day drinking deals

CultureMap Wine Guy Chris Shepherd reveals where to score premium half-off bottles for ultimate day drinking

Get half-off wines at Rosie at lunch like Chris.

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 new restaurant for having a glass of wine. Take it away, Chris.

I love a good deal, but not all deals are created equal. I came across a deal that I absolutely must tell you about — perfect if you are down for one thing — day drinking! I recently saw a post on Instagram from Rosie Cannonball, one of my favorite restaurants. (Is Full disclosure: my wife does PR for them, but that doesn’t really matter for this — the deal is that good.)

Rosie is offering 50 percent off all bottles of wine every day at lunch and dinner on Sunday! Because I have exited the restaurant game, I sometimes have afternoons open (and Saturdays!) to enjoy this program.

All the bottles on this Wine Spectator-award winning list are half off, and this fact makes me want to jump on my tricycle and saddle up to the bar for dishes like the Focaccia di Recco (my fave); the Matrimonio (boquerones, anchovies, and apples); and the blistered bean salad — paired with a bottle of Gimonnet Brut Blanc de Blancs, Cuis Premier Cru, Côtes des Blancs for $144 — no wait, it’s only $72! Hell yes!

I know friends will want to join me, and we’ll need to order more. Let’s see what they have.

I think we should order that super crispy pork milanese with the apricot mostarda and maybe a Lira Rossa Three Cheese pizza with the pro move of adding pepperoni to it, the corn and shishito pizza, and maybe the pesto genovese maccheroni.

But what to drink? Let’s see. I can drink all the Burgundy, Rhône and Italian I want at half price? My mind is still blown.

David Duband Vosne-Romanée 2018, which is normally $330 but for $165, I’m in! Cascinadelle Rosé Riosordo 'Barbaresco, 2019 for $92 — I’m about to get down! Add a few more friends, and it’s time to hit the large format section. If you know anything about me, I LOVE BIG BOTTLES OF HAPPY!

Let’s start easy, say magnum of Monte Rio Cellars 'River's Edge' Lodi, Sangiovese, 2021 for $69. That’s just silly talk right there. Let’s get serious about a magnum of Quintarelli 'Primofiore' Veneto Corvina/Corvinone/Cab Sauvignon/Cab Franc, 2020 from one of the greatest producers of wine from the Veneto region of Italy for only $220. This deal makes me absolutely beside myself and puts a tear in my eye.

Thank you June Rodil, Felipe Riccio, Mark Sayre, Matt Hamilton, Christian Tellez, Alex Faulkner, Kaitlin Suter, and the whole team at Rosie for making all of our lunches and Sunday dinners so much better. We all owe you a debt of gratitude for being awesome! Get there now!

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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 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.

chefs wine

head east

Eagerly-anticipated Houston barbecue joint hosts weekend preview pop-ups

Courtesy of Eastbound Barbecue

Get a first taste of Eastbound Barbecue this weekend.

One of Houston’s most eagerly anticipated new barbecue joints is giving diners a preview of what’s to come. Eastbound Barbecue will host “Sneak Peak Weekends” every Saturday and Sunday beginning this Saturday, December 20, until the restaurant opens in early 2026.

Held at the restaurant’s location in the East End (1105 Sampson Street) from 12-4 pm (or sold out), the weekend service gives diners their first chance to try Eastbound Barbecue’s smoked meats, sides, and desserts. That includes, smoked brisket, baby back ribs, jalapeno & cheese sausage, hatch chili lasagna mac & cheese, herbed potato salad, and more. Save room for the two dessert offerings, salted caramel banana pudding and cookie butter cake.

To distinguish Eastbound’s barbecue, chefs Lopez and Granville use different seasonings than other restaurants, such as rosemary salt in the brisket rub and a miso-caramel sauce that gives its ribs a sweet and savory bite. During the preview, Eastbound’s prices are noticeably lower than many other Houston barbecue joints, with brisket priced at $29 per pound, ribs at $26 per pound, and pulled pork at $22 per pound.

As CultureMap reported in August, Eastbound unites four friends, Ryan Penn, Ryan Powell, Luis Lopez, and Jake Granville, who also held senior roles at various restaurants owned by prominent Houston chef Ronnie Killen. Since then, the four partners have finished many of the improvements they needed to make prior to opening, including closing in the patio and installing offset smokers on the property.

For Penn, leaving the Killen’s organization after almost 20 years was a difficult decision, but one he felt he had to make. “I could have worked for [Killen] forever and been happy. It was more along the lines of, if I don’t do this now, I don’t want to be 70 and wish that I had,” he said at the time.

Courtesy of Eastbound Barbecue

Get a first taste of Eastbound Barbecue this weekend.

news-you-can-eat barbecue openings