Rodeo Uncorked Insider

Behind the scenes at Houston's greatest wine competition: How 2,500 wines become 11 winners

Two thousand five hundred and five wines. One hundred judges. Two days.

That's the basic premise of the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo Uncorked International Wine Competition. Now in its 10th year, the event celebrates the connections between agriculture, wine and scholarship. By number of entries, Rodeo Uncorked is the fourth largest wine competition in the United States.

Wine experts from across Texas and around the world gather in Houston to judge wines in a wide variety of categories. Judges are divided into teams of five and assigned a class. For example, champagnes priced from $50 to $100.

The experts then taste dozens of wines from the class broken into flights of 12. Each judge rates each wine as no medal, bronze, silver or gold. When all five experts agree that a wine deserves gold status, the wine is designated "double gold," which makes it eligible for the champions round. In all, 2,212 wines earn medals.

All tasting is done blind. Each glass of wine has a numeric code on it to mask its identity. The committee takes comprehensive steps to ensure that no one who pours wine into glasses comes into contact with the judges.

During a demonstration for media members on Saturday, various members of the wine committee led a mock tasting of 11 Chilean cabernets. Judges weigh the flavor, tannins, appearance and smell of each wine. When the group goes through all 11 without a single double gold, the leader encourages the group to settle on one favorite that's worthy of the award. That sort of "talking up" is a common occurrence in each round of judging. It produces the winners necessary to field a competitive championship round.

During the actual judging, Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse sommelier Madeleine Thompson and Cordua Group beverage director James Watkins debated the merits of the grapefruit pith taste of one wine. Needless to say the discussions at the media tasting weren't quite so sophisticated.

The champions will be awarded buckles, chaps and saddles at the Rodeo Uncorked! Roundup and Best Bites Competition Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014. In addition to the champion wines, the Best Bites competition features offerings from select Houston-area restaurants and caterers in the Best Bites Competition. Tickets to try the food and wine are $125 if purchased in advance.

This year's winners are:

· Grand Champion Best of Show – Marchesi Antinori Guado al Tasso, Bolgheri DOC Superiore, 2009
· Reserve Grand Champion Best of Show – Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards Estate Bottled Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, 2010
· Top Texas Wine – Bending Branch Winery Estate Tannat, Texas Hill Country, 2011
· Top Country Wine (Chile) – La Playa Vineyards Axel Cabernet Sauvignon, Colchagua Valley, 2011
· Top All-Around Winery – Michael~David Winery
· Top Wine Company – Trinchero Family Estates
· Top Sparkling Wine – Sophora Sparkling Rosé, New Zealand, NV
· Top White Wine – Sheldrake Point Riesling, Finger Lakes, 2011
· Top Red Wine – Fess Parker Winery The Big Easy, Santa Barbara County, California, 2011
· Top Sweet Wine – Sheldrake Point Riesling Ice Wine, Finger Lakes, 2010
· Top Value Wine – Vigilance Red Blend “Cimarron,” Red Hills, Lake County, California, 2011

The committee washes the 6,000 glasses four times.

5 Rodeo Uncorked judging tour November 2013

Photo by Eric Sandler

The committee washes the 6,000 glasses four times.

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Aga's on the move

Cherished Houston Indo-Pak restaurant opens to-go only location in Katy

Courtesy of Aga's

Aga's To Go opens Wednesday, June 24.

Goat chops, curries, and naan are coming to Katy. Aga’s Restaurant & Catering, the cherished Indo-Pak restaurant that’s a staple of Houston’s South Asian community, will open its first new location in 25 years on Wednesday, June 24.

Called Aga’s To Go, the new restaurant will be located at The Shoppes at Grand Crossing (102 W. Grand Parkway S., Suite 100). As it names implies, the restaurant is a to-go only facility that’s designed for both takeout and delivery via third party apps. While diners won’t be able to eat at the restaurant, they will be able to enjoy Aga’s cuisine at home in a more convenient than by traveling to the original location in Southwest Houston.

The new restaurant will serve about 100 of the original location’s most popular offerings — all in compliance with the standards of zabiha halal. Customers can look forward to ordering kababs, boti, biryani, curries, freshly baked breads, and, of course, the signature goat chops.

“This new location is a direct response to the growth of our business and the tremendous support we’ve received from customers throughout Katy and west Houston,” Zain Maredia, Aga’s head of growth and strategy, said in a statement. “Many of our guests make a considerable drive to enjoy Aga’s, and we’re excited to bring our food closer to them while creating new opportunities for our team and our company. Katy has been one of our strongest customer bases for years, making it a natural next step as we continue to grow.”

Aga’s has plans for additional to-go only locations, according to press materials. Long term, the restaurant has its eyes on full service locations in other Texas cities such as Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas, CEO Shaukat Maredia tells the Houston Chronicle.

The Maredia family purchased Aga’s in 2010. Since then, they’ve grown the restaurant’s location at 11842 Wilcrest Dr. into a more than 16,000-square-foot behemoth that serves hundreds of diners every day. Along the way, Aga’s has earned wide acclaim, including multiple nominations for Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year in the CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, a no. 1 rating in the Houston Chronicle’s list of the city’s top 100 restaurants, and a spot on the New York Times’ list of The 26 Best Dishes We Ate Across the U.S. in 2024.

Writing for CultureMap in 2023, Burger Bodega owner Abbas Dhanani hailed Aga’s as “the best Pakistani restaurant not just in Houston, but in the nation.” His top recommendations include the goat chops, chicken shinwari karahi, butter chicken handi, and white kabab karahi

All that attention has drawn considerable interest from other media, including this deep drive from YouTube superstar Mark Wiens that’s racked up more than 1.7 million views.

The restaurant funds college scholarships for high school seniors. This year, 25 students, including some from Katy, received a total of $100,000.

“We’re incredibly grateful for the support we’ve received over the years,” Maredia said. “Houston has embraced our food, our family, and our story. Food has a unique way of bringing people together, and we’re excited to continue sharing that experience with even more guests through our new Katy location.”

Courtesy of Aga's

Aga's To Go opens Wednesday, June 24.

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