Santé

This November, you can pop (big) bottles in Houston to toast women winemakers

When it's time to celebrate something, celebrate big. We're talking 3-liter bottles of wine big, and that's what the Bordeaux wine region is sending to Texas in honor of its women winemakers.

These rare double magnums will be poured by the glass at select local restaurants and wine bars beginning the first week of November.

"The people of Bordeaux have always been our most dynamic force and source of innovation," says Bernard Farges, president of the Bordeaux Wine Council. "It is exciting to showcase the collective talent of the many women winemakers who are contributing so much to enrich our region."

Texas is a new addition to this second-annual event, which launched in 2020 in New York City.

"We are honored to work together with our wineries and importers to support our hospitality partners in Texas through these challenging times, and are tremendously grateful for the outpouring of support we have already received," Farges says.

In Houston, Vins de Bordeaux hosted a kick-off party at CRU Food & Wine Bar on October 26. The soiree let guests taste 18 3-liter bottles from 12 different all-women producers and winemakers.

Beginning November 1, all Houstonians can taste these wines for themselves at CRU Food and Wine Bar, Pappas Bros Houston, and River Oaks Country Club.

The participating women winemakers and châteaux representatives from Bordeaux represent the rich diversity of their region and are presenting a selection of wines that span renowned reds to dry and sweet whites. The featured wineries this November in Texas include:

Château Biac (Cadillac Côtes de Bordeaux), Youmna Asseily, owner
Citran (Bordeaux Supérieur), Sophia Sanchez, general manager
Château Haut Mazières (Bordeaux), Gwen Corre, export manager
Château La Freynelle (Bordeaux blanc), Véronique Barthe, owner and winemaker
Château La Rame Bordeaux & Bordeaux blanc), Angelique Armand, winemaker
Château Larrivaux (Haut-Médoc), Bérangère Tesseron, owner and winemaker
Château Rol Valentin (Saint-Émilion Grand Cru), Alexandra Robin, owner and winemaker
Château Simon (Sauternes, Graves), Pauline Dufour, owner and winemaker
Château Thieuley (Bordeaux rouge & Bordeaux blanc), Marie Courselle, owner and winemaker
Clarence Dillon/Clarendelle (Bordeaux rouge & Bordeaux blanc), Erika Smatana, export manager USA
Les Vignerons Reunis De Monsegur (Bordeaux), Valérie Gosselin Conche, commercial director

Make your reservations now at the participating restaurants, and get ready to toast these remarkable women.

Winemaker Alexandra Robin.

Winemaker Alexandra Robin

Photo courtesy of Vins de Bordeaux

Winemaker Alexandra Robin.

birdie's in Houston

Award-winning Austin restaurant flies to Houston for one-night-only meal

Birdie's Arjav Ezekiel Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel

Photo by Mackenzie Smith Kelly

Birdie's is coming to Houston.

Two top Texas restaurants are teaming up for a one-night-only pop-up that will feature creative cooking and thoughtful wine pairings. Houston’s Rosie Cannonball and Austin’s Birdie’s are uniting on Monday, September 14 for an evening they’re calling Birdie’s Cannonball.

Held at Rosie Cannonball, the event will feature a menu created by Birdie’s chef and co-owner Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel and Goodnight Hospitality partner Felipe Riccio, who created many of Rosie Cannonball’s signature dishes and leads the kitchen at March, Rosie Cannonball’s Michelin-starred sister concept. Arjav Ezekiel, Birdie’s co-owner and a James Beard Award winner for Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, will team up with Goodnight Hospitality partner and master sommelier June Rodil to select wine pairings for the night.

“This collaboration came together the way the best restaurant ideas usually do: over years of eating, drinking, traveling, talking shop, and saying, ‘We should really do something together,’” Rodil said in response to CultureMap’s request for comment on the collaboration.

“All of the Goodnight partners make a point of going to Birdie’s whenever we’re in Austin, because we genuinely love what Tracy and Arjav have built: the food, the people, and their fiercely independent spirit. Bringing our teams together feels less like a formal collaboration and more like finally hosting the dinner party we’ve all been meaning to throw,” she added.

Both restaurants have earned plenty of acclaim. In addition to Ezekiel’s Beard Award, Birdie’s has earned a Best New Restaurant award from Bon Appetit, been named Food & Wine magazine’s Restaurant of the Year in 2023, holds a spot on the New York Times’ list of “The 25 Best Restaurants in Austin Right Now,” and earned a Recommended designation from the Michelin Guide.

For its part, Rosie Cannonball and Goodnight Hospitality have earned their fair share of national attention, including a James Beard Award finalist nomination for Rodil, a Michelin Bib Gourmand designation for Rosie Cannonball, and Best New Restaurant awards from Esquire and Robb Report for March.

The evening will also serve as a homecoming for Malechek-Ezekiel, a native Houstonian and a graduate of the UH Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership. The meal will be her first time cooking professionally at a restaurant in her hometown.

Seats are priced at $200 per person, which includes food, tax, and tip. Reservations are only available to Sapphire Reserve credit card holders, as it is presented as part of Birdie’s sponsorship by Chase Sapphire. Find more details on OpenTable.

Birdie's Arjav Ezekiel Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel

Photo by Mackenzie Smith Kelly

Birdie's is coming to Houston.

news-you-can-eat chefs

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