Sommelier’s pick
Who: Chris Williams, owner/executive chef of Lucille’s in the Museum District
Background: A 20-year restaurant-industry veteran, Williams began upping his wine game about a dozen years ago, when he was living in Porto, Portugal, and ports came to intrigue him. After returning to Houston, he took a job with Lasco Enterprises and, while working at the Tasting Room, he says, “I truly started to study and dig into different wines. For wine preferences, I am all over the place. Right now, I really like everything coming out of the Pacific Northwest, but I am also really into Slovenian wines.” South Africa is also on his radar.
What: 2015 Aslina Sauvignon Blanc
Why: Ntsiki Biyela, who became the world’s first female African winemaker when she took over at Stellekaya in 2004, launched her own wine, Aslina, in 2017. Williams fondly recalls having the pleasure of meeting Biyela and collaborating with her on a wine dinner before she left Stellekaya. “What I love about this wine, and all of Biyela’s wines,” he explains, “is her commitment to allowing the terroir to shine. Most South African wines seem to try to either mask or lessen the potency of the soil from which the grape comes. This wine has the usual notes of citrus but is much softer, rounder and complex than most sauvignon blancs I have tried this year. It’s great summer juice and we’re proud to carry it.” Biyela, only 40, named the winery for her late grandmother, a life-long source of inspiration. Price: $13 for a glass, $46 for a bottle at Lucille’s, 5512 La Branch