Behind the Bar at Sullivan's Steakhouse

Sullivan's Steakhouse hosted their "Behind the Bar" event for some of Houston's wine and food media last Thursday evening. The new Lucky $7 Happy Hour Drink and Food menus were featured. Even though I am primarily a wine drinker, I tasted two of the featured martinis: The Knockout and the Cosmopolitan. I did this with some trepidation because I really do not enjoy sweet, fruity drinks (unless I am on a beach) but I knew some of my readers would be interested in the quality of the Happy Hour Martini selections.

The Knockout Martini is Sullivan's new signature martini made with Svedka Clementine Vodka that has been infused with fresh Hawaiian pineapple with an orange twist. I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected I would as the pineapple was not the overpowering sweet flavor that I had anticipated, instead the aroma and flavor of fresh clementines prevailed. Next, I tasted the Cosmopolitan. I was pleased to see that it was a pale pink blush color rather than fruit punch red which is always a bad sign. Again, it did not disappoint, no odd candied character, just light citrus flavors with Smirnoff Vodka. The other happy hour martini was the CEO which is Finlandia Vodka with blue cheese stuffed olives, I did not try that one as I assumed it was pretty self explanatory. I thought the new Happy Hour Martini Menu was what it should be in that restaurant. There is also a longer Martini menu that is available at their regular prices.

The main thing that I was there to taste was the new private label 2008 Sullivan's Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon which is actually a blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. This wine was created as a collaboration between vintners Robert Foley and Steve Mathiason to pair with the steakhouse's menu. It has a classic Napa Valley character with its pronounced aromas of ripe black fruit with some pencil box and vanilla notes; a nice fruit forward young Cabernet priced at $13 a glass or $55 a bottle.

I also tasted most of the Lucky $7 Happy Hour food menu as well as a few of the other bar menu selections. I really enjoyed the new private label wine with the Blue Cheese Chips, Wild Mushroom Arugula Flatbread, Sliced Strip Steak with fries and the Filet Mignon Tips which were served over horseradish mashed potatoes inside of a jumbo tempura battered onion ring with peppercorn sauce. I am sure it would also pair well with the beef sliders which I did not taste.

Other menu items that I tasted and would recommend were the Black-eyed Pea Hummus, the Smoked Salmon, the Tuna Tacos and the Lamb Sliders. I enjoyed the first three items more with my martinis than with the wine. I thought that, while the lamb sliders were fantastic, they would be better paired with a glass of something a bit earthier rather than the new Cabernet. I finished up my tasting with the chocolate mousse which was worth every calorie.

Overall, I think Sullivan's new Happy Hour offerings are a great deal. Whether mixing some of the food specials with a bottle of wine of your choice or staying completely on the menus with the featured drink specials, you won't go wrong and you will definitely leave feeling happy.

"The Zen of Zin" Tasting at Fleming's in River Oaks

On Friday evening, my husband and I attended the Zinfandel wine tasting at Fleming's in River Oaks. My husband gets totally pumped up for any and all things Zinfandel but what I found really intriguing in the line up of wines were the aged offerings. Brent Sloan, managing partner at Houston's premier wine storage facility Nos Caves Vin, had provided Fleming's with four 18 year old bottlings and one 17 year old bottling from his collection of some of his favorites. I found this interesting because 1. I don't believe that I have ever had an 18 year old Zinfandel before this evening and 2. From various wine classes, I had always heard that at best Zinfandel had very limited aging ability. So, I was definitely excited to give these wines a taste. There were also an additional five younger Zinfandel wines that are some of Fleming's best sellers. The entire tasting line up for the evening included: 2009 Orin Swift Saldo - California 2007 Schulz "Lampyridae...

Spanish Wine under a Houston Sunset

I was asked to speak about Spanish wine and to conduct a tasting at the 30th birthday party of Kyla Kennedy on the rooftop patio of her and her fiancé, Jonathan Garrett's home this past Saturday. They invited a great group of friends with a new interest in wine tasting. Jonathan had the idea after the two had watched the movie "Somm" and had become interested in learning more about the wines of the world. For our tasting tour of Spain: Anna de Coderniu Brut Cava * - Guests loved this Spanish sparkler! They found the history of the winery interesting and enjoyed the refreshing style of the wine. The birthday girl named the subtle tropical and citrus aromas like a pro. 2012 Burgan's Rias Baixas Albarino - Guests talked about the fresh peach aromas and the crisp taste. Many felt this could be their summer sipper. 2012 Raimat Costers del Segre Albarino* - Guests were interested in learning about this lesser known area, the innovative winery and how ...

A Tropical Staycation with Spy Valley E Block

After a fair amount of traveling this summer with more still to come, I was looking forward to spending time at home with my family this week. Both of my millennial children have recently moved back to Houston but the home-cooked meals have been few and far between. I had recently received a sample of the Spy Valley E Block Sauvignon Blanc 2017 along with an invitation to participate in an on-line tasting with the Wine Pairing Weekend group (find them online under the hashtag #Winepw), this became the inspiration for this family gathering. I gleefully sent out a group text, "I'm grilling poolside tonight, be home by 7:30 p.m. to eat, come earlier if you want to swim." I am surrounded by funny people as the responses reflect, "Who is this?", "What have you done with my mom?", "Not a good night, Bachelor in Paradise is on." I was undeterred, I knew that they would come. I pulled the bottle out of the wine fridge to investigate what I was ...

Wine Life - Houston

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