bottle bank

Houston's oldest wine storage facility for cherished collections announces new ownership

Facilities like Vino Vault provide an alternative to a large home cellar.

Photo by JPM Real Estate Photography

The Bayou City's oldest wine storage facility has new ownership. Vino Vault recently acquired Houston Wine Cellar.

Founded in 1993, Gigi and Brad White acquired Houston Wine Cellar in 2001. Like other, similar concepts, the facility provides wine collectors with individual lockers of climate-controlled storage for their most treasured vintages. Despite the name, it should not be confused with Vault & Vino, a wine storage facility and event space in Montrose.

“We are thankful to the Houston wine community for their trust over the past two decades,” Gigi White said in a statement. “Houston Wine Cellar was the first storage facility in the state of Texas and for almost thirty years we have been relied on by our clients to care for their cherished wine collections. While we will certainly miss the community we built, we know our clients are in good hands with Vino Vault who is committed to continuing our excellence.”

Vino Vault touts the acquisition as an opportunity for customers to take advantage of upgraded services such as organizing and analyzing collections and "turnkey auction management services."

"Having served the Houston area for decades, Gigi and Brad White have built a highly regarded reputation in the wine storage space,” Vino Vault CEO Jeff Anthony added. “Houston Wine Cellar is home to a community that brings together wine novices, serious collectors, and general enthusiasts alike; we are looking forward to continuing to provide that same level of personalized service within the Vino Vault portfolio."

Founded in 2021, Vino Vault already has locations in Los Angeles, New York, and Denver. Houston is its second Texas facility, joining one in Dallas.

wine

a major award

California-inspired Houston restaurant makes Robb Report best new list

Photo by Paula Murphy

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A Houston restaurant is basking in the national spotlight. Robb Report named Zaranda, chef Hugo Ortega’s California-inspired downtown restaurant, to its list of The 10 Best New Restaurants in America.

Published Tuesday, June 16, Zaranda ranks No. 10 on the list. Culinary editor Jeremy Repanich hails Ortega and his wife/business partner Tracy Vaught, writing that Zaranda “may be their best restaurant yet,” which is lofty praise considering their H-Town Restaurant Group also includes Hugo’s, Caracol, Urbe, and Xochi. It's the only Texas restaurant on the list, which is topped by Lilo, a 24-seat tasting counter in Carlsbad, CA.

“Their take on Las Californias cooking incorporates influences of Asia: In the aguachile negro, for example, lime-cured shrimp has the salty punch of soy sauce,” Repanich writes. “At this seafood-focused restaurant, the whole-grilled fish is a must. It’s served with a trio of excellent sauces, from the salsa verde with its sharp acidity to the charred-tomato salsa that has a rounder, fruitier, and smokier flavor profile.”

Ortega and Vaught opened Zaranda in October 2025. Located next to Discovery Green in the Norton Rose Fulbright Tower, the restaurant is named for a wire basket used to cook seafood over an open flame. It has earned significant praise, including a nomination for Best New Restaurant in the 2026 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, a spot on Texas Monthly’s list of the state’s best new restaurants, and an honorable mention on Texas Monthly’s list of the state’s 25 best new taquerias.

Repanich writes that the restaurants that intrigued him most over the past year were smaller and more intimate than places he’s selected in previous years. He mentions Perseid, Aaron Bludorn’s restaurant in Houston’s Hotel Saint Augustine, as one example of that style of restaurant that just missed making the list.

“Nevertheless, plenty of kitchens that did make the cut share that same intimacy, with artful, unfussy cooking; even the handful of tasting-menu spots revealed a softer, lighter side of fine dining,” Repanich writes. “Ultimately, that’s what the 10 best new restaurants in America for 2026 have in common: a refined sense of play that stays with you long after the meal is over.”

Robb Report frequently includes Houston restaurants on its best new list. In 2024, upscale sushi restaurant Katami made the list, as did Navy Blue and Jūn in 2023 and March in 2022. It also named James Beard Award winner (and CultureMap wine columnist) Chris Shepherd the best chef in the world in 2019.

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