All it took was for the Prime Minister of China to say “stop using government money for luxurious dinners and wine.” Bordeaux First Growths are finding it harder to sell in China. I was in a recent discussion with another master sommelier that is in the retail business about the future of Bordeaux in the [...]
Continue reading about The Stout Report: One Year Later – Bordeaux
My Dream Team of Top Tasters I have always been fascinated by the thought of assembling a group of tasters to take on say, the Harvard or Oxford wine tasting teams. I have read about these super tasting groups that compete on an international taste off. I have thought about it and have come up [...]
I recently attended the last winemaker dinner at the historic Houston Club as a guest or Pheasant Ridge owner Bill Gibson. The dinner brings to an end a long string of wine events and many focused on Texas wines. The club will be closed and relocated to the Plaza Club a few blocks over in [...]
Continue reading about The Stout Report: Texas wine shines at the Houston Club
I was asked to present a session on Texas Terroir at this year’s conference with Christy Canterbury MW, who was also a panel judge at the Dallas Morning News/ TexSom wine competition earlier this year. On our panel were two of the top sommeliers in Texas, Sean Beck from Backstreet Café in Houston and Hunter [...]
Continue reading about The Stout Report: Dallas Morning News / Texsom 2012
Sunday April 7th, 2012 Bordeaux – I arrived at noon and the sun was shining bright. I was picked up at the airport by Mario Rios from Chateau Larose-Trintaudon. We will conclude our day in the Medoc at their chateau with a comprehensive tasting. They are one of the great value properties in Bordeaux and [...]
Continue reading about The Stout Report – Bordeaux 2011 Vintage “A Good Surprise”
Decanting seems to be a cyclical topic in the wine world. Our journalist blogging colleague Eric Asimov at the New York Times chimes in today as well with-his report, The In-Betweens of Decanting. Master Sommelier Bobby Stuckey also just released this video from the Guild of Sommeliers – How to decant aged red wine. All [...]
Continue reading about The Stout Report: The Genie in the Bottle
I recently attended a session given by Josh Hermsmeyer, one of the founders of Tastevin, a developer of the software program designed for restaurant and bar use for the iPad. Pretty cool stuff. The iPad wine list is gaining traction. It is easy to use and, according to their data, it increases wine sales. I [...]
Continue reading about The Stout Report – Wine list migration to iPad – The new, virtual sommelier?
On the first day of Hanukkah and just days before Christmas, a chef from Texas and a Master Sommelier from Houston, turned the James Beard House into a Texas Oasis. Chef Ronnie Killen of Killen’s Steakhouse in Pearland, 20 miles south of Houston, prepared a 7 course meal that many veterans of James Beard House [...]
The title track to the new Robert Earl Keen holiday release CD. REK is playing in Houston Dec 28th, Dallas Dec 29th and Ft Worth Dec 30th……. Why wait till New Years to open a bottle of bubble. We should celebrate every day… Nice thought. Well, New Years is upon us and for those people [...]
When the cold north winds begin to blow and you get a chill in your bones, it’s time to sit back and relax with a good book and a glass of juicy, rich wine. The cold weather doesn’t happen nearly as much here in Texas as it does for people in other parts of the [...]
Continue reading about The Stout Report: When it Gets Cold Outside
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