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About Hugo's Restaraunt in Houston

Sean Beck

Sean Beck: Sommelier
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We wish to welcome you to Hugo’s, an authentic regional Mexican restaurant with a strong belief in the marriage of food and wine.  I am Sean Beck, the Sommelier at Hugo’s and our sister restaurant Backstreet Café.  A little over two years ago, Hugo and Tracy began working toward the idea of opening a place that served the cuisine that Hugo knew in his homeland.  Tracy indicated to me that we should have a 1st rate wine program.  I have to say that my head was swimming, after all no one had ever really paired this intense, flavorful, and often spicy food with wine.  I quickly realized that whatever wine I chose, it needed a wealth of flavor and the intensity to fully complement the food. In order to make the road easier for you to travel, I tasted over 2000 wines to put the original list together.

After two years of tasting wines and working with this food, my only words of advice would be to have fun and be open-minded; the combination of Mexican food and wine is incredible!  Remember, while tequila is great before and after the meal, wine is what makes good food shine its brightest.

Now a question you are likely to ask is why haven’t I seen wine with Mexican food before?  Generally, most people associate a country’s food with the beverages it produces and obviously Mexico is known for tequila.  The fact of the matter is that Mexico was the first country in North America to grow wine, the growth of which stared in the late 1500s!  Unfortunately, Spain occupied Mexico through the 1600s, and the King of Spain viewed their production of wine as a danger to his own industry.  He eventually ordered the vineyards destroyed and stopped the fledgling wine community for quite some time.  Making matters worse, Mexico would undergo centuries of war and internal strife preventing a stable environment for wine growth. In the hope of restoring domestic sales, the government has placed excessive taxes on all imported wine. Ironically, this makes wine far too expensive (often dwarfing U.S. prices) and prevents millions from developing a taste for wine

. Today, when tourists travel to Mexico they are unable to see the ability of Mexican food paired with wine due to these outrageous pricing.  Of Course, at Hugo’s you won’t have to worry about high prices on wine!

'05 Miner ‘Simpson Vineyard’ Viognier  – CA


– Dave Minor is one of the stand up individuals in the world of wine.  He has been a big fan of Hugo’s ever since we opened and always stops by for a visit when he comes to Houston.  On his latest trip we relished in drinking this ripe and tantalizing Viognier with some of Hugo’s fantastic scallops.  It offers a nice bright nose of peach, soft floral aromas, and citrus with a clean finish.  The wine is perfectly round and complex enough to really work with Hugo’s menu.  
By The Glass: $9.5       3oz Tasting:  $4.5      By the Bottle:  $38

’05 Tikal "Patriota" Malbec – Bonarda Blend(Mendoza) – Argentina -

Argentina is a serious player in the wine world, due in no small part to their sumptuous versions of Malbec.  Now that they are gaining real attention internationally, we are seeing a new wave of small producers and new varietals.  The Tikal is a prime example, a small family owned venture with a beautiful touch for memorable reds.  The Tikal uses Malbec and blends it with Bonarda, the other red grape of Argentina, creating a juicy, luscious wine with gorgeous notes of violet, currant, and black cherry.  The texture and flavor strike the perfect balance.

By The Glass: $11       3oz Tasting:  $5.5       By the Bottle:  $44

’04 Emilio Moro Red (Ribera del Duero) - Spain         

In Central Spain you will find complex, full bodied and wonderfully textured wines produced in the rocky soils of Ribera del Duero.  Emilio Moro has excelled for the last 120 years.  The ’04 is made from Tinto Fino, otherwise known as Tempranillo, and takes on a blacker style in the warm, rugged environment of the Ribera.  The flavors of currant, blackberry, soft leather, smoke, and dusty rock produce a very impressive bottle. ~$59

’05 Inama 'Vigneto Du Log' Soave Classico (Veneto) – Italy                       

While Italy is known for Pinot Grigio, the fact is they export most of it.   Do you think they drink the good stuff or send it around the world to others?  What Italians really drink is Soave, a silky soft, and wonderfully fresh and inviting white from Northern Italy.  The Inama is a spectacular example, with more body than pinot, but more gentle than high alcohol chardonnay.  It offers a breathtaking array of soft peach, almond, white flower, and apricot with generous undertones of spicy cedar.  A real show stopper with fish! ~$51

’05 John Duval “Entity” Shiraz  (Barossa) – Australia                             

There is Shiraz and then there are the opulent, densely flavored versions produced by John Duval.   A kaliedescope of blueberry, blackberry, black cherry, violet and chocolate make up provide the core of this thrilling red.  Best of all you can drink it now and relish in the bright, salivating fruit or decant it and let the spice, fleshy berry, vanilla, and coffee flavors come out.   A superb offering, but enjoy it now, I only have 12 bottles. ~77