{"id":108725,"date":"2026-01-02T20:05:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T20:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/108725\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T20:05:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T20:05:09","slug":"chris-shepherd-gives-thanks-for-underrated-wine-and-talented-houston-doctors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/108725\/","title":{"rendered":"Chris Shepherd gives thanks for underrated wine and talented Houston doctors"},"content":{"rendered":"

I know my articles have been a bit scarce these past few months, and I owe you an apology. Life shifted in a big way. In September, my wife Lindsey was diagnosed with breast cancer, and our world narrowed, in the best possible way \u2014 to home, health, and the fight in front of us.<\/p>\n

The first and most important thing I\u2019m thankful for is early detection and the city we live in. Having MD Anderson here in Houston is a gift I\u2019ll never take lightly. Lindsey is doing great with treatment. She\u2019s an absolute warrior, and this experience has a way of reframing everything. It forces you to look back, take inventory, and find purpose in both the good and the hard. Today, we\u2019re focusing on the good.<\/p>\n

I love documenting delicious bottles, great bites, and the people we share them with. Every year, I scroll back through my photos to see if my drinking patterns have changed. The answer? A little, but not dramatically. That\u2019s part of what makes wine so fascinating \u2014 it\u2019s alive, always evolving, and so are we.<\/p>\n

Chablis and Sangiovese were heavy hitters in 2024 and carried right into 2025. But on the white side, I found myself diving deeper into Aligot\u00e9, Burgundy\u2019s other white grape. While Chardonnay is the big dog, Aligot\u00e9 deserves your attention. Think green apple, citrus, herbal, and floral notes, with bright energy and lift. The real bonus? You can drink Aligot\u00e9 from top Burgundy producers at a much friendlier price point. It punches well above its weight and belongs on your table.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve also been blown away by Chardonnay from northern Oregon. Early mistakes with clones led to wines that never quite found balance, but producers committed to getting it right with different clones that did much better in cooler sites, with less oak and shorter barrel time. Barrels should be nurturing vessels, not seasoning agents. Producers like North Valley, Soter, and Alexana are making some of the best Chardonnay I\u2019ve had in years, and I am here for it.<\/p>\n

This past year also brought new adventures, including a month-long stay in Healdsburg, California in July. With a Southern Smoke event and another trip already planned, we packed up the cats, rented a house, and lived somewhere else for a while. It was magical and something I hope we do again.<\/p>\n

While out there, my friend Tegan Passalacqua<\/a> (Turley Vineyards, Sandlands) invited me to Lodi to taste what\u2019s happening in that region. Lodi has long been known for bulk wine, but the story runs much deeper. Sitting just outside the Sierra Foothills, the region was shaped by massive geological shifts millions of years ago that helped it draw settlers searching for gold in the 1800s. They brought vines with them: Zinfandel, Syrah, and countless lesser-known varieties that are finally getting their moment.<\/p>\n

Zinfandel, genetically linked to Tribidrag (Croatia) and Primitivo (Italy), has been thriving there since the 1850s. After its boom in the early 2000s and an era of ultra-ripe, high-alcohol styles it lost some favor. But tastes change. What\u2019s coming from Lodi\u2019s old vines today is refined, balanced, and beautiful. <\/p>\n

\u201cThink head-trained, dry-farmed, own-rooted vines \u2014 some 100 to 150 years old \u2014 producing wines that speak clearly of place,\u201d Passalacqua tells me. His Zins sit around 14.5-percent alcohol, elegant and structured, a far cry from the 16-17-percent monsters of decades past.<\/p>\n

One of my newest obsessions is Old Vine Cinsault from the Bechthold Vineyard, planted in 1885. Traditionally a blending grape in southern France, here it shines on its own with bright red fruit and soft tannins \u2014 an incredibly crushable wine. If you love lighter Pinot Noir or Gamay, this will make you smile. Look for bottles from Sandlands, Turley, Lorenza, Birichino, and others.<\/p>\n

So here\u2019s the takeaway, like always: break down the walls you\u2019ve been drinking behind. Try something new. Aligot\u00e9 and Lodi aren\u2019t new but they don\u2019t need to be. They just need people willing to make them cool again. Trust me, they\u2019re delicious and deserving.<\/p>\n

And in the words of the late, great Jerry Garcia<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world
The heart has its beaches, its homeland and thoughts of its own
Wake now, discover that you are the song that the morning brings
The heart has its seasons, its evenings and songs of its own<\/p>\n

Happy New Year, team. Never forget to be kind and show love.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I know my articles have been a bit scarce these past few months, and I owe you an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":108726,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[9044,56,58,57,75],"class_list":{"0":"post-108725","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-chris-shepherd","9":"tag-houston","10":"tag-houston-headlines","11":"tag-houston-news","12":"tag-wine"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108725\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}