Bludorn’s Wine Guru Tells All On Dream Bottles, the Truth About Wine Markups and a Retail Horror Story

I love talking about wine with people who share my passion for it. We open bottles, we trade stories about travel and soil types, terroir and residual sugar, and we talk of taste and food and restaurants. We recommend wines to one another, we drink, and we learn a lot.

In Wine Talk, I introduce you to friends, acquaintances, and people I encounter as I make my way around the world, from Houston to Mexico City, Los Angeles to Burgundy, and other locales far and near, individuals who love and respect wine as much as I do, who live to taste, who farm and make wine. Whether my subject is a collector, a winemaker, a chef, a sommelier, a buyer, a grower, or simply an avid drinker of wine, you’ll appreciate their insight, and I hope you’ll learn something from them as well. 

Evan White started his career in restaurants in 2017 at one of my favorite places in New York City: Babbo. I began dining and drinking there back in 1998, and its wine list was and still is a great one (even after Mario Batali’s very public departure). White, I am confident, received a stellar introduction to the industry at Babbo.

In 2021 White transitioned to the universe of Daniel Boulud, helping open Le Pavillon and serving as the restaurant’s assistant head sommelier. He went on to become the head sommelier at La Tête d’Or.

In May of last year, White joined two former Boulud colleagues Aaron Bludorn and Victoria Pappas Bludorn in Houston, when he assumed the position of wine director at the Bludorn Hospitality Group, which operates the Bludorn, Navy Blue, Bar Bludorn and Perseid restaurants in the Bayou City. White oversees the wine programs for the group, and, judging by the lists at each establishment, he has assembled a thoughtful roster of bottles.

I love the Château de la Greffière Bourgogne on the list at Navy Blue, and the inclusion of Littorai selections at Bludorn is exemplary. I always enjoy spending time at the small counter overlooking the kitchen at Bludorn, and look forward to visiting Aaron Bludorn’s other restaurants as soon as I can.

Houston’s wine scene has grown and developed in many good ways over the past decade, and White, who is a Certified Sommelier and holds the WSET Level 4 Diploma, is doing his part to make it even more dynamic. Let’s see what he has to say in the latest edition of Wine Talk.

James Brock: Tell us about three wines you think are drinking well at the moment. What makes them worthwhile? 

Evan White: First, the 2019 Peter Michael ‘L’Après-Midi,’ a sauvignon blanc-semillon blend. This is a very serious California version of Bordeaux Blanc, and it needs time, not just in the cellar but in the glass. It was just opening up after pulling the cork three days ago. (Search for the wine here, or ask your favorite merchant for it.)

Next, the 2020 Montenidoli ‘Sono Montenidoli’ Toscana Rossa IGT (sangiovese). It’s from one of the most fascinating producers from San Gimignano. It’s super elegant but is very structured at the same time, and I love it with heartier seafood dishes, which is why we pour it by the glass at Navy Blue. (Search for the wine here, or inquire at your preferred seller.)

Then, the 2022 Terre Brûlée from Tania & Vincent Careme (chenin blanc from Swartland, South Africa). South African chenin is definitely having a moment and is pretty much king of the hill when it comes to kick-ass price/quality ratio. We pour this at Bar Bludorn, and it strikes an amazing balance between being light and quaffable enough for Happy Hour, but also intense enough for something more substantial, like lobster gnocchi. (Find the wine here, or ask at your local store.)

JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why.

Evan White: A 1945 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva ‘Monfortino.’ I say add to my collection, but it wouldn’t last very long because I’d drink it right away. It’s a very nostalgic wine for me, one of my top five wines ever for sure. But also so reminiscent of my first sommelier job in New York City and a time when wines like this were completely foreign to me.

JB: What is your favorite grape, and why? If you don’t have a single favorite, tell me about one that you are especially passionate about.

EW: I have to choose a white and red here, sorry. Chardonnay, because white Burgundy is just about as good as it gets as far as a single category goes. And I could drink it literally any time, any day, and with any dish.

Let’s just stick with the Burgundian theme here and go with pinot noir, I feel like there are so many expressions of this grape that make it endlessly fun and interesting — Burgundy, Germany, California, Oregon, New York State, Australia, New Zealand. . . It’s a wormhole that’s impossible to get out of.

JB: How about one bottle that our readers should buy now to cellar for 10 years, to celebrate a birth, anniversary, or other red-letter day?

Evan White: The 2013 Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon ‘Monte Bello’ (Santa Cruz Mountains, California). Monte Bello is hands down the best cabernet sauvignon made in the States. I can’t imagine how good this wine is going to be on its 20th birthday.

JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle (outside your home and workplace)?

I love the Vietnamese restaurant Huynh, located in EaDo. It’s a no-nonsense neighborhood spot that is incredibly popular with somms and wine-lovers because it is BYOB, and the food is incredible. I have a lot of wine in my collection that I’m trying to work through. And I get so excited at the thought of pairing with Vietnamese cuisine, which is so bold and vibrant and uses plenty of acid-forward sauces that make pairing with wine a breeze.

JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?

EW: I think guests have a hard time wrapping their heads around a restaurant markup, and in many ways I empathize. But I always try to remind them that, one, they’re not only paying for the bottle of wine, but also the glassware that is perfectly placed and polished, the proper storage of the bottle, someone to recommend, open, and pour the wine for you, and the luxury of not having to clean up.

Second, any wine list worth its salt is going to have plenty of value-focused gems and under-the-radar bangers that a somm should be more than happy to point out. In fact, these are usually my favorite wines on the list. If you’re always going for those blue chip Napa and Burgundy producers, then the prices are naturally going to be high. But if you’re willing to trust us, we can show you alternatives that are shockingly good and over deliver every time.

JB: What is your wine eureka moment, the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever? 

EW: It was the first time I sold and tasted Tenuta San Guido’s Sassicaia from Tuscany. I was so naive, but so proud of myself at the same time, even though I had very little clue what I even sold. Talking to my colleagues after, I bragged that I had sold a Super Tuscan during lunch, and when they heard that it was Sassicaia, they said “That’s not a Super Tuscan; that’s the Super Tuscan.”

And it was this combination of being put in my place and being curious about this world I had stumbled into that launched me into this career. Looking back now, there are countless other wines that have given me that same thrill, but this was the wine that made me realize just how thrilling wine could be.

JB: What has been the strangest moment/incident involving wine that you have experienced in your career?

EW: I had a pretty scary moment during the deepest depths of quarantine in 2020 when I worked retail for a very short stint. Long story short, I was accosted and berated by a customer who was offended that I didn’t recommend wines to them that were expensive enough. They were angry that I was showing them the most amazing deals in the store.

I tried to backtrack and offer more pricey options, but there was no getting this train back on the tracks. I chalk it up to pent-up COVID-related tension, but it was not a fun experience.

JB: If you could journey to one destination (or region) tomorrow to explore its wines, where would you go?

EW: I would love to do the full run of Italy’s Adriatic coast, from Friuli down the coast to Le Marche, Abruzzo and Puglia. A little off the beaten path, but the wines, food and landscape are fascinating.

JB: Your favorite wine reference in a work of literature?

EW: LOL. There is an amazing episode of The Simpsons in which Sideshow Bob and his brother Cecil are featured (ingeniously played by Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce, respectively). Besides the fact that this casting is so perfect for multiple reasons, there is a hilarious scene in which Cecil essentially compares Château Rauzan-Ségla to ‘orange drink fermented behind a radiator.’ Pretentious Frasier banter at its best.

It also pokes fun at the elitism that can surround wine and is such an easter egg of a wine nerd joke that it almost flies right by.