Iron Sommelier 2024

Steakhouse wine expert wins prestigious Houston sommelier competition

Matthew McLaughlin from Guard & Grace is Houston’s 2024 Iron Sommelier. The annual competition took place at The Post Oak Hotel on November 7.

McLaughlin was one of 14 sommeliers from the city’s bars and restaurants who competed in the event, which benefits The Periwinkle Foundation, a nonprofit providing support and programming for children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. The organization offers emotionally-healing camps, arts, and survivor programs. Iron Sommelier, which has become one of Houston’s premier sommelier competitions and wine-tasting events, was sponsored by AUTOSOL® and raised more than $410,000.

Each sommelier picked three wines centered around a specific region, grape, or style. Judges evaluated the wines on selection, presentation, originality, and expertise. Colin Eddy of Hyland Estates and NW Wine Company, Paul Hobbs of Paul Hobbs Wineries, Lauren Holbrook of Della Terra Wines, and Gabe Howe of CDV 713 judged the event.

McLaughlin’s presentation, Rhône If You Want To: Rhône Around The World showcased Rhone-style grapes, such as Cinsault, Syrah, and Grenache, grown in places other than France’s Rhone Valley. He poured the 2022 Pedro Parra “Trane” Cinsault from Chile, the 2021 Thistledown “The Vagabond” Old Vine Grenache from Australia’s McLaren Vale, and the 2021 Reyvaan “Stonessence” Syrah from Walla Walla, Washington.

For the 600 guests in attendance, the evening provided an opportunity both to taste a variety of wines and to learn from the participating sommeliers about what makes them special. Alvin Pham, who took home Second Runner Up and Best Wine awards, decked out his booth in an homage to the defunct video chain Blockbuster, complete with movie snacks like Gummy Bears and Bit-O-Honey. His theme, Be Kind and Re-wine: Abandoned Vineyards and Wineries Restoring Them, recognized sustainable winemaking. His selections included the 2022 Andis Old Vine Zinfandel.

“The vineyard was planted in the 1800s, during the Gold Rush,” he tells CultureMap. “Now, the winemakers have replenished and renewed it, and they’re planting Zinfandel, just like in the 1800s.”

Both Brennan Harmeier of The Library Wine Bar and Sarah Brenner of Vinology Bottle Shop + Tasting Bar made Champagne the focus of their presentations. Under the theme POP Culture Icons: Celebrating Iconic Styles of Bubbles, Brenner poured the Cellar Jan Vidal “Vita Vivet” Cava Brut NV, the Adami “Bosso di Gica” Brut Valobbiadene DOCG, and Philipponnat Royal Reserve Brut Champagne. Harmier came away with The People’s Choice Award for his Let’s Get Fizz-ical: a Rosé Champagne meets workout theme.

“I feel rose gets a bad rap,” Harmier says. “It gets seen as this ‘rose all day’ fad or it’s seen as girly. But great rose Champagne has been around for 200 years.”

Other awards are:

1st Runner Up
Kelly Rau, AOC Selections & The Texas Wine School with a theme of Grüner or Later: Austria’s Greatest Grape

2nd Runner Up
Alvin Pham, Andiron with Be Kind and Re-wine: Abandoned Vineyards and Wineries Restoring Them

People’s Choice
Brennan Harmeier, The Library Wine Bar with a theme of Let’s Get Fizz-ical: a Rosé Champagne Workout

Best Wine
Alvin Pham, Andiron for the 2019 Cliff Lede Beckstoffer To Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon Vineyard

Best Theme
John Mason, The Coronado Club for Break It Down Now: The Wines of Australia

The evening’s other Iron Sommelier competitions included Harold Houpt, 13 Celsius Wine Bar; Kate Severson, Houston Oaks Country Club & Retreat; Lucas Bowes, March; Davis Allen Wood, Mastro’s Steakhouse; Travis Walker, Padre’s Wine; Jason Barnett, Pappas Bros. Steakhouse; Dennis Vawter, River Oaks Country Club; and Sarah Brenner, Vinology Bottle Shop + Tasting Bar.

World-renowned winemaker Paul Hobbs also served as a guest judge. His 2020 Hillick & Hobbs Dry Riesling from Seneca Lake, New York was one of the wines served at a multi-course dinner in the Underwriter Room. Other selections from his winery were available for tasking at a sampling station in the hotel's entry foyer.

And four master sommeliers offered a selection of rare, high-end wines to underwriters in the exclusive Masters Tasting Room.

In addition to sampling wines, attendees bid on several auction packages, including a four-night getaway to the wine country of Gigondas in southern France, featuring VIP tastings; personalized wine and dining experiences at iconic Houston restaurants such as Brennan's and Bludorn; a curated 40-50 bottle personalized wine cellar, plus a 10-bottle collection of artisan agave, gin, rum, and whiskey, selected by sommelier Sean Beck; and exclusive food and wine experiences with master sommeliers, including former Iron Sommelier champion Julie Dalton of The Post Oak.

Other items up for bid included artwork by pediatric cancer patients at Texas Children’s and Hematology Center through the Periwinkle Arts in Medicine program.

Among the guests were Melinda and Matt Mogas, Sherry and Connard Barker, Sherri and Chris Boatwright, Lindsey Brown and Chris Shepherd, Erin Hicks and Bryan Caswell, Laura and Jeff Kaplan, Cathy Easter, Michael Garfield, Gary Moss, Monique Pappas, Cia Pappas, Joy and Mike Rayburn, Judy and Chris Simon, and Jennifer Vallone and Doug Klesel.

Photo by Dave Rossman

Sommelier Chair Lara Lack, Iron Sommelier winner Matthew McLaughlin, and Event Chair Sean Beck.

iron sommelier awards wine

visiting popup bagels

A highly opinionated take on Houston's venture-backed new bagel shop

Courtesy of PopUp Bagels

Houstonians are lining up to try PopUp Bagels.

It’s hard to remember the last restaurant opening with as much fanfare as PopUp Bagels. Houstonians lined up in the heat for the bakery’s grand opening on Saturday, June 13.

Shawn the Food Sheep included a glimpse of the line in his review below.

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Eager to see what the fuss is all about, I stopped by around 10 am on Thursday, June 18. Thankfully, only about a dozen people stood in line ahead of me, and I had a bag of six bagels in less than 20 minutes.

The frequency with which it boils and bakes it bagels sets PopUp Bagels apart from Houston’s traditional, mostly family-owned bagel shops. Instead of making large batches early in the morning that may get refreshed once or twice per day, PopUp Bagels is constantly boiling and baking smaller batches of a couple dozen bagels at a time throughout its operating hours. That's why customers will hear the cry of “hot bagels” echoing through the small, counter-service space every time more emerge from the oven.

PopUp is different from traditional bagel shops in a couple of other important ways. First, the menu only list five varieties — plain, poppy, salt, sesame, and everything, which is topped with poppy seeds, salt, and sesame seeds. And, it only serves whole bagels — no slicing or toasting. The store’s motto of “grip, rip, and dip” explains how it expects customers to consume their bagels. Packaged lox are available, but diners have to assemble the sandwich themselves — either off-site or at one of the couple of cafe tables outside.

PopUp Bagels also doesn’t sell individual bagels. Instead, diners must order a minimum of three bagels and a schmear — various cream cheese and butters are available — for $15. Six bagels and a schmear costs $24. A dozen bagels and two schmears is $46. As a point of comparison, the Bagel Shop Bakery in Bellaire charges $25 for 13 bagels and two, 8-ounce schmears.

So, how is it?

Fresh, hot bagels are inherently superior to hours-old bagels. That’s a real advantage for PopUp Bagels. On my visit, the fresh-from-the-oven plain bagels were so hot that they needed a couple of minutes before we could "grip and rip" them.

As for the bagels themselves, they certainly look the part. The outside is deeply caramelized with an even distribution of toppings that adhere well to the exterior.

But the biggest shortcoming is texture. Bagels, obviously, are supposed to be chewy, but all six of the bagels that an ex-pat New Yorker friend and I ordered walked the line between chewy and underbaked. That may be deliberate, as softer bagels are easier to “grip and rip.”

It's also possible that the bakery’s new employees are still dialing in procedures, and that a different day would yield bagels with a crispier texture. Colloquially, friends who have also visited the shop — both in Houston and other cities — disagreed with my assessment of the texture.

The plain is just that, with a very mild flavor. Both the scallion cream cheese and salted butter had a pleasantly creamy texture and boosted the dining experience.

Overall, PopUp is competitive with Houston’s best bagels. That’s promising, since Stripes — the equity growth firm that bought PopUp Bagels in 2023 — has announced plans to open more than 300 locations nationwide.

But you won’t see me driving half an hour or standing in a long line to get another taste. Houston’s locally-owned bagel shops are more convenient, less expensive, and just as good.

Courtesy of PopUp Bagels

Houstonians are lining up to try PopUp Bagels.

openings news-you-can-eat breakfast popup bagels