epic california wine tasting

Wine Guy Chris Shepherd invites Houston to an epic California tasting for a worthy cause

Oh my my my! I’m just going to say that if you missed last weekend’s La Fête du Champagne, well…you missed out. I am not sure I have ever seen that amount of fantastic Champagne in one room at one time.

So if you don’t want to have FOMO next week, here is the next wine event on the don’t-miss list. For one night only on Wednesday, November 15, Napa Valley Vintners is coming to town and bringing 21 wineries with them. Traditionally this type of tasting is only done for the trade, but they are opening it up to the public for you to enjoy. Wineries such as Cain, Long Meadow Ranch, Stewart, Reynolds, and Staglin — just to name a few — will all be part of this amazing tasting.

The thing that excites me about this event is that I don’t have to make appointments all over Napa Valley to enjoy and try all these wineries. It would take at least a week in Napa to hit up all these wineries (I mean, I would love to try that), but we get to try them all in one night.

Tickets are $95 and all the proceeds go to the Southern Smoke Foundation, which takes care of folks in the food and beverage industry in their time of crisis and provides them with no cost mental health care. Full disclosure on this one — I co-founded Southern Smoke with my wife, and we have granted more than $11 million through emergency relief and referred 3,600 free mental health counseling sessions in five states. So this tasting event really is amazing, because it is industry taking care of industry while everyone gets to have a great time.

Let’s talk about what I’m looking forward to trying out because you have to have a plan or else you can get behind and overwhelmed really quickly. Now, I’m not sure what each vineyard is bringing, but here is a quick “Christmas list,” if you will. It’s what I’m hoping for but won’t be upset if it’s not there.

Think of it as a multiple round kind of event — stick and move, if you know what I mean.

First, you have to go through some white wines to start. As if I didn’t have enough sparkling wine over the past few days, I’m headed to the Schramsberg and Paula Kornell tables to try some bubbly, hopefully taste some of that J. Schram because it’s delicious.

Next, try the Sauvignon Blanc lineup from CAMi, Priest Ranch, S.R. Tonella, and Silverado. Then I’m going to slip on over and try some Staglin Chardonnay because it’s awesome.

Next it’s time to bring out the amazing red wines to make you do a little dance. This is when you get giddy! It’s Cabernet country, folks, and Napa Valley weather and earth makes it shine so bright.

You heard me, IT’S FINALLY CAB SEASON! All of these producers are in the mix — Cab to Cab blends and most are in allocations or hard to get, but you get this opportunity to taste them all. Cathiard Vineyards, Stewart, Cain, Acumen, Modus Operandi, and more.

Then once I get through Cabernet country, I am going to hit up Robert Biale Vineyards for some legendary Zinfandels. Call me a ride share now because I am in.

We are lucky that this Napa Valley roadshow is coming through Houston because Houstonians love Napa Valley, and we love trying wines for a good cause. Southern Smoke takes care of the food and beverage industry, including vineyard workers, winemakers, and tasting room workers. By supporting Southern Smoke, you’re also supporting the wine industry. I hope to see you there.

Courtesy of Napa Valley Vinters

Napa Valley Vinters is bringing 21 wineries to Houston next week

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Contact our Wine Guy via email at chris@chrisshepherd.is.

Chris Shepherd won a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest in 2014, and is the founder of the Southern Smoke Foundation. Catch his new TV show, Eat Like a Local, every Saturday at 10 am on KPRC Channel 2.

fundraisers wine

Kirby Ice House 5

Houston's modern ice house plans fall opening for new Clear Lake outpost

Courtesy of Kirby Ice House

A rendering previews Kirby Ice House's Clear Lake location.

Houston’s growing chain of modern ice houses is heading to the Bay Area. Kirby Ice House will open a Clear Lake outpost in September.

Located near the Johnson Space Center and Space Center Houston at open at 530 Bay Area Boulevard, the new Kirby Ice House will build on the brand’s winning formula — a huge indoor-outdoor bar with an extensive selection of beer and cocktails, lawn games, space for food trucks, and plenty of TVs for watching sports. The Clear Lake location will also offer Kirby Ice House’s daily specials and happy hour discounts.

The bar is customing its interior for Clear Lake. For example, the design will nod to NASA with a neon sign that depicts its signature cowgirl riding a rocket.

“One of the things we enjoy most is creating spaces that reflect the communities they serve,” co-owner Danny Evans said in a statement. “We never want our locations to feel copied and pasted. We want them to have their own personality, and we hope guests feel that from the moment they walk in.”

While the construction team is building the bar, Kirby Ice House has already begun recruiting the 100 or so employees who will be necessary at opening by setting up a hiring facility adjacent to the construction site.

Those employees will be pouring beers from dozens of taps alongside wines by-the-glass or bottle. Kirby Ice House also serves cocktails such as a cucumber-lime Moscow Mule, blood orange paloma, and lemonade Old Fashioned. A rotating roster of food trucks serves customers who want a bite with their beers. Taken together, the extensive selection and massive footprint have helped each location of Kirby Ice House rank among the highest’s grossing bars in Texas.

Over time, the concept has grown to four Houston-area locations in Upper Kirby, Memorial City, The Woodlands, and a Heights-adjacent location that opened last year.

“The Kirby Ice House team is excited to become part of Clear Lake’s vibrant, historic culture,” added vice president of operations Margo Axton. “We’re looking forward to being a neighborhood gathering place that supports local businesses, welcomes casual groups, and gives the community an easy place to meet up before, during, or after whatever the day has planned.”