Houston

Kay Dunn & Richard Leofsky

Patricio Santos at Saldivia’s Dinner

Julia Leeth & Wanda Schaffner HOPPIN'

What a fabulous start to 2022! With so much travel having been delayed due to covid, it was with great anticipation that we planned a South American wine dinner for January 25 and welcomed Patricio Santos, the owner/winemaker of Ricardo Santos Winery in Argentina. Gathering at Saldivia’s South American Grill, 37 members and guests feasted on a family-style dinner and drank great wines. The meal started with delicious bread, homemade chimichurri and Tercos 2018 Torrontés which has a nose of apricots and honeysuckle. As Patricio explained, it is not widely known, but this refreshing white wine was the perfect beginning! An assortment of beef, spinach and cheese, and ham and cheese empanadas arrived along with a glass of Tercos 2018 Bonarda. Vibrant and full of fresh red fruits, this wine had a nice roundness to it. After a house salad, we moved on to platters of mixed grilled beef, chicken, sausage and vegetables. Delicious! With each wine, our winemaker gave us winery history along with information about the wines and the process of producing those wines. As we learned, Patricio’s father, Ricardo Santos, was the first producer from South America to actually export Malbec to the United States in 1972 and is largely credited with its acceptance as a stand-alone varietal. With our main course, we started with the Ricardo Santos 2019 El Malbec before moving on the 2017 El Gran Malbec. Both were outstanding and having them side by side allowed for a fuller understanding of the wine and the winemaking process. The meal was almost complete when we were treated to an apple crepe with vanilla ice cream. Such a sweet ending to a delicious night!

February found us at Warehouse 72 enjoying a fourcourse dinner paired with wines from Uruguay. It was an especially great evening as we welcomed back some members we hadn’t seen in a long time; Chuck and Jacque Bertrand and Charla Hale. The menu was presented and guests were able to choose the meal they wished to pair with their Castel Pujol Altos 2020 Chardonnay, Marichal 2019 Sauv Blanc "Premium Varietal", Marichal 2018 Tannat which was named to Wine & Spirits’ Top 100 Wines of 2020 List, (Canelones), Marichal 2018 Tannat "Resv Collection", and Vermut Flores n/v Red Vermouth (Canelones). Friendships were renewed and toasts all around insured a great night!

Thirsty Thursday is a casual event we started in early 2021 and on March 24 we were hosted by David and Tyri Centanni in their beautiful high-rise condo. A spectacular sunset added a special glow to an already super evening! Francisco Gomes traveled to Houston and poured five wines from Portugal that included Flor/ Nelas 2019 "Selecao" White (Dao), Torre de Coimbra 2019 White DOC (Bairrada), Hidrangeas 2018 Red "Reserva" (Douro), Palavrar 2016 Tinto Red (Douro),

Mark Davis, Tyri Centani, Larry Keast

Dave & Jan Johnson, Lois Van Vooren

So Many Birthdays! David Centanni

and Monte Damiao 2015 Tinto Red (Alentejano). Members and guests dined on tapas that included fried calamari, nuts, meats, cheeses, olives, fruit, spinach dip and crackers. For dessert, we celebrated with a beautiful and delicious birthday cake! We have Buddy Hagner, Julia Leeth, Mike Lawch, Dave Johnson, Deborah Thompson, Dave Johnson and Mark Davis to thank for all being born in March and in attendance!

Next up was our Assemblage Weekend...our annual celebration of new members! This year we featured the wines of Mounts Family Winery in Dry Creek Valley. David and Lana Mounts had planned to be with us for the weekend, but due to a family emergency were unable to travel to Houston. Friday, April 29 was the kickoff event with 50 members and guests at the home of Grand Commander and Master Lady Buddy and Trish Hagner. This al fresco buffet dinner of salad, parmesan crusted chicken, grilled pot roast, mashed potatoes, sautéed green beans and sweets started with an Italian sparkling wine before moving onto Mounts 2018 "Verah" Estate Picpoul Blanc, Mounts 2019 "Verah" Estate Clairette Blanche, Mounts 2019 Estate Zinfandel, Mounts 2018 "Verah" Estate Rhone Style Red, Mounts 2016 Estate Cab Sauvignon, and Mounts 2016 Estate Malbec.

The gala event on Saturday was at the Royal Sonesta Hotel. Many of our members and guests make this a stay-cation taking advantage of the great rate and making sure to not miss a moment of the fun! Our Assemblage began with the Enthronement ceremony and welcomed new members Teresa and Paul McKinney, Sandra Crook, Julia Leeth, Karen Smith and Pamela Logsdon. Immediately following, our reception allowed everyone time to peruse the many wonderful items available in the silent auction and to purchase raffle tickets and corks for the wine pull . This is our fundraising event each year so we can continue to contribute to the scholarship endowment we have established at the University of Houston’s Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership. To help us with those efforts, students from the college come and assist … and we not only appreciate their help, we enjoy getting to know them! We think they are somewhat surprised that “older” folks still know how to have fun!

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Our “day after” brunch bunch! Our UH student helpers

Tom Feeney, Linda Evans, Julia Leeth, Bruce Misamore, Heidi Feeney Dean & Mrs. Reynolds with our Scholarship Recipients & Coordinator

SEATED Laurie & Wade Phillips, STANDING Janet Misamore & Nan McCreary

Carolyn Blanchard, Charla Hale, Chuck Bertrand, Teresa & Paul McKinney

We moved right into a fabulous dinner designed and prepared by Executive Chef Robert Graham. Each year he tastes through the wines we plan to serve and then designs a menu specifically for us; not some regular banquet meal! And, again, he did not disappoint! Our first course was grilled savoy cabbage with pickled apple, celery root and salsa macha with Mounts 2019 Verah White Blend. Next, hamachi with cauliflower crumble, pernod compressed fennel, toasted rye and star anise buerre blanc paired with Mounts 2019 Verah Clairette Blanche. And it just got better and better! Unbelievable honey lavender duck breast with parsnip and Szechuan pepper cherry reduction with Mounts 2017 Grenache and roasted Colorado lamb rack with artichoke, ratatouille, creamed spinach and tomato reduction paired perfectly with Mounts 2018 Malbec. Ending the meal with a chocolate pecan torte and mixed berry compote and Mounts 2018 Old Vine Zinfandel was superb! Meanwhile we were rocking out to our favorite band, Checkered Past, who has told us they look forward to our event as much as we do!

The exciting weekend came to a close with our traditional Sunday brunch. Friends gather to get updates from Dean Dennis Reynolds and our scholarship recipients as well as wine industry updates from those present. Then it is time for goodbyes to our out of town guests and “see ya soon” to everyone else!

Just two weeks later, we were trying something new! Lee Slataper coordinated an event to ride around in an open-top school bus in downtown Houston with Mr. McKinney, a Houston historian and local television personality, to hear interesting facts about our city’s history. Many of us don’t get downtown very often ... and driving there on a Wednesday evening reminded us why. Yep, it’s the traffic! Luckily there was much needed liquid refreshment waiting and afterward many gathered at area restaurants for dinner.

To close out the first half of the year, we decided to check everyone’s spontaneity factor. We were fortunate to have winemaker Alex Fullerton (Fullerton Wines / Willamette Valley, Oregon) arrive unexpectedly in Houston in mid June so we did a pop-up Wine-down Wednesday dinner on June 15 at the Vintage Select Wines warehouse. We are happy to report the spontaneity factor in Houston is high! Alex shared his Five Faces 2018 Chardonnay, Three Otters 2020 Viogier, Five Faces 2017 Pinot Noir, Arborbrook 2017 Pinot Noir, and “Momtazi” 2017 Pinor Noir. We had a full house and left with full tummies and lots of smiles...having enjoyed good food, good wine and great company. We can’t imagine that it can actually get much better than that!

Please save the date and make your plans to join us for our 2023 Assemblage Weekend, April 21 – 23. We’ll roll out the red carpet for you!