Backstreet Cafe Restaurant of Houston

We love sangria! When made with good wine and the best fruit of the season it's impossible to resist. Every week brings new flavors and styles, be it white, red, or sparkling.  Ask your server for today’s selection. 

IPA or India Pale Ale, was a style of pale ale crafted by brewers who catered to the merchants and British soldiers and citizens occupying India.  By increasing the hops and alcohol, they created a beer capable of surviving the long trip.  The style is especially popular amongst American craft breweries.  Independence makes a generously aromatic and pleasantly bitter style that doesn't go overboard on the alcohol. 

Adami Prosecco + Beefeater Gin + Passion fruit Nectar + Lemon + Sage + St Germaine

 Classism is a major theme throughout history.  The idea that someone or something doesn't necessarily measure up because they started out on the "wrong side of the tracks" has been the subtext for staggering works told in literature, theatre and cinema.  Not surprisingly, one of the world's oldest and most beloved wine regions is a case study in this.   Burgundy, the French birthplace of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, is broken down to such a degree that vineyards have been labeled according to terroir as far back as the medieval age.  Today remains much the same, the area houses more wine appellations than any other in France.   Where you grow determines everything, to the point that being on the wrong side of the street can mean the different between selling for $500 a bottle and $50.  The legendary plots are just that for a reason, but the notion that grapes grown a hundred yards away are only a tenth as good, speaks more to classism than reality.  This bottle of Chardonnay from Henri Darnat is labeled as Bourgogne blanc, not as a Mersault, the appellation it lies next to.  The truth is that this wine is a beautiful expression of fruit and mineral that is devalued, because it happens to lie just across the road.  If there was ever an instance to raise a glass to classism, this is it.  You'll love this pristine white as it exudes elegant lemon, tart pear, and sublime mineral notes of hallowed earth.    
        Glass:   13                        3-oz: Taste:  6.5                               Bottle:  52

Shiraz was all the rage last decade and for good reason.  It offered a combination of abundant flavor, fun labels and incredible value.  Unfortunately, what burns brightest inevitably burns out and that's especially true in the world of wine.  The love people felt for Australia has since moved onto Argentina and the impressively colored and deeply flavored Malbec.  Ultimately, though the blame for this switch isn't the fickle nature of wine drinkers as much as over indulgence by producers.  With competition in Australia heating up, many fought to gain an edge by turning their wines into exaggerated syrup-like, fruit bombs that garnered high scores from certain well known wine writers.  Most people don't like downing a 16% alcohol bottle of wine when work calls the next day.  So this month we look to celebrate that which once was cool.  Shiraz is still great when it's made with balance, like this Director's Cut.  It's a vividly aromatic wine full of violet, luscious wild raspberry licorice, dark cherry and a heady mix of exotic spices.   The wine has some heft on the palate, but like any good Shiraz it feels more sumptuous than shockingly tannic.   A grand way to recapture the Aussie love affair and wonderful selection with lamb dishes and other hearty fair. 
Glass:   13.5      3-oz. Taste:  7      Bottle:   54

I've always joked that wine tends to evaporate rather quickly when you hang around Backstreet.  In anticipation of the "wine angels" wanting to grab a share of this outstanding boutique Napa Valley Cabernet, I went ahead and solved the problem by finding a vertical flight of three half bottles.   Wine tells a story and every year that story changes, certain details become enhanced while others fade away.  Seeing how it evolves over a period of time is a marvelous thing.  It reminds us that wine is truly a living breathing thing.  Karl Lawrence is a shining boutique producer formed by two Napa Valley buddies over twenty years ago.

Lemberger is an ancient red varietal with a style akin to a rustic Pinot Noir, but with lower alcohol and a darker fruit profile.  Considered a high quality red by Napoleon, it had largely disappeared.  Today, most of the plantings are found in Baden-Württemberg state of Southwest Germany.  Not typically known for red wines, the rash of warmer vintages in Europe has increased plantings in the "Land of Riesling".  A Schnaitmann Lemberger might sound like a beer, but it's really a delicious, moderately priced wine.  The dense nose of blackberry, cassis and peppery spice gives way to a supple texture that exudes more of a sly cherry flavor and a pleasant herbal muskiness.  If geek wines can be approachable, this is it. 

Santa Rita Hills is located South of Santa Barbara, it's considered the hot bed for decadent California Pinot.  It also happens to produce seriously complex Chardonnay.  Fess Parker makes this small production, single vineyard jewel.  Aged partially in new French oak, it has a welcome layer of spice and hazelnut that serves as the a springboard for the honeysuckle, fresh fig, tart apples and spice rubbed pear which make up the core.      While far from a wallflower, the alcohol doesn't over reach, leaving the wine bright and diverse. 

Cabernets and Meritages, have begun to paint themselves into an awkward corner.  Having entered an arms race of riper grapes, higher alcohol and overuse of new oak, they are constantly on edge.  These strong armed, militant wines lack the diplomacy to pair well.  Chefs are utilizing more exotic, spicy ingredients and playing with the form of food.  They need balanced wines with less structure.    The solution, I believe, lies in blending in Syrah.  Laird mixes in a third Syrah with Cabernet and Merlot in the Jillian's.  The result is a  decadently colored wine with a voluptuous mix of plum, brambly berry and cassis.  The fruit is charmingly set against the vanilla, dill and toasty flavors of judicious oak.   The finish is more polished than a typical Bordeaux style blend, with a more playful feel and fresher fruit to suit a wider range of dishes. 

I'm often asked to name my favorite wine.  It's an impossible answer considering the vast styles and changing seasons.  However, I could certainly narrow down my favorite Champagnes to two producers:  Pol Roger and Egly-Ouriet.  Egly-Ouriet is the epitome of "grower Champagne" a farm-to-table movement for bubbly that fights against the big buyers.   Egly is like a virtuoso performance in your glass.  The micro bubbles come from the almost six years of aging, giving it a luxurious texture and incredible power.  The beautiful aromas of crusty bread, wild yeast and exotic pear are beyond description. 

"You know the real mafia is the one controlling the French oak forests" -Italian Winemaker.  Neither mafia plays any part in this brilliant Sicilian red from Planeta.  Using the regions classic varietals of Nero d’Avola and Frappato, the wine doesn't see a day in oak.  A short stint in stainless steel, allows it to maintain a supple, generous texture that is vivacious and fragrant.  You won't have to promise any favors either to enjoy the fresh floral aromas, tantalizing red licorice and bounty of spice scented, ripe red fruit in each sip.

It really chaps my hide when people classify all the wines of Germany as sweet.  First off, their wines are juicy, yet ripe expressions of fruit and earth, not saccharine sugar bombs.   Secondly, they have a plethora of beautifully bracing, dry whites.   A warm vintage like '09 was perfect for producers in Northern areas like Pfalz to create a deeply flavored dry version of Pinot Blanc.  Becker is the sort of wine that makes you question why you ever bothered with inexpensive Chardonnay.  Creamy and supple with a lovely range of quince, apricot and zippy citrus.  The slight use of oak gives this vivacious wine a pleasing bit of heft.

I've said it once before, but it bears repeating.  Spain is making the most interesting wines in the world for the least amount of money.   This family owned gem is located on the Northern edge of the Ribera Del Duero region, a notoriously expensive area.  They control costs by forgoing excessive use of expensive barrels.  The result is an easy to drink, yet amazingly concentrated wine.  Few inexpensive reds have such a satisfying core of black fruit, let alone an engaging nose leave's you salivating for a sip.   There's a healthy mix of mineral, tobacco and fleshy plum to round it all out.  Spain is truly making wines for everyone.