There’s a je ne sais quoi about musing on Mozart and Beethoven while savoring a fine Bordeaux, swishing and twirling to release the wine’s aromas with the same intent as following a composition’s counterpoint.

For the 23rd edition of the Houston Symphony Wine Dinner and Collector’s Auction on Friday, May 3, the convo was more about Edvard Grieg and Ottorino Respighi as classical music connoisseurs recounted the sheer virtuosity, emotional sensitivity, and boisterous power that had popped a day before on the stage of Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts. The pairing of French maestro Fabien Gabel and Romanian pianist Alexandra Dariescu was the talk of the eve as their interpretations of Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor and Respighi’s tone poems Fontane di Roma and Pini di Roma had enticed crowds to burst with applause even between movements at the concert the night before.

This soirée, however, was about the harmonious interplay between the grape and the plate, and Gabel and Dariescu joined in to uncork some serious fun.

The Dionysian feast chaired by Nancy and Bryan Ruez, coupled with the prowess of collector’s auction chair Jack Matzer resulted in a meandering display of some 140 wine lots. This marked Matzer first year at the helm of the auction that was previously directed by Bob Weiner for 12 years. As it’s customary, the lobby had been reimagined as an oenophile playpen featuring a cornucopia of bottles, packages, and related experiences—a vineyard of possibilities ripe for the picking.. Among the coveted items were a Château Lafite Rothschild from the 2000 vintage (a remarkable year for the Bordeaux region) and two rare bottles from 1982—a Château Ausone Saint-Emillion First Grand Cru Classe and a Château Lynch-Bages.

Meanwhile, on stage, a different type of performance was about to take place, with Lindy and John Rydman and daughter, Lisa Rydman Lindsey, of Spec’s Wines, Spirits and Finer Foods plus chef Aaron Bludorn on the podium.

The four-movement dinner, orchestrated for a black-tie social chorale of some 250 guests, featured tables adorned with an endless selection of wine glasses to elevate the culinary notes. Think Ora king salmon with satsuma and parsnip; delicate short rib, red onion, and fig ravioli; filet mignon with pommes purée, creamed spinach, and sauce chasseur; and a lemon curd pavlova with strawberry and vanilla Chantilly. Once the plates were cleared and the wine glasses empty, the Houston Symphony had raised $850,000 to underwrite education and community engagement initiatives.

Seen on the scene were Ann and Jonathan Ayre, Kirby and David Lodholz, Vicki West and Ralph Burch, Kimberlyand James Bell, Janet Clark, Jesse Tutor, Bobbie Nau, Joan and Robert Duff, Margaret Alkek Williams, Hallie Vanderhider and Bobby Dees, David Peavy and Stephen McCauley, Aggie Foster and Steve Simon, Jacquie Balyand James Craig, Gayle Hollingsworth and Ken Hyde, Carolina Oliveira, and Virginia Clark.

Photo by Priscilla Dickson

Chef Aaron Bludorn with chairs Nancy and Bryan Ruez.