmering sea could be seen below the flatlands. The winery is located 50 kilometers from the mountains and 30 kilometers from the sea so both influence the winery’s terroir. He stated that the cold north winds give the wines freshness and accent the minerality while the warm winds from the south increase the size of the grapes and the volume of wine produced as well as the grapes’ sugar level and, therefore, alcohol content.  The history of the land begins millions of yea

  In this month's issue of Galveston Monthly magazine,  I write about Paso Robles. As I wrote about earlier in this blog, I visited Paso Robles for the third time this past March and I still have many more things to say about that visit. Unfortunately, I haven't had too much time to write but I hope to get more of those stories in here soon. In the meantime, read about some of the Wines from Paso Robles that you have to try now.