wine guy Wednesday

CultureMap Wine Guy Chris Shepherd reveals the ultimate holiday 'death match' party game

Chris Shepherd Wine Club Death March setup

Welcome to Wine Club Death March

Photo by Lindsey Brown

Editor's note: Long before Chris Shepherd became a James Beard Award-winning chef, he developed enough of a passion for wine to work at Brennan's of Houston as a sommelier. He maintains that interest to this day. When Chris expressed interest in writing about wine-related topics for CultureMap, we said yes.

In this week's column, he shares his favorite way to win more wine. Take it away, Chris.

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If you’re looking to throw a killer party — one that’s unforgettable — I have an idea for you. It doesn’t have to happen during the holidays, but it will make your holiday party more fun. Let me introduce you to Wine Club Death Match.

My friend Ellen Hur, whose classmates at graduate school first started this game, introduced Wine Club Death Match to us here in Houston a few years back. It’s a game that combines things that I love — tasting wine, talking to friends, talking about wine, and, as part of a little friendly competition, you can win the ultimate prize, more wine!

“I had heard about Wine Club Death Match and thought it sounded really fun,” Ellen explains. “I started playing with a few friends in our little New York City apartments, back in 2007 or so. We liked the idea that we could entertain ourselves without having to go out all the time. Plus, if you weren’t too discerning, which we were not, or if your friends had good taste in wine, you could grow a decent wine collection pretty quickly.”

Here's how it works:

Every person who comes to the party is asked to bring two bottles of the same wine that fit the night’s theme (more info on that below) and the night’s price point (e.g., each bottle must be under $25).
When each guest arrives, one bottle is immediately stored out of sight, and the second bottle is put in a paper bag and labeled A through Z (or however you want to distinguish the covered bottles from each other).
As the party goes on, guests taste each wine (responsibly) and keep their own notes about which bottle they like the best.
Once everyone has tasted — or the tasting portion of the party is over — everyone votes for their favorite bottle. The host takes the ballots and tallies them up for the big reveal.
The person who brought the bottle that gets the most votes is crowned winner of Wine Club Death Match and wins the entire stash of the second bottles that have been stored away. If you have 10 people at the party participating in WCDM, the winner takes home 10 bottles of wine. Not too shabby!
Spend the rest of the party lobbying the winner to give you your favorite bottle (or two) as a consolation prize.

We’ve played with our friends a few times, and it’s a fun, unique way to bring a little extra excitement to a party or gathering. It’s an automatic conversation starter. Plus, there’s a lot of strategy involved. If you’re fighting to the death (or, in this case, fighting for all the wine), you’ll need to have a game plan to take home all the spoils.

A few of my favorite themes:

Region + Grape/Varietal or color + Price Point is always a good theme (Oregon Pinot Noir under $30, South American reds under $27, French rosé under $20, Spanish Cava under $25, or my least favorite option— Gewürztraminer from anywhere in the world at any price point—not my favorite varietal)
Wine from a region you didn’t know made wine.
Wines mentioned in music lyrics
Wines from a vineyard named for a person

The beauty of this game is that it’s flexible. Want to pair the tasting wines with a specific dish and make it a more hearty affair? Go for it! Want to go all champagne and deal with the consequences later? Do it! Want to tell everyone to bring magnums? Why not? Want to bring the concept to more of a dinner party atmosphere? Cool. Have fun with it, and learn something.

Let me make a few suggestions to optimize your Wine Club Death March:

For WCDM to operate most optimally, the sweet spot is 8-12 guests. If you live in a city like NYC, you must consider how you are transporting all the wine home. For example, 12 bottles on a subway is tough. Luckily, 12 bottles in a Houston Uber is much more doable.
That being said, make WCDM yours! If you want a bigger party, go for it – you can have two winners, or be creative about how to divvy up the winnings and how to make sure everyone can taste the wines.
Set the price point based on your guests. If your guests are bigger spenders who want to bulk up their cellars, you can have a higher price point. But I think everyone would love a solid stash of $20-$30 wines.
Go heavy on the apps. Even small tastes of wine can add up.
The wines for WCDM are for tasting, not imbibing during the party, so have other drinks available – especially if you have guests who aren’t participating in the competition.
Water should be plentiful, and ride shares are a must.

Let me know how this works out for you. Invite me!

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Contact our Wine Guy via email at chris@chrisshepherdconcepts.com.

Chris Shepherd won a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest in 2014. He recently parted ways with Underbelly Hospitality, a restaurant group that currently operates four Houston restaurants: Wild Oats, GJ Tavern, Underbelly Burger, and Georgia James. The Southern Smoke Foundation, a non-profit he co-founded with his wife Lindsey Brown, has distributed more than $10 million to hospitality workers in crisis through its Emergency Relief Fund.

a truer sound

New Montrose listening bar is a high-fidelity haven for music lovers

Courtesy of Casalu

Grab a seat at the bar.

Montrose’s lively bar scene has welcomed a new listening lounge that’s drawing major buzz. Called Casalu, it aims to have the best-sounding room in Houston.

Owner Lutfi Rukab brings experience as a co-owner of Brookstreet Bar-B-Q to Casalu. The bar’s location at 1001 Missouri allows it to share a parking lot with Brookstreet’s Montrose location. Rukab tells CultureMap that his experience as both a DJ and a patron of listening bars around the world motivated him to open Casalu.

“When I’ve traveled to places like Europe and New York, I always come across these places with impeccable sound,” Rukab explains. “When we go out in Houston, I get a headache or we have to scream. When I started looking around, I noticed no one has proper room treatments or proper sound. That was the first thing I wanted to focus on, and then everything else would follow.”

To achieve the proper sound, Rukab invested in a high-end stereo system made with premium components, obsessing over details like amplifiers and speaker cable. A hand-built, Japanese-made rotary mixer from Alpha Recording Systems allows DJs to mix tracks between Casalu’s two turntables. Custom-built speakers from German manufacturer H.A.N.D. Hi-Fi ensure clean sound at both low and high volumes.

“I toured everywhere to look for speakers,” Rukab says. “[H.A.N.D.] makes bespoke speaker systems for restaurants and cafes and bars and homes all over the world. They talk to you about what you want. Everything is custom-made. Everything is designed for the space.”

A rotating cast of local and regional DJs will make regular appearances at Casalu. Genres will run the gamut, with everything from jazz and French house to ’80s music, disco, and more. Like Rukab, general manager Omar Azhari has hospitality experience and has performed as a DJ. Together, they’re curating a list of performers that will also include live musicians.

“We’re going to play music as it was intended to be listened to from the recording studio, with minimal distortion,” Rukab says.

Rukab let his own taste guide the bar’s interior design. It has the feel of a well-curated living room, with a mix of seating options that includes tables for two, booths for larger groups, and, of course, seats at the bar. An outdoor patio brings Casalu’s total capacity to about 130 people.

Bar manager Fatima Imanli created a cocktail menu that nods to Rukab’s Palestinian heritage by including Mediterranean ingredients. For example, the Closing Track combines espresso and tequila with date-cardamom syrup. Similarly, the Fig & Vinyl blends bourbon with caramelized figs, and the Midnight Luce is an espresso martini riff that’s made with a tahini syrup. As part of a commitment to avoid processed sugars, all of the bar’s syrups are made with either honey or agave nectar.

In addition to cocktails, Casalu offers a tidy selection of wines by the glass or bottle and a few beers. Houston roaster Greenway Coffee is working with Casalu on its coffee program, which is powered by the espresso machine that had been installed at Paulie’s, the neighborhood Italian restaurant that closed last year.

Casalu’s limited food menu also takes inspiration from the Mediterranean. Customers will find options like hummus, olives, labneh, cheese, charcuterie, and more.

After a quiet soft opening, Rukab is feeling good about the investment he made in Casalu. Feedback has been positive, and people seem to appreciate what he’s created.

“We’ve had a great reaction. I couldn’t ask for more,” he says. “It’s a dream when they say ‘wow.’ Those are the best words coming out of somebody’s mouth.”

Casalu is located at 1001 Missouri St. It’s open from 3 pm to midnight Monday through Thursday, and from 3 pm to 2 am Friday and Saturday. Reservations are available online.

Courtesy of Casalu

Grab a seat at the bar.

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