are they crazy?

CultureMap Wine Guy Chris Shepherd reveals the wine den serving up possibly the craziest pricing in Houston

Lees Den Wine Guy Wednesday Chris Shepherd

Our Wine Guy discovered that the entire wine list at Lees Den isn't actually marked wrong.

Photo courtesy of Lees Den

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 spot for drinking bottles of wine at deep discounts. Take it away, Chris.

Man, have I got a spot for you! A few months back I was asked by CultureMap food guru Eric Sandler if I would write up the nominees for the Tastemaker Award nominees for Wine Program of the Year. Most of them I knew pretty well but a few places were new and I hadn’t been yet.

So I got on the interweb of knowledge and took a gander at some of the programs. All of these wine lists are, in my opinion, award-winning. They are thoughtful, some small, some big, but all of them bad ass.

One really caught my eye, and I couldn’t believe it — so I had to experience it for myself firsthand. Are you ready to drink killer wines at absolutely killer prices? I thought the whole list was marked wrong. To my happiness, it wasn’t.

Enough suspense. Get your ass to Lees Den! I feel like I am taking advantage of the situation by ordering the things that I feel are underpriced, but that’s the entire list!

Chrisanna Shewbart is the general manager and wine director. She has assembled just an outstanding variety of things which you can drink on site or take to go. I would say sit back, relax, order something delicious from the wine list. Then hit the food menu, which is also delicious.

I haven’t seen Comte Lafond Grande Cuvee 2020 in so long. It’s freaking delicious, and at $65, I want more! Even better, it’s in this pirate-looking bottle that makes it just plain fun. Order two and start pillaging!

Let’s dive more deeply into this list now. It’s divided into styles. When it comes to delicious bubbly, Lees Den offers method Champenois and Ancestrial (think pet net and such). Then come the rosés, followed by orange (skin-fermented whites), then whites divided by style — crisp, light, and full. Then the light, medium, and full reds. You will know many of these labels, and you should ask about those you don’t.

Here are a few things that I want to drink. If you drink it all before I get there, I will know it’s you! For the bubbly world, here are some of my favorites:

Soter Mineral Springs Brut Rose, 2018 for $85
Ruinart Grand Cru Blanc de Blanc , NV for $90. Both for me, hands off.
Roederer Cristal, 2007 for $250. Who does that???

On to the rosé and whites. Let’s go!

Robert Sinskey Vin Gris rosé for $40. Just take my money.
Domaine La Borderie which is a still Chardonnay from the Champagne region of France. There are a few producers that are making still wine from that region and this is a really great example.

Moving on to the red side of life.

Big Sun Energy Grenache: $31, Las Jaras Glou Glou: $38
Hirsch Vineyards San Andreas Fault: $80
Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape, 2020: $110
Gaja “Sito Moresco,”2018: $70. Just stop it! This is insanity in the best possible way!

I hope that by writing this I don’t mess it up for everyone! (Editor's note 2: Well Chris, you are the Wine Guy. )The list is deep, thoughtful, sometimes adventurous, and sometimes safe. Most wine lists have a few steals that the sommelier just loves and wants people to try.

At Lees Den, that’s the entire list.

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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. Last year, he parted ways with Underbelly Hospitality, a restaurant group that currently operates five Houston restaurants: Wild Oats, GJ Tavern, Underbelly Burger, Georgia James, and Pastore. 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.

Lees Den Wine List Wine Program chefs wine

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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