Skip to main content

The "Generous Pour" with George Miliotes

Master Sommelier George Miliotes was in Houston last night presenting his wine selections for this summer's "Generous Pour" event at The Capital Grille in City Center for local wine and food writers. From now until August 30, guests can opt to indulge in eight wines that are new to the menu for $28 per person. This year's fun twist is that all of the selected wines were produced by women in California. The list features three whites and five reds in a range of varieties and styles.
We started with the 2013 Barrymore Pinot Grigio from Monterey. This fresh and fruity easy-drinking white paired perfectly with the pan fried calamari with hot cherry peppers. This was followed by the Galerie "Naissance" Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc which was aged on its lees in neutral oak barrels giving an added richness to the wine and it was served with prosciutto wrapped mozzarella and vine ripened tomatoes. The final white wine was the very limited production Stonestreet "Bear Point" Alexander Valley Chardonnay made in California's classic style- oaky and creamy, perfect with the lobster and crab cake appetizer.
I next enjoyed tasting the red wines with my dinner entree of porcini rubbed bone-in ribeye with 15 year aged balsamic accompanied by lobster mac 'n' cheese, roasted brussels sprouts with smoked bacon, grilled asparagus and roasted fingerling potatoes. The red wines include the single estate Cambria "Julia's Vineyard" Pinot Noir from the Santa Maria Valley, the Matanzas Creek Sonoma Merlot from cooler climate Bennett Valley, the limited production Arrowood Reserve Speciale Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon, the Mt Brave Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from Mt Veeder and the 2007 Kinton Syrah from Santa Barbara which George Miliotes called California' greatest vintage. All five were excellent wines but the Syrah was the best pairing with my steak; it was very smooth with spicy berry flavors and a slight savoriness in the long finish.

The evening ended with coffee and an array of desserts including flourless chocolate espresso cake, coconut cream pie and cheesecake with seasonal berries. The food was all delicious and the new "Generous Pour" wine list offers something for everyone, it would make a great date night or a fun evening out with friends. It is something to check out before the month ends, don't miss out!

 Learn more about the women behind the wine- here.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for reading Wine Life - Houston.

Popular posts from this blog

"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...
5 comments
Read more

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 ...
6 comments
Read more

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 ...
6 comments
Read more