Houston’s Own Iron Sommelier is Crowned

River Oaks Underdog Edges Out the Trendy Greek God

By Jailyn Marcel // Oct 28, 2016

Photography Dave Rossman

1/15

What: The Periwinkle Foundation’s Iron Sommelier 2016

Where: Houstonian Hotel, Club and Spa

PC Moment: More than 600 wine enthusiasts flocked to the Houstonian for this year’s Iron Sommelier competition benefitting the Periwinkle Foundation. Presented by AutoSol, the evening showcased 14 of Houston’s top sommeliers who flexed their skills for three distinguished judges: master sommelier Brian Cronin (Palm Bay International, New York City), Liz Dowty (European Cellars, New Orleans), and Antonio Gianola (Houston Wine Merchant).

River Oaks Country Club’s Christian Varas emerged victorious, while Helen Greek Food & Wine‘s Evan Turner took home the first runner-up prize. Turner won the top prize in Iron Sommelier last year — and his restaurant has won just about everything (Helen earned James Beard semifinalist honors in the Best New Restaurant category earlier this year).

The night raised $280,000, which will help fund Periwinkle’s camps and art initiatives for youth affected by cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

Who: Chairs Sean Beck and John Clutterbuck, Anne Clutterbuck, Underbelly’s Chris Shepherd, Julie Cannoy, Doug Osburn, Lisa and Mark Cox, Michael Jackson, Collin LaFavers, Eric and Dr. Erin Otness, Dale Robertson, Mike and Nancy Syzdek