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.

Winemaker, Andrés Sánchez of Alcance

I was invited to a media and trade tasting lunch at Backstreet Cafe with Andrés Sánchez, the winemaker for Alcance, a Jackson Family winery. As guests arrived, we were greeted with a glass of lightly chilled Alcance Chardonnay 2016, a perfect start for a hot summer day in Houston. This rich and elegant Chardonnay is grown on granitic soils in a coastal mountain vineyard in the Valle de Itata. Despite my multiple wine classes, this was a growing area with which I was not familiar. This vineyard is located between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean about 12 miles from the coast which as Sánchez pointed out adds a nice sea influence to the wine. The Chardonnay was pleasantly fresh with light citrus notes and a touch of butterscotch with a distinct saline mineralty throughout the slightly creamy finish. A mixed appetizer platter with Gulf Coast Beignets, duck spring rolss, asparagus and zuchini flatbread, and lump crab cakes on red pepper beurre blanc were br...

Darioush Wine Tasting at Pappas Grill

I went to a Darioush wine tasting last Friday. What a delight! I found every bottle we tasted to be exceptional. Darioush is well-known for their Bordeaux styled wines so I was already familiar with both the Darioush "Signature" and the Estate Caravan Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley. They are both highly rated and consistently good. The Caravan is the lower priced of the two and is something that I keep in stock at home. The wines in the line up for the evening were all from Napa Valley and included: 2008 Signature Viognier, 2005 Signature Chardonnay, 2005 Signature Merlot, 2007 Signature Shiraz, 2007 Estate Caravan Cabernet Sauvignon, and both the 2006 & 2007 Signature Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2007 was opened by mistake which was a bonus to all who were present. The Viognier varietal has been hit and miss for me at tastings in the past but this offering was an absolute stand out. It was very fragrant with floral notes of jasmine and or...

"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...

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