This is the last in a series of wine-related articles that SideDish has been running as a companion to My Table’s “wine issue” currently on newsstands and coffeetables across Houston. We caught up with Antonio Gianola, one of the city’s most respected wine pros. Gianola, now a regional manager with Mosaic Wine Group, was the sommelier at such prestigious locations as Catalan,  Da Marco and Rainbow Lodge and has been credited with mentoring many of Houston’s younger sommeliers. He won the My Table Houston Culinary Award in 2007 for Best Wine Service.

What is your favorite cheap wine – let’s say $12 or less – when it’s just you with a night off in front of the TV? We drink quite a bit of aromatic whites and unwooded whites on an everyday basis like Grüner Veltliner, Falanghina, Riesling, Soave, Gavi, Albarino and the like, as they are my wife’s favorite styles. Unless I want to drink alone I make sure it is something that she is going to enjoy.

What question do people ask you most often about wine? “What do you recommend?” It is flattering to have guests put their trust in you for wine selection. It makes you a good listener and a capable translator from English to wine lingo.

After a day of tasting wines, what’s your favorite alternative drink? Beer! Especially IPA [India Pale Ale]. It is my favorite style, as I love the hoppy notes, and it is good for stand-alone drinking or with food.

If I wanted to seduce a woman, what wine would you recommend I order? Or vice versa, if I’ve got my eye on a guy, what should I get? I would let them order the wine. Otherwise, Champagne.

If you could magically change one thing about Houston wine drinkers, what would it be? What makes you cringe? Wooded, high-alcohol and super-extracted wines in the heat of summer. The love of them in our extended summers never ceases to amaze me. I encourage guests to drink seasonally with lower temperatures meaning bigger wines and higher temps lighter wines across the board.