Brew Hops & Wine Stops

Happy New Year!

We think a great resolution--always--is to broaden your horizons, whether you're a wine lover or a beer aficionado. To that end, here are a few choices, reviewed by Stephen Schmitt (at our Gandy Blvd store in Tampa).

Cheers! And may 2012 be full of wonderful discoveries!

Unibroue Trois Pistoles- Quebec, Canada

This French-Canadian beauty pours brown with a nice little tan head that recedes to a few continents of bubbles. The aroma is full of figs, stone fruit, rock candy, and a hint of yeast. The taste is similar to the nose with layer upon layer of sweet rock candy, stone fruit, grass, figs, plums, and a hint of yeast. The mouthfeel is a tad light, but overall this is a very enjoyable beer that would be great with a nice meal or by itself on a cool night. It is comparable to some of the best Belgium has to offer. 92/100

Palm- Belgium

This amber delight is what some would consider Belgium's answer to Newcastle. It has a nice amber hue with a fluffy white head. The aroma is of fresh sweet grains and rock candy. The taste is similarly sweet with a nice grain backbone and hints of floral hops, ginger, apples, and honey. This is a little heavy on the sweetness, but still very enjoyable. 89/100

Innis & Gunn Rum Cask Ale- Scotland, UK

Pours garnet with a nice little ring of white head. The beer carries a nice oak aroma followed by molasses, malt, and smoke. Very much reminiscent of a good rum. The body is full and creamy and the flavors are varied. The oak, rum, and beer meld seamlessly. Molasses, figs, light spice, vanilla, red fruit, brown sugar, and some roast all dance together with a crisp, sweet finish. This is a wonderful beer that I look forward to having again. 96/100

(Bill Stobbs consumes more rosé wine per square inch

of body weight than any other person in Florida.)

            It’s been about a year since I last offered you some wine trivia, so here we go again in the hope that you can enlighten and elucidate your guests with useless knowledge at your New Year’s party ---

• 
  
  The bill for the celebration party for the 55 drafters of the US Constitution was for 54 bottles of Madeira, 60 bottles of Claret, 8 bottles of Whiskey, 22 bottles of Port, 8 bottles of Hard Cider, 12 Beers, and 7 bowls of alcoholic Punch large enough that “ducks could swim in them”. (Sounds like Saturday night at my house!)
  
  


• Lyndon Johnson started the tradition of serving only American wine at the White House. Richard Nixon followed suit reluctantly, as he preferred French wine and would cover his own bottle of French wine with a napkin. (Tricky Dick indeed!)


• Thomas Jefferson built wine cellars underneath the White House and stocked them with over 20,000 bottles of European wine during his eight years in office. (PS. The White House no longer uses a wine cellar.)


• Prior to the Civil War, Ohio was considered America’s most important wine-producing state.


• Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, included wine in almost every one of his recorded remedies. He used it for cooling fevers, as a diuretic, as a general antiseptic, and to aid convalescence.


• The wreck of the Titanic holds the oldest known wine cellar still in existence. And most of the bottles are still intact!

And not to forget some sparkling wine trivia for your celebrations ---

• There are 49 million bubbles in a bottle of Champagne.


• The pressure within a Champagne bottle is 90 pounds per square inch – greater than your car tires. The cork leaves the bottle at 135 miles per hour.


• The longest recorded champagne cork flight was 177 feet 9 inches at four feet above ground level at Woodbury Vineyards in New York State.


• Forget the martini – the tally of drinks consumed by James Bond in the movies proves that his favorite tipple is Champagne. In earlier films he orders Dom Perignon 1953, ’55, ’57, ’64, and ’69. More recently he has preferred Bollinger ’61 (among other vintages).

Hope you have a terrific New Year! Cheers!   Bill

Bill Stobbs, West Coast Wine Supervisor

(Follow me on Twitter: @abcwinebills)

The Prince Alexander, Crémant de Loire Brut and Rosé Brut are back in stock in time for the end-of-year celebrations.

 Our ABC wine team visited the producers at the Cave de Saumur in the month of June this year.  Re-tasting the two sparkling wines confirmed what we already knew: they are of unmatched quality for the price ($12.99).

The Brut is 70% Chenin Blanc, 15% Chardonnay and 15% Cabernet Franc with complex flavors of ripe citrus, green apple and spice, full effervescence and long finish.

The Brut Rosé, 100% Cabernet Franc is a multi-layered wine with aromas and flavors of black cherries, strawberries and spring flowers; it is great served as aperitif and will also pair well with roasted red meats.

 The sparkling wines of Saumur are produced in the “traditional method,"  which is the process used in the Champagne region of France, where the second fermentation takes place in the same bottle the wine is sold in, opposed to the “Charmat method” in which the wine undergoes the second fermentation in bulk tanks (Prosecco).

 If high quality, inexpensive bubbly is on your list for entertaining guests or everyday consumption, don’t miss the opportunity to check out Prince Alexander Brut and Brut Rosé Crémant de Loire.

Atanas Nechkov, Wine Supervisor, Central Florida

Follow me on Twitter @abcwineatanas

The most frequent question I get this time of year is: where is your Champagne section? That question always leads to a moment of silence on my part, as I now have to find out if our guest is really looking for Champagne or a wine from somewhere other than Champagne that has bubbles. I usually as them what brand they are hoping to find and that usually gets me headed in the right direction. What most people don’t realize is that Champagne is a place in France that produces a sparkling wine using specific grapes and a certain method of production, but it has come to mean any wine with bubbles. Which is fine because there are many very good sparkling wines made in other places that in Champagne.

   A few that I would definitely recommend to any of you reading this blog are as follows: The new sparkling wine made especially for ABC from the Laetitia Winery in the Central Coast of California is the Block 075. This wine, made using the method champenoise, produced in the Arroyo Grande Valley, is a wonderful example of a non-champagne Champagne. Confused you yet? The grapes used, Chardonnay and a little Pinot Blanc, can be used in Champagne, and the method of production is the same, but the soils are different and we have made a pact with the French government not use the nomenclature “Champagne” any longer on our sparkling wines. Some bottles produced before the pact still can, though few do. When you smell the aromas of this delightful wine you get the yeasty, bread dough characteristics of Champagne, while the flavors are of lemon, brioche and a crisp acidity. You don’t get the chalky mineral aspect of Champagne, but this is certainly a wine that most of you Champagne fans would enjoy very much, especially at the $26.99 sale price.

   Another gem with bubbles is the Collalto Extra-Dry Prosecco from Italy. Prosecco, which is the name of the grape, has become a very popular choice for people looking for a less expensive alternative to the much more expensive wines from Champagne. This wine from Collalto that can be found for under $15.00 this time of year is one of the best examples of Prosecco to be found anywhere. Lovely aromas of apple, spice and the flavors of quince, red apple and spice make this a great choice as a wine with your meal or as an aperitif. They also offer a Rose whose aroma is full rose petal, flower blossoms and red fruit. The taste is an explosion of fresh, ripe red raspberries, cherries and an elegant, long finish. This is a wonderful wine that would make any wine drinker smile.

   So the next time you are looking for a sparkling wine to enjoy or to celebrate with, don’t immediately rush to the Champagne section—there are many other wine with bubbles to explore…Happy New Year to that.

Ken Amendola, Wine Supervisor, North Florida

Follow me on Twitter @abcwinekena

Well it's the day after Christmas, and if you're anything like me this day is always a little melancholy. I'm not exactly sure why- the holidays coming to a close? No more Xmas music? John Lennon asking,"so what have you done?" Whatever the reason, I've always found a surefire way to snap out of it is to start planning my New Year's party.

This year the party is at my house and you're all invited. I will prepare the food, so if you plan on attending please bring the wine. Remember that New Year's Eve is not just about toasting with a glass of Champagne at midnight. This is a holiday to celebrate your accomplishments and reward your hard work in 2011. If 2012 can't come soon enough then embrace the future. Set the precedent that the coming year is going to be a prosperous, healthy year for you and your family. And what better way to do this than to share some memorable wines with me?

If your wine cellar doesn't have anything that would qualify as a memorable wine, don't worry. Our stores are chock full of highly rated, hard to get wines that are sure to impress me. Stop in and speak with your local wine consultant. Most of them know my tastes and will be happy to find something that fits your budget.

As a follow up to my previous blog, "All I want for Christmas," I would like to thank all my readers that gave me a Christmas present.  While I may have slightly over estimated how many readers I have, almost everyone that did give me a bottle of wine followed my suggestions perfectly.

And for the one reader who bought my present while picking up the weekly groceries, I've decided not to re-gift your present. I thought it would be better if I had you over for dinner and we could drink the wine together. I'm just not sure what to serve with it:

the turkey & giblets dinner, or

the ocean whitefish dinner.

You decide.

Paul Quaglini

Follow me on Twitter @abcwinepaulq

The Belgian Witbier (white beer) is a good style for those who like a light, fruity beer.  It usually has a pale yellowish color with an unfiltered cloudiness from wheat sediment left in the bottom of the bottle.  The fruitiness comes from the spice consisting sometimes of coriander, orange peel, lemon peel, and other ambrosial ingredients.   American brewers like the popularity of this beer and stay true to the style when they add it to their lineup.

I will be sampling World Brews’ “Barrel Trolley Belgian White”.  Phrases on the label include “hand crafted” and “America’s best kept secret”. 

Appearance:  Pours hazy lemonade yellow with a towering, fluffy white head.  The wheat sediment dances at the bottom of the bottle where I will leave it.

Smell: a wheat core opens up to lemon oil and coriander with a faint floweriness.

Taste: the body is light, with hints of wheat, fresh grated lemon peel, and cloves in the finish.

Barrel Trolley Belgian White is a nice, light tasting beer with good witbier flavors and easy drinking as a good after dinner beer.  One of the most well known American style witbiers is Coors Brewing Company “Blue Moon”.  Others you can find at most ABCs (the long list proves the popularity of this style) include: Hoegaarden Original White Ale, Unibroue “Blanche De Chambly”, Leinenkugel “Sunset Wheat”, Samuel Adams “Blackberry Witbier”, Shock Top, Samuel Adams “Imperial White”, Wittekerke (a nice witbeir in a can), Lost Coast “Great White”, Harpoon “UFO White”,  and Coronado Brewing Company “Orange Avenue Wit”.

 Beer blogger Adam Shugan is the manager at our Silver Springs Blvd store in Ocala, Florida

Last month we hosted a special weekend wine tasting of four different Riojas at our store, ranging in price from $10 to $35 per bottle.  We host free wine samplings every weekend, but it’s less common to have such a specific geographical focus with such a range of prices. This sampling gave me an opportunity to really talk about the region, Rioja, and some of the differences in locations, like Rioja Alta versus Rioja Baja, and differences in aging from Crianzas to Reservas. We sampled one Rioja that was the classical blend of grapes and three that were the more modern style of 100% Tempranillo. I even found one that I think works perfectly for any upcoming holiday meal (which might include turkey or ham).

I started the tasting with the most reasonably priced option of the four, Campo Vieja Crianza 2007, at $10 per bottle. This Rioja is the classic blend of 85% Tempranillo, 10% Garnacha and 5% Mazuelo, spending 12 months aging in oak barrels. I perceive soft and ripe black fruits on the nose with a hint of herbs. The flavors shift to tart red currants on the palate, finishing with a touch of spice box, light oak and just a whiff of mocha at the last. This is a great beginner Rioja that comes across more like a Merlot than like a Cabernet, and I’d pair it with lighter fare, like a meaty paella or milder cheeses like Spanish Tetilla or Dutch Gouda. 

Our second Rioja was the Capitoso 2007, which is 100% Tempranillo and tastes like old-style Riojas with a rustic and earthy nose. I get some sharp acid on the mid-palate with a slight vegetal or herbal quality. As the wine crosses my tongue I experience dried cherries and rich loam with just a hint of fresh tobacco. This Rioja has a more astringent, oaky finish than the first, with just a hint of cedar at the very end. This wine would pair nicely with osso buco (which is Italian, but Spanish oxtail would also work) because of the more rustic notes to the wine. I might pair this Rioja with a heartier cheese like Spanish Mahon or French Mimolette. Here is an affordable Rioja for the real classicists for only $12 per bottle.

Our third Rioja was the Bai Gorri Crianza 2005 which is also 100% Tempranillo and spends 14 months in French and American oak. The grapes are sourced from the smallest subzone of Rioja: Rioja Alavesa. The six years of aging have softened this wine leaving a velvety texture on the palate. Plum and cedar erupt from my glass, with smoothly integrated tannins and no hint of alcoholic heat. I smell cassis and just a whiff of licorice on the finish with just a tiny touch of aged cedar. This is an easy-quaffing Crianza, perfectly aged and ready to drink now. Bai Gorri would be my pick for a Rioja to go with the typical turkey-focused holiday meal, though it would pair nicely with ham or lamb as well. I might go for some softer, richer cheeses like Italian Taleggio or French Epoisses to pair with this Rioja. It also scored 90 points from Wine Enthusiast and 91 from Wine Advocate, so the experts agree, and it’s a great bargain at just under $20 per bottle.

 If we were just looking at scores then the last Rioja we sampled would be the king, the 100% Tempranillo 2005 Lealtanza Selección Especial Reserva. My first sense is of marinara and cedar spice box on the nose, but other tasters perceived numerous aromas. There is real depth on the palate, approaching Haut Medoc style, with dried cherries and currants, mingling with a smoky oak bouquet creating a lingering finish. This wine has deep flavors and loads of complexity, including cola and black licorice at the last. I might suggest decanting, as I found the wine to soften with airing, leaving a lush and velvety sensation on the tongue. This Lealtanza has earned its consistent 90+ scores, and I’d pair this with a big rib eye or stronger cheeses like Spanish Manchego or Cabrales. At $35 per bottle, the Lealtanza was the priciest but matches or surpasses Bordeauxs that are twice the price. This is a wine to remember.

 Keep a lookout for future geographically specific tastings at your local ABC, as they are such a great opportunity to expand your knowledge about one region. Your local Wine Consultant should send you a message to let you know (if you’ve given him or her your email address) or check out the calendar on the ABC website for future events. I hope you try some of these Riojas or some of our other special offerings from Spain. Happiest of Holidays to one and all!

Daniel Eddy is a wine consultant at our Newberry Road store in Gainesville, Florida.

He's also writes about wine pairings for Examiner.com--you can read more of his suggestions at http://www.examiner.com/wine-pairing-in-gainesville/daniel-eddy

Food and wine! Nothing I like more than the two. Last night, after a long day selling wine, I opened a bottle of the 2010 Pabiot Pouilly Fume (a wine which I love, and which, by the way, just received 91 points in the Wine Spectator) only because I happened to pick up earlier in the day a few packages of both of our new cheeses from the Vermont Creamery.

We now offer an ash crusted Chevre, as well as another goat’s mike cheese called Bijou. The Bijou (Crottin de Chevre) is modeled after the famous Crottin de Chavignol, which is made just across the river from where Pouilly-Fume comes from. They are a match made in heaven…..a little warm French bread and a cool glass of Sauvignon: life is good! Try them! Merry Christmas!

Shayne Hebert, Central Florida Wine Supervisor

follow me on Twitter @abcwineshayne

In the UK, port is regarded, historically, as a thoroughly "British drink."  Surprisingly, for a country that has embraced drinking port since the 17th century, most Brits buy only one bottle a year--at Christmas  for their traditional drink!  Another of their traditions on Christmas Eve is to leave out mince-meat pie and a glass of sherry for Santa (milk is also left).  A carrot is left somewhere for Rudolph, too!

                    Some port options                                    Feuerzangenbowle (fire-tongs punch) 

In Germany, one great traditional event is to boil a huge tub of mulled wine, placing a huge cone of sugar on the top, then drenching it completely with rum before setting it on fire and letting it drip into the wine.  They then serve it with Stollen cake (a loaf-shaped fruitcake with nuts, raisins, candied citrus peel, and spices, dusted with icing sugar. 

Stollen

The United States with its melting pot of global cultures has a bit of everything as traditions.  We've borrowed the traditional Christmas Gluhwein (from Germany), Christmas turkey, and Santa Claus.  Speaking of Santa Claus, don't forget to put out a plate of cookies and glass of milk for the "Big Guy"!

Have a great Christmas!

Marie Griffin, Wine Supervisor, North/West Florida

Often, the way we buy things, including wine, is by the brand name. Frequently, we end up paying for the packaging, the advertising, and the prestige, in addition to what’s in the bottle. Fortunately, when it comes to wine, there are a lot of excellent options to ensure you’re paying for what’s in the bottle—and less than you might think!

 ‘Tis the season (although I think about it all year long) that the average wine consumer starts to think about celebrations and Champagne. As I have said before, speaking about other wines, to me, the most important element of choosing a wine besides your budget and taste is the vintage.  Was it a good year or a bad year? When you see NV on a Champagne label, this does not mean the Champagne was made in Nevada. It means non-vintage. They take a blend of grapes from bad years and good years and blend them. They then adjust the sugar level at the end and to create a consistent "House Style.” The same houses that produce these Champagnes all produce a product with a vintage that sometimes costs you $100 more than the NV or non-vintage offering. So, in most cases, buying a NV Champagne is what most people can afford.

 At ABC Fine Wine and Spirits, we are very fortunate to give you the opportunity to drink not only a quality, vintage Champagne, but a quality "Millésime" Champagne. Millésime Champagne is vintage Champagne that is only produced in exceptional years. Sounds expensive, doesn't it? What if I told you you could buy this Millésime Champagne for a price close to that of a NV Champagne?  

 Jean Noël Haton is the grandson of Octave Haton, who started the Haton Champagne Winery back in 1928. It is located in a new facility in the heart of the Champagne Region in the town of Damery and run by Jean Noël and his son Sébastien. Since they are small fish in a very large pond of large brand name Champagne houses, they have the good fortune of not having to purchase grapes from every vineyard in the world. They only buy grapes from the top vineyards in Champagne, known as Grand Cru and Premier Cru. The Haton products we carry are a NV Champagne, a NV Brut Rosé, a Vintage Blanc de Blancs and my favorite, the 2005 Millésime. As I said, Millésime is only made in exceptional years and 2005 was one of them.

 The blend is 40% Pinot Noir and 60% Chardonnay. The bubbles are fine and elegant. It has a beautiful balance between acidity and fruit and goes down very smoothly. I love this stuff! The 2005 Haton Millésime offers every guest the opportunity to drink the best quality Champagne for the best price ratio at ABC. The regular price is $41.99, and at the time of this writing it is on sale for $35.99. You don't have to be a Certified Sommelier to make an educated decision on this one—vintage Millésime Champagne that drinks as if cost $150 a bottle or more, priced to compete with non-vintage Champagne.  

 You can't drink the name so why not drink the best Champagne?

 2005 Haton Millésime. I'll drink to that! 

Guest blogger Larry Baker is the wine consultant in our Pembroke Pines store. You can see more of his wine reviews at his website: www.larrythewineguy.net

South Florida - December 4

It is a gorgeous chamber of commerce type day in South Florida today.

I ran a 5k race along the downtown waterfront this morning and wanted something special to celebrate with as I channel surfed between the Miami/Oakland game and the Tim Tebow game.

 Prior to trying Oskar Blue's Ten Fidy, I knew nothing about the beer besides that it is brewed only a few times a year and supplies are usually limited and sell out quickly.  When I had the opportunity to purchase a case for our Northlake Blvd location, I jumped on it.  On a side note, please do not let the can scare you away from this beer.

There are many great beers packaged in cans. Please do not let the price scare you either.  While $16 for a 4 pack is pricey, it is still a great value.  I love wine, but I cannot get a great bottle of wine and have one glass nightly for a week without the wine turning after a day or two. This is the great value in micro and craft beers; for $10-16 you can get a 4 or 6 pack of great beer and enjoy a drink each night.

Enough with my rambling; let's talk about this beer.  Pouring into the glass, this is the most viscous beer I have ever seen.  It is also pitch black; once in the glass I could not even see through the glass.

 Once I had the beer in the glass, the name 'Ten Fidy' made sense to me. This beer pours like motor oil and I assumed the numerical name was a nod to that.  This beer brings every flavor profile that you would expect from a heavy stout. Plenty of roasted cocoa, earthy and malty flavors.  However, there are also some hops in the beer that carry the flavors around your mouth and leave you with a long lingering finish.  This beer would be great with heavy foods and I would recommend it for someone who has experience with dark beers.  I honestly can not figure out if I like it or not; and because it makes me think about it so much, I think I like it.  While it is not a beer I want to drink every night, I can say I am looking forward to finding opportunities to drink the other three cans I have in my fridge.

Keep your glasses half full,

Evan

Beer blogger Evan Kaye manages our Northlake Blvd, Palm Beach Gardens, store

Some recent reports are predicting that the 2011 vintage could be the breakthrough year for South African Sauvignon Blanc. Most of us know that Chenin Blanc (aka Steen) from South Africa can be very impressive—make that absolutely delicious!—but quality Sauvignon Blanc has taken a little longer.

            One of the great things about Sauvignon Blanc is that sometimes an inexpensive bottle can be thoroughly enjoyable. There are Sauvy Blancs of premium quality at premium prices, yes, but if you’re just looking for easy, casual enjoyment the inexpensive variety can often fit the bill to a T.

            Our latest South African offering is The Beach House 2011 from Douglas Green Winery in the Western Cape. The wine is actually a blend of 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Semillon and the label suggests how we might wish to enjoy it by simply stating the words “tranquil   cool   rippled sand   driftwood   peaceful   relaxed   ebb   flow   chill.” It offers fresh, delightful flavors of lemongrass and gooseberries, and pairs well with cracked crab, shucked oysters, steamed clams, grilled fresh white fish, tuna carpaccio, shrimp, sushi rolls, seafood salads, and vegetarian dishes. How could you not enjoy a wine like that?

            And let’s not forget that this wine carries the new South African certification for Integrity and Sustainability from their Wine and Spirit Board (it appears on the neck of each bottle), which means that the winery ensures the integrity of the wines, the health and safety of its workers, its minimal use of chemicals and pesticides and the introduction of natural predators onto their farms, its protection of the biodiversity of South Africa’s floral kingdom, as well as its cleaning up of waste water.

            Like I said, how can you not enjoy a wine like that?

Bill Stobbs, ABC Wine Supervisor

(Follow me on Twitter @abcwinebills)

I am pleased to announce the arrival at ABC Fine Wine & Spirits stores of a new wine from the Appellation of Minervois in Southern France. The wine is Hegarty #1 Minervois 2005, a blend of 60% Syrah and 40% Carignan.

Our ABC wine team first visited the Hegarty estate on June 18, 2011. The English owner, John Hegarty, spared no expense when renovating the small winery with the latest, state of the art equipment.  A unique architectural design is the vinification tanks built into the rocks of the side of the hill. 

We were greeted by Samuel Berger, the winemaker, who showed us around the winery and the sustainably farmed  15ha of vineyards of old vine Grenache, Carignan, Mourvèdre, Syrah, Roussanne and Marsanne.

The unfiltered 2005 Hegarty #1 was barrel aged for two years. The wine exhibits a dark, saturated ruby color and aromas and flavors of blackcurrant, strawberry jam, licorice and plum.  It is medium to full-bodied with silky tannins, nice mouth-feel, good acidity and long finish.

This is a tremendous effort and a bargain at $21.99.

Atanas Nechkov, Central Florida Wine Supervisor

Follow me on Twitter @abcwineatanas

If you have been putting off your Christmas shopping until the last minute, this is the time to get started. Those of you who wait until the last second, no worries: you still have next week to get shopping. For the wine lovers on your list, here are a couple of new California Cabernet Sauvignons that will be sure to make the wine geeks on your list very happy. These wines are from two of Napa Valley’s finest Cabernet growing regions, Mount Veeder and Diamond Mountain, and are both part of the Jackie series of wines. These are wonderful wines that are named for Jackie Bailes, the daughter of ABC Fine Wine & Spirits founder, Jack Holloway…and by the way, ABC is celebrating their 75^th Anniversary this year. Congratulations!

 The 2009 vintage Cabernet Sauvignon from Diamond Mountain is made from 100 percent Cabernet.  The grapes were picked without the use of a spectrometer, the tool that measures sugar(brix) levels of a grape. These grapes were tasted to reveal to the vineyard manager the ripeness levels that he desired.  The wine lives up to the richness you would come to expect from Diamond Mountain fruit. A lovely nose of fruit, rosemary, and thyme; and on the palate flavors  brimming with ripe, rich red berries with a long, lush, highly structured tannic finish.

 The 2009 Mount Veeder Cabernet is also made from 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, but this wine shows more extracted, dark fruit character and beautiful aromas of blackberries, mocha and mint. A round, ripe mouthfeel reveals flavors of black fruits, spice, ripe plums, and integrated tannins with a spicy, leathery finish. These are very powerful, yet elegant, wines that show how good California wines can be at the attractive price of $29.99 on sale.

 The Jackie Cabernets don’t stay on the shelves very long, so if you are looking for a can’t miss wine gift, get going…

 Ken Amendola, North Florida Wine Supervisor

  To all the many thousands of loyal readers of my blog who are stressing out over what to get me for Christmas, relax. My gift will be the easiest one for you to buy...just give me a bottle of wine. Wine??? You're probably thinking, "I can't give a bottle of wine to someone who works in the wine industry." What if he doesn't like it? Or he probably has all the wine he needs. Not true.

Wine lovers never have "enough" wine. I'm proud to say I do my best to inch up the per capita consumption in the U.S. As far as not liking your choice of wine to give me, don't worry about that either. People always ask me what's your favorite wine. My answer is always the same, it depends. What am I eating, where am I , who am I with...the possibilities become endless.

Ok, as for some specific suggestions, Champagne is always welcomed. I can always find an excuse to open a bottle of bubbly. I'm particularly fond of Rose Champagne from Charles Mignon, Moutard and Jean-Noël Haton. If French Champagne is not in your budget this year then a bottle of Collalto Prosecco will be fine.

If you happen to love chardonnay and plan on bringing me a bottle as a present but really want to drink it with me, I have an affinity for white burgundy. Ballot-Millot Meursault or Paul Pillot Chassagne-Montrachet would be great choices. Just remember to chill it if you want to drink it with me.

As my loyal readers know, you can always win my heart with just about anything Italian. Poggio Il Castellare Brunello, La Gerla Brunello, Nicolis Amarone and Cabutto Barolo are just a few of the many I would love to see under my Christmas tree.

I could go on and on. There are so many wines that would bring a smile to my face on Christmas morning. And I promise I won't make you feel bad if you give me a bottle of wine I would never drink. The great thing about wine is you can always re-gift it.

I can always find someone who might enjoy the Romanian Merlot sitting under the tree.

You don't have to follow any of my suggestions but please promise me this: that you won't buy my present in Publix or Winn Dixie. I'd hate to think you picked up my present at the same time you were purchasing your toilet paper and cat food.

Merry Christmas,

Paul Quaglini

For those of you who are not sure, a hard cider is not a beer even though it is found in most beer sections of liquor and grocery stores.  The technical reason is beer is fermented using cereal grains as a base, while hard cider is fermented apple juice.  Another fun fact is, “pear cider” (i.e.  Woodchuck brand) is actually not a hard cider but ‘perry’, the proper name for fermented pear juice.  I am a beer lover but I will not shy away from a good hard cider. 

After hearing lots of positive feedback, I am excited to sample Woodchuck Hard Cider “Private Reserve Pumpkin.”  I was lucky enough to procure a bottle from the ABC on 34^th street in Gainesville. 

The bottle has a cool neon orange color with the signature woodchuck holding an apple on the center logo and its scientific name “marmota monax monax” underneath the artwork.   It has a nice 6.9% ABV, higher than many beers!

Appearance: I am serving it at the suggested 45 degrees in, appropriately, my Strongbow tumbler.  It pours a bubbly Champagne color with a faint orange hue. 

Smell: I sense baked apples in the nose with hints of pumpkin pulp and a touch of honey in the background.

Taste: this is not a traditional English dry cider, but it is lively and refreshing with a sweet red delicious apple flavor and a nice pumpkin pie pumpkin taste (I say this because pie pumpkins are generally sweeter).  There is no alcohol bite, making this a dangerously quaffable beverage.   This almost tastes like a pumpkin-infused Riesling. 

Hard cider and sweet cider (unfermented cider) is great for the holiday season with some spice, and you can heat up for those cold nights.  I can see why this particular one has been coveted and very hard to find.  Look for Woodchuck, Strongbow, Magner’s, Hornsby’s, and Harpoon’s hard ciders at most ABCs near you. 

Beer Blogger Adam Shugan is the manager at our Silver Springs Blvd, Ocala, store.

On my recent trip to Spain, I had an opportunity to enjoy perhaps the best meat Paella in the entire country at Paco Gandia restaurant in the remote village of Pinoso.  Located in the region of Valencia, roughly a 3.5 hour drive southeast of Madrid, you’ll find this cozy little restaurant tucked away on one of the town’s side streets (GPS navigation recommended).

 

Señor Gandia’s paella features only rabbit and snails and is cooked to perfection over an open hearth by his wife Josefa.  She uses dried grape vine cuttings as the fuel for her fire.  How she does this without either burning herself or overcooking the delicate calasparra rice is nothing short of a minor miracle. 

 

As any aficionado will tell you, great paella is all about the rice.  The rice should be slightly crunchy and yet still moist in its consistency.  Paco Gandia’s version meets all the criteria and has a caramelized, golden crust (called soccarat by paella mavens).  The paella’s flavors are immense, slightly smoky with intense saffron and grilled meat notes.  The rabbit is perfectly cooked and the snails are a wonderful addition, adding a pleasant earthiness and rich consistency to the dish. 

A well-suited match for this amazing paella was a tasty old-vine Monastrell (a.k.a. Mourvedre) from Bodegas Tarima.  This full-flavored red comes from the nearby denominacion of Jumilla.  BTW, this wine is a super value.  You can pick up a bottle at ABCFWS for $8.99 (samples of Paco Gandia’s meat paella not included). 

Jim Greeley, Wine Supervisor, SW Florida

We roasted a duck on Thanksgiving this year. Worked out just fine (besides the fact that we visited two different neighbors’ homes beforehand, and ate at both!), although I finally put it into the oven at 6:30 and did not get to it until well after 8pm. I made a stuffing with Andouille and apples and opened a nice Burgundy. The aroma of the duck had more than a few of my neighbors asking what I was making, so of course they were invited in for a taste.

There are two hidden benefits to roasting duck that I discovered that evening and will be looking forward to for Christmas this year, and probably every chance I have between now and the day I overdose on duck fat. Once the duck was finished, it had rendered over a cup of fat. I suppose most people toss this down the disposal, but if you do, let me tell you what you have been missing! I saved the fat, including the little bits of cooked flavor that comes with it, kept it in the fridge, and have used it just about every night since! I ran out last night. Grilled chicken breast, add a bit of duck fat and the flavors explode!!! Same with grilled pork tenderloin.

I remember ordering pommes frites at La Tupina, in Bordeaux this past April. They touted the fact that the fries were done in duck fat, and they were delicious, so last night, with only a few teaspoons of fat remaining, I julienned a few potatoes and fried them in a tablespoon of canola oil and a tablespoon of duck fat. Just as they were finishing, I took them out and let the fat drain, wiped the pan, added the last teaspoon of the duck fat and tossed the fries in one last time. It is simply delicious!

The second "hidden benefit" after we ate the duck was this: I am not one for making stock, but with an entire duck carcass and nothing else to do, I simmered the remains in water, oil, and garlic for a few hours…enough to yield about four cups of stock. Those went into the freezer, and I am planning on using at least one of those to make risotto with wild mushrooms.

Shayne Hebert, Central Florida Wine Supervisor

Even though weather conditions were difficult in 2011, in parts of Germany, the Ecovin wine producers were satisfied with the outcome.  Spring brought summer-like conditions, resulting in early vine budding.  May started with "under -freezing- point" temperatures, which froze many young shoots at various sites.

The irregular summer months were filled with lots of rain which gave the wine producers a hard time fighting fungal infections. Weather really made the wine producers work hard for their money!  BUT........... just in time for the main harvest weather conditions improved, allowing for good fruit.  The warm, high pressure weather at the end of August and lasting into October was perfect for quality grapes.

The 2011 organic harvest was greater than last year and slightly above average.  A particular characteristic of the 2011 vintage is the moderate acidity that distinguishes it from the previous vintage.

Marie Griffin, Wine Supervisor N/W Florida

The early shoppers are coming in with their long lists of people they need to buy gifts for, and in my opinion they are going about it all wrong. Everyone is on a budget these days. Wine makes a great gift for the mail person, the lawn guy, the cleaning lady, the hairdresser, your doctor, your acupuncturist, etc. etc. Some guests come in and tell me they have to really watch their budgets this year and they have over 30 people to buy gifts for, including the secret santas at work where the maximum allowed is $10 per person. They immediately run to the least expensive national brand name that is $5.99 a bottle. I explain to them that the mail will probably come back ripped, your hair will be cut poorly and your cleaning lady won't do the windows. Okay, that may be overstating the situation a little (maybe a lot), but my point is, why give an ordinary gift when an extraordinary one can be had for that same budget?

I think like a mattress store. It's been the way the mattress industry has been operating for years. They all guarantee if you can find the same model mattress that they are selling for a less expensive price they will beat it by $100. The problem is that the big names make the same mattress with different names for every retailer, so there is no possible way you can ever compare prices even though technically it is the same mattress.

Here's my solution: Bring "JOY" to the world for as little as $7.19 a bottle and still give somone the best quality white wine he (or she) has ever had; he (or she) will likely think you spent a whole lot more (regardless of the gift-giving "rules").

I am speaking of Domaine de Joÿ,  from the Côtes de Gascogne region of France located in the Pyranées mountains. This is a unique blend of grape varieties from that area of Colombard, Ugni Blanc (the same grape that is used to make Armagnac, which is where Domaine de Joÿ is located) and a wonderful fruity grape called Gros Manseng. You blend them all together and you get what I call the most refreshing, tropical-tasting white wine that I consume on a regular basis.

The Domaine de Joÿ Gascogne retails for $7.99, but after you purchase six bottles or more with your ABC card and receive 10% off all the bottles, the price comes down to about $7.19 per bottle.

So make your list, but check it twice (or maybe three times) and instead of filling up your car with wines at the place you fill up your car with gas, stop by your local ABC Fine Wine and Spirits, buy a case of this great valued, great-tasting, quality white wine and bring "Joy" or Domaine de "Joÿ" to the world!

Larry Baker is the wine consultant at our Pembroke Pines store. You can find more of his wine ideas at his personal website, www.larrythewineguy.net.

 For as long as I can remember, when people would ask me when college basketball season started, I would reply with 'In early January when football season ends."  However, with the Florida Gator football season having anything but a good year (I now know what it feels like to be a UM or FSU fan), I was happy to see the Gator basketball team play OSU on TV a couple of weeks ago.  Since I view basketball as a winter sport, I felt the need to drink a winter beer while watching it.

 Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout sounded interesting enough to me.  I have always enjoyed the other Brooklyn Brewery products I have had in the past. This beer is one of their winter seasonal selections.  I must confess, though, that I am not a chocolate person, except for the occasional piece of dark chocolate or a good cookie. 

 The beer pours with a lovely dark color and a creamy brown head.  It has all the typical aromas of a stout with a noticeable aroma of chocolate.  This is a big beer with tons of flavors going on in the mouth. After taking one sip I realized it needed to go with food and got a scoop of vanilla ice cream to go with it.  I was also happy to see that chocolate was not the only flavor in the beer; it came and went as a way to complement the other dark malts in the beer.  I was shocked when I noticed this beer has a high alcohol content of 10%.  The beer is so well made with so many flavors that it hides the alcohol perfectly.  This is a perfect beer for a winter day.  If I could be sitting on the front porch of a cabin watching the snow fall, this is the beer I want in my hands.  It is also a beer that will pair extremely well with a good full bodied cigar.

 While winter may not be here yet, I am glad this beer and NCAA basketball are.

Keep your glasses half full,

Evan

 Beer blogger Evan Kaye is the store manager of our (Northlake Blvd) Palm Beach Gardens store.

How long has it been since you’ve tried a really good Australian Shiraz? As it happens there are plenty of them out there but they sometimes get lost in the ocean of bulk wine that Australia also produces, replete with critter and/or supposedly humorous names. The bulk wines are what they are, but I’d like to remind you that Australia also produces wine of great quality.

            Case in point: the Oliverhill Winery. Oliverhill was founded in 1973 and has been owned and operated by Linda and Stuart Miller since the early '90s. It is located just north of the township of McLarenVale in a sub-region known as Seaview. They are small, quality producers who have been receiving terrific scores and ratings all around. Their 2007 Jimmy Section Shiraz scored 92 points from Steve Tanzer and was described elsewhere as “liquid sex." Similar scores were given to their '07 Clarendon Shiraz and their '07 Mt. Benson Premium Estate Shiraz, while their '07 Petite Sirah (sometimes known as Durif in Australia) scored 93 from Robert Parker.

            The wines are typical of the great McLaren Vale terroir – generous but not over the top, big and juicy with rich flavors of dark fruit, beautifully balanced and with exceptional fruit intensity. All of their wines are both vegan-friendly and cruelty free. Oliverhill never produces a lot of wine, but what they do produce is always of the highest quality.  Now, for the first time, they offer a quality wine at a friendly price-point – Oliverhill Red Silk Shiraz 2008.

            For less than $20 this is a really beautiful Shiraz. Robert Parker scored it at 91 points and described it as “rich, concentrated and layered on the palate, it is loaded with sweet, savory black fruit (and) spices.” 

            Pick up a bottle soon and see what Australian Shiraz is really all about.

Bill Stobbs, ABC Wine Supervisor, West Coast

I am very pleased to announce the arrival at ABC Fine Wine & Spirits of a new wine from Provence, Chateau Montaud Côtes de Provences Rosé 2010.

Château Montaud is a family estate winery located in the heart of the Massive des Maures, the authentic and quiet back-country area away from the tourist crowds and source of some of the world's best rosé wines; Domaine de Paris is another favorite Provence rosé located only a few miles away.

 Our ABC Wine team visited Château Montaud for the first time in June 2011.

We were warmly greeted by the Ravel family; Fred Ravel, owner and winemaker, showed us around the vineyards and the winery. We were later joined by his parents, François and Beatrice, who sampled with us the current vintages of the estate’s wines.

 The 2010 Côtes de Provence Rosé was an immediate favorite; it was a very welcomed refreshment and thirst quencher after the run in the vineyards and later on it paired perfectly with the light, provençal style lunch.

 The wine exhibits a pale salmon pink color and aromas and flavors of fresh strawberries, raspberries, wild flowers and a long vibrant finish. Enjoy as aperitif, or pair with salads, roasted vegetables, black olive tapenade, goat cheese, sea-food dishes and grilled fish.

A real bargain offered at $ 10.99 a bottle.

Atanas Nechkov, Central Florida Wine Supervisor

2010 was the first year that ABC brought in a rare varietal wine from Burgundy, France, called Aligoté (or Bourgogne Aligoté). As we welcome our snowbird guests from the province of Quebec, one of the first questions I often get asked is "Where is your Aligote?" Many of our Canadian guests stay here in Florida from November until the frosts go away in Quebec after Easter. I thought it was a great idea when ABC brought in this wine as we all know what it's like to be away from home for a while and even the smallest reminder of home makes us feel comfortable. One of our best French wine importers who supplies us with fantastic Direct To You Wines from France is Jonathan Shiekman from Margate Wines and Spirits in Northfield, NJ. If Jonathan were going to offer ABC an Aligoté, as usual, it had to be of the highest quality like the rest of his portfolio. Paul Pillot, a fourth generation winery with 13 hectares of land and with vineyards in Chassagne Montrachet and Santenay, is the producer.  

 As I was putting my display together this year for the 2010 fresh vintage of Paul Pillot Bourgogne Aligoté, I bought a bottle and sampled it. Even better than the 2009, the 2010 smells like Chablis with that fresh day at the beach smell of salinity. On the palate it shows fresh apples, pears, and a fresh squeeze of citrus with a tingling sensation on your mid-palate that just makes your mouth water and lingers for five minutes or more and makes you want to dive in for another sip.

 This is quality wine that makes the perfect aperitif and the perfect wine for a plate of stone crabs with mustard sauce.

 Stop by your local ABC Fine Wine and Spirits and pick up a bottle or more (a very small supply is brought in each year) and I swear you will think you are drinking a $35 bottle of Chablis (made from Chardonnay like all white Burgundies, except for this) and not a $15.99 unique varietal wine such as this one.  Bienvenue, Aligoté est ici, and Paul Pillot's 2010 Bourgogne Aligoté is tres, tres, tres, tres bon! For my English speaking guests, this wine is really, really, really, good!

Guest blogger Larry Baker is the wine consultant at our Pembroke Pines store.

You can see more of his wine/food reviews at his personal website, www.larrythewineguy.net.

I have many fond memories of  growing up in Western Massachusetts. Even with the changing seasons and miserably long winters it seems like we were always outside. I remember playing for hours in my next door neighbor Dave's  backyard. Dave had a real handyman for a dad who built a wooden replica of a medieval castle in the yard. It became the favorite hangout for most of the kids in the neighborhood.

Last month while traveling through Italy I had a flashback to those fun times of my childhood. Europe is full of beautiful old castles but certainly one of the most impressive is the castle of Montalcino. Its construction began in 1361 and it is practically completely intact today.

When we arrived at the castle with our host, Alberto Passeri from the La Gerla wine estate, the sun was setting and the temperature was dropping quickly. Alberto wanted to show us the wine shop and tasting room which is now located on the ground floor of the castle. Perhaps we could taste a couple of Brunellos and then move on to dinner...but we had different ideas. Today it functions like a museum and for a couple of euros they allow you to explore the rest of the fortress.
With its dark spiral staircases, leading up to watchtowers with incredible views of the surrounding countryside, it felt like we had stepped back in time. One of those memorable moments that make you feel like a kid again.

Alberto Passeri [second from the left] and a bunch of kids from ABC in the Castle of Montalcino.

Paul Quaglini

Here's a beer that might restore your energy after a day of frantically searching for the perfect Christmas gift! Beer blogger Adam Shugan explores the world of chili bock:

Did you know almost 1000 years ago cocoa beans were used for money and chocolate was sugarless?  That is right, you Ghirardelli and Godiva lovers, the ancient Aztecs, apparently unaware of sugar, drank cold, thick libations consisting of cocoa beans, chilies, and cornmeal.  Today, brewers are recreating these funky beverages (sans the cornmeal) and bringing back the drink of the gods.  I am now going to sample Samuel Adams chocolate chili bock known as “The Vixen.”

Appearance: It is being served chilled in my Strong Bow tumbler.  The bottle art depicts a hand drawn, voluptuous brunette holding a rose between her full lips.  The ingredients include chilies from Mexico, Cocoa nibs from Ecuador and Cinnamon from Southeast Asia, a beer brought together from around the globe.  A hard pour generates a charcoal black color with a massive three finger that sits on top like pumice.   

Smell: It is roasty and smoky almost like a rauch beer.   There are hints of spicy chilies in the background and some hops to balance things out.  I do not detect the cinnamon.

Taste: The head continues to sit on top like oil on water so I have no choice but to sample that first.  It actually carries some of the heat from the chilies!  The beer itself is smooth and chocolaty.  There is a fine bittersweet chocolate presence with a solid hop backbone.  The cinnamon provides a little flavor but there is no chili heat! With each sip, I am not getting the Yin Yang of spicy-sweet I was hoping for.   They could have saved the money on the chilies and stuck with a flavorful bock but c’est la vie.

         The Vixen is a good chocolate bock but needs a little improvement in the cloying piquant flavor.   Look for the new 22oz bottle and if you are lucky, Dogfish Head’s “Theobroma” another chocolate chili beer brewed with Aztec chocolate nibs, honey, and ancho chilies at your local ABC.  In addition, on a non-beer related note, the gourmet chocolate company Visionary Cacao offers “Xocolatl Dark” (bitter water in Aztec) with a fantastic marriage of real cayenne pepper heat, agave nectar, coconut oil, and raw cacao for an exquisite dessert spread also found at select ABC’s. 

Beer blogger Adam Shugan is the manager at our NE Silver Springs Blvd store in Ocala.

Every year my grandmother takes me on vacation with her, just a few days in St. Augustine. This year, we did something different – we visited Tarpon Springs. Located just north of Tampa, near New Port Richey, on the west coast, it's an easy drive from just about anywhere. Being mainly a Greek community, it’s famous for its sponge docks (Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe did an episode on sponge diving there), fabulous Greek cuisine, chamois skins, and hand-made soap. Having not experienced much Greek food or wine, I was excited to try something new.

On our first night, I asked the hotel clerk for a recommendation for dinner, and he told us his favorite place was Hellas. So to Hellas we went. Located across from the docks, this restaurant has been in business since 1970 – and for good reason. The service is fast and friendly, the prices are reasonable, and the food is to-die-for! They have a great selection of Greek wines from which to choose, and I picked out a red wine blended from a few different Greek varietals. It was a nice, medium-bodied red, with bright fruit and a little spice on the finish. It went well with the pastitsio (beef, lamb, and macaroni casserole) and the dolemates (stuffed grape leaves).

The next morning we visited downtown, comprised primarily of antique shops, plus a winery. Unfortunately, we had walked the wrong way, so we'll have to catch it next time. We then headed back to the docks for lunch, and walked through the numerous shops. Every wine shop is willing to pour free samples. I tried the infamous white wine Retsina, and it was not as bad as I'd anticipated. The style is based on techniques that date back to classical times, when the stone jars known as amphorae were lined with pine resin in order to preserve their contents. Today, Retsina is a simple, dry white wine that has lumps of resin from the Aleppo Pine, infused in it during fermentation. It's best served ice-cold, in sherry-like quantities, maybe with a slice of spanokopita (spinach pie).

Being a lover of full-bodied red wine, it was hard for me to find a red I really liked. These wines are very old world, and are light- to medium-bodied, with not a lot of fruit. We went into a small wine shop in the shopping village, and I tried a wine called Metoxi Tsantali. This is a monastic wine from Mount Athos, made from a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Limnio. It was a 2003 vintage, and drinking quite well, with dark red cherry and plum notes, it had firm but approachable tannin on the finish. This was just what I was looking for!

If you haven't visited Tarpon Springs yet, put it on your to-do list. The people are friendly, the food is fantastic, and the wine is plentiful. Don't forget to try the saganaki (flaming cheese). Opa!

Guest blogger Heather Hitson is the wine consultant at our Lady Lake store

More from my quest to discover what makes boxed wines work for everyday table wines. To date, I've tasted several different labels/varietals--you can read my reviews under the 'boxed wines' category.

BLACK BOX CHARDONNAY 2009:

DAY 1: I was afraid of this one at first. I just don’t like Chardonnay that much, especially overdone ones, wood chips, you know the story….. this one is clean and fruity, but not much of that woodsy quality. Nice acidity, good flavor and balance. I like it today, but I fear it will lose its initial style and become flat and boring, which is what I dislike about so many Chards.

 DAY 3: Crisp and clean. Fresh aromas and refreshing, medium-bodied mouth with just the right amount of acidity to keep it from being boring.

Hopefully the acidity remains over the next week or so; it helps give the wine a clean, orchard fruit flavor.

 DAY 5: So far, so good!

 DAY 7: I think the freshness has slipped a bit: the wine sits in my mouth a little heavier than before. Not as bright, but to be honest, I have had many other Chardonnay for more money than this one, that faded in the bottle after a day or so, and were used in sauce rather than drank. Funny about Chardonnay…..I think I critique them differently (or more seriously) than any other white wine. I look closer for faults and for things that I don’t like rather than for enjoyment….. maybe because they are so popular. Even though many of my favorite whites are white Burgundies, I find these too sometimes fade very quickly once opened…..a reason to either share them or to not leave any wine left to the whimsies of time!

 DAY 9: Much like the Zin, I will consume this one faster if I buy it again. Nothing wrong with it even now, it made a good showing for itself, but it was such a pleasant surprise last week, I feel just a little like some of it was wasted. I think many people would still enjoy it without question (referring back to my possible bias against Chardonnay in general).

BLACK BOX CABERNET SAUVIGNON:

DAY 1: Just a decent example of Cabernet, not a good one. I was a little surprised that this one wasn’t better, and the Merlot wasn’t as nice.

Simple aromas and flavors, cassis and red/blackberries. The tannins here seem separated from the wine, like they don’t exist until the wine is gone, than you feel them, alone, without the helping hand of some length in the finish to complement them. Not bad, and for the price, once again, is this really any better or worse than many of the $5-$8 cabs on the market now? I don’t think so!

 DAY 3: No real changes. I tried this Cabernet today with a slight chill, and it benefitted the wine both aromatically and flavor-atically. Decent, typical Cabernet flavors, a subtle hint of bell pepper, and still tannins lingering there after the fruit is gone. Lost interest after this. Did you ever drink a wine, and part way through, you realize it could be any wine, not a bad wine, but interchangeable with anything else. I felt that way the first time (every time) I had tried the 2-buck Chuck wines…..they were just wine, sort of for wine's sake, nothing more. I understand the logic behind why the other varietals….Zinfandel, Malbec and the like seem to show better than the mainstream ones….the overall quality of fruit available varies by varietal. Everyone wants Cabernet, so the juice available is either expensive or just so-so.

Shayne Hebert, Central Florida Wine Supervisor

When you think of Germany and the beverages they consume, beer generally comes to mind.  They are the third highest in consumption of beer in the world, but believe it or not, they're the highest (per capita) consumers of sparkling wine in the world!  The Germans serve it at every occasion and also commonly serve it as an aperitif.

Sekt (German word for sparkling) is most commonly made from the Riesling grape, but some vintners have been very successful with Chardonnay and Rose' style sparklers made from Pinot Noir. When Sekt is made the traditional way, (it goes thru a second fermentation in the bottle and hand riddler over an 18 to 24 month period), it's called Winzersekt.  The majority (95%) of Sekt is made the Charmat method, where the wine undergoes a secondary fermentation in stainless steel tanks and then bottled under pressure.  Remember, it was discovered that certain varieties of grapes show more fresh fruit characteristics if made the Charmat method, Riesling being one of them.  If CO2 is injected to make the bubbles, it may not be called Sekt, but is called Schaumwein.

A little history:  Sekt was discovered by a monk at the Haut-Villers Abbey in 1700.  In 1856 Adam Henkell began making Sekt.  A clever mixing of wines from different years and locations resulted in a blend which has the same character every year.  After the Second World War, Sekt was an unaffordable luxury for many, so Otto Henkell junior put Henkell Trocken into quarter bottles called a piccolo which held two glasses; very popular in the 50's. 

Give yourself a pleasant treat and try a German Sekt for the holidays!

Marie Griffin, N/W Florida Wine Supervisor

As Thanksgiving approaches and we start to think about our wine selections, I am here to warn you from my years of sommelier experience at restaurants, retail and hotels, that making the wrong choice could be dangerous to your palate. Or, at least, that making the right choice can make the experience much more fun.

 I agree that turkey can be great with Pinot Noir, red Zinfandel, Gewürztraminer, or Beaujolais, but to us Americans, Thanksgiving is usually the day we put on our special "fat pants," four sizes bigger, and put together a plate of food that can feed starving nations: foods that don't necessarily mesh well together as a combo plate, and almost certainly not with the wines above.

 As well as the above-mentioned wines go well with a well-cooked, juicy turkey, when you drink them with tart, sugary cranberry sauce, candied yams or sweet potato casserole loaded with brown sugar and more sugar from marshmallow toppings, creamed corn, oyster stuffing , you create a taste that doesn’t work so well.  Certainly, once you get away from the simple "what do I have with turkey" question, it gets a little tricky.

With that said, what do we match up with the traditional overstuffed plate of Thanksgiving fare, without making our mouths resent us for it? It's simple! We need a sorbet or palate cleanser to wash away all that sugary, herbaceous food off of our taste buds. I love roses or sparkling roses (the bubbles help cleanse the palate). Most roses even go well with the pumpkin pie as a contrast to the 50 pounds of sugar we just ingested. At ABC for value, I love Moncigale Rose from the Cotes Du Provence (under $10.00) and 2010 Domaine du Fregate Bandol Rose ($16.99).

 For the perfect sparklers , Collalto Spumante Rose (strawberry, biscuit, fresh lime finish) is unique and perfect and a selection of Italian wine importer Nadia Galati (on sale this month $16.99 from $18.99). If you want to splurge, the Haton Brut Rose (on sale for $28.99 from $34.99…a steal) and the top of the line Grand Cru Rose from Charles Mignon ($46.99) beats most $200 bottles of Rose Champagne. All of the above are not just perfect pairings with turkey, but with the entire plate of food even down to dessert!

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving and I promise you if you give my tried and tested Thanksgiving food and wine pairing suggestions a try, this year when you go around the table to say what you are thankful for, the first thing out of your mouth will be "I am thankful for Larry ‘The Wine Guy’!”

.....Gobble, Gobble

Guest blogger Larry Baker is the wine consultant at our Pembroke Pines store. You can see more of his wine and food suggestions on his personal web site: www.larrythewineguy.net.

We all know that Laetitia Pinot Noir and Block 511 Chardonnay are great for Thanksgiving, but what about something for the beer lovers at your table? Fear not, we have you covered with a few beer suggestions for each course.

                While welcoming family and awaiting the impending feast a little aperitif is in order. One suggestion is Rodenbach Grand Cru. There is a unique complexity to a Flanders Red Ale where sweet and sour play off of each other with a delicate refreshing balance. The sweetness leads with hints of raspberries, blackberries, and cherries. The cherries lead into tartness similar to a balsamic vinegar, yet light with a sweet backbone. The finish is equally sweet and tart. This is the perfect beer to open your palate and get your brain and stomach into the mood for food.

                In the instance of Thanksgiving dinner a good beer will refresh the palate between side dishes while both adding flavors to the experience and not outshining any particular aspect of the meal. A few suggestions are Blue Point Toasted Lager, Cigar City Maduro Brown, and Fuller’s ESB. Each beer will add a slightly different aspect to the meal. If you are looking for something to not overpower any of the traditional side dishes I would go with the Toasted Lager. The toasty quality will augment the turkey nicely and the light crisp nature of the beer will provide refreshment between bites. Cigar City Maduro would be a good idea if you are in the mood for a beer to bring a little more to the party. The malt backbone of Maduro provides a nice full, rich tone to the meal. Hints of oatmeal, raisin, tobacco, and robust roasted malt will add to any thanksgiving spread. Fuller’s ESB (short for Extra Special Bitter) is your beer if you’re looking for balance. The beer itself is nicely balanced with well-rounded sweet bready qualities and a hint of floral and pine hop qualities. This would pair well with turkey and ham while not overpowering more delicate sides like mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, or corn. This is what I’ll be drinking on turkey day and I may even add some to the dressing (or stuffing if you prefer).

                For dessert I would pair based on the choice of desserts. Unibroue Ephemere Cassis is a light, playfully sweet and lightly tart way to end the evening. This would pair well with sweeter fruit-forward desserts. Innis and Gunn Rum Cask Oak Aged Beer is a prime choice for more robust desserts like chocolate mousse as well as pumpkin or pecan pie. The sweetness of the rum and underlying malt complement each other nicely while the spice finish gives the beer its own character. If the beer itself is the dessert my personal choice would be St. Bernardus Abt 12. This beautifully balanced Belgian Quadrupel has notes of raisin, figs, sweet bread, and a touch of spice. This is a great way to end dinner and bond with the family.

Beer blogger Stephen Schmitt can be found pairing up beer and food at our Gandy Blvd, Tampa store.

At some point in any life that’s lived with enjoyment and curiosity most of us will consider dining on kangaroo. Apart from its sui generis appeal, kangaroo is one of the healthier meats to enjoy. It is low in fat (usually less than 2%) and high in protein and iron. Because it is so low in fat, however, kangaroo meat can easily dry out. The secret in cooking it lies in first soaking the meat in oil for fifteen minutes and then placing it in a very hot pan and turning it quickly to sear all sides, thus allowing it to retain its moisture. Still, it is usually best not to cook kangaroo beyond medium rare.

Here’s an interesting kangaroo recipe I came across recently –

Medallion of Kangaroo with Oyster Mushrooms and Juniper Sauce

Ingredients:

• 4x 120g Kangaroo Medallions (Loin Fillet)


• 160g Oyster Mushrooms


• 200 ml Red Wine


• 20g Chopped Onion


• 50ml + 20ml Gin


• 5 Juniper Berries


• 2 Bay Leaves


• 20g Crushed Garlic


• 200ml Brown Sauce Oil

Method:

Marinate kangaroo in red wine, 20ml gin, juniper berries and bay leaves – leave for 8-12 hours. Remove kangaroo from marinade – strain marinade.

Put marinade in a pot and reduce to a ¼. Add brown sauce and reduce by half.

Sauté mushrooms with chopped onion, gently remove from pan and keep warm.

Pan fry kangaroo medallions until medium-rare – 4 minutes each side, remove from pan and keep warm.

Deglaze pan with vodka and flame, add sauce and boil till required thickness.

Pour a little sauce on each plate, slice medallions into 4 strips. Arrange on sauce garnished with Oyster mushrooms.

*

The next question I’m sure you’re all asking yourselves is “What wine should I serve with kangaroo?” A good Australian Shiraz would work perfectly. If you’re planning a special evening and are willing to put out a few extra dollars, try Oliver Hill Jimmy’s Section Shiraz at about $30. The 2006 vintage rated an impressive 93 points from Wine Advocate. In the $12-$13 range you will certainly enjoy Jacob’s Creek Reserve Shiraz or Nugan Shiraz and find in them both an excellent pairing with your kangaroo repast.

Many thanks to the website KIAA – Cooking With Kangaroo – for this and many other fine kangaroo recipes (or roo-cipes). You’ll find a lot of great information on this site.

Bill Stobbs, ABC Wine Supervisor

Beaujolais Nouveau 2011 is (almost) here! It will be available for purchase at your favorite ABC store  Thursday, November 17 (that's tomorrow).

Three different wines are available this year: Duboeuf, Bouchard and a new wine called Jean Saint Honoré from the producers at Cave de Bully. This wine, as well as the Beaujolais Villages under the same name, are the fruit of the combined effort of a handful of vignerons from the area who decided to associate in order to create higher than  average quality Beaujolais wines from selected parcels under their ownership. 

I had the opportunity to taste the Jean St. Honoré Beaujolais Nouveau 2011 and was very pleased with the wine’s elegant aromas and flavors of strawberries, blackberries and violet floral notes. This wine should be served slightly chilled as aperitif or to complement a variety of dishes like grilled meats, pastas and roasted pork and poultry. It is the perfect complement to the holiday turkey meal. Shop early, as of this Thursday, as quantities are limited. Do not miss on a great holiday wine!

Here is a traditional Burgundian recipe for cheese puffs, called gougères. They are usually served as an appetizer with Burgundy white wines or lighter style reds like Beaujolais.

  This recipe makes about two dozen  gougères

• 4 oz. butter


• ½ tsp. salt


• 4 oz. white flour


• 4 eggs


• 4 oz. Compté cheese or Gruyère cheese, grated

 Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Combine the butter, salt, and 8 fl oz. of water in a saucepan and bring to boil. Remove the pan from the heat and add the flour, stirring vigorously until smooth. Let the mixture cool down slightly before incorporating the eggs, one at a time, whisking after each addition until the mixture is thick and smooth. Add the grated cheese and mix well.

Place the mixture, one tablespoon at a time, on a well-greased baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes at 400˚F, then lower the oven temperature to 350˚F and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until golden. Let the gougères cool down before serving. They should be crisp on the outside and moist on the inside.

 Atanas Nechkov, Wine Supervisor Central Florida

  So, I had a birthday a month ago and since it did not end with a five or a zero, it was not a big deal. We had a few very good friends over for dinner,  had a couple of bottles of ten and twelve year old Brunello di Montalcinos, gifts, cake and ice cream…a very nice evening. A good friend, though, could not be there that night and he said that we would get together for dinner at a later date. Well, we checked our calendars a few weeks ago and found that last Thursday night was the later date. Dinner was at the Capital Grille, which meant much good food and, as always, terrific service, thank you, Meghan. My friend is very fond of good wine and, as usual, brought two wines that you don’t see every day. He always seems to find wines that are incredibly intriguing. Wines you may have read about somewhere and some you’ve ever heard of before.

 The first was a bottle of 2002 Fiddlehead Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills Fiddlestix Lallapalooza. A full-bodied Pinot that was as big a mouthful as saying the name was. Now, most times this would have been the highlight wine of the night, but the other bottle he brought for dinner was a 2006 Saxum Bone Rock, James Berry Vineyard. I have read about these wines from Justin Smith, in the Wine Advocate, Spectator and others, but had not had the pleasure of actually trying them. So to go with my four double-cut, medium rare lamb chops was the most wonderful Central Coast, Paso Robles, wine that I had ever tasted. The blend is 76% Syrah, 18% Mourvedre and 6% Grenache, which by the way, went perfectly with the lamb. At a hefty 16% alcohol, which was not obvious at all, this giant wine has a beautifully floral, fruity nose. Big, round flavors of ripe blackberries, minerals, pencil lead and an enormously long finish. This wine was a really great, large scaled, fabulous wine that just kept on going.

 And as the title implies, this is one that I can scratch of my “wine bucket list." That just leaves me with one thousand, two hundred and thirty seven others on the list to try. So much wine and so…well, you know the rest.

Ken Amendola, North Florida Wine Supervisor

I am about to make a Larry "The Wine Guy" early prediction as to what category of wine and its origin will be selected as the #1 Wine Of The Year on Wine Spectator's Top 100 List, due out in December.

 Every wine producing region has "their” year—for example, 2000 and 2005 in Bordeaux, 2000 in Barolo, 1997 and 2007 in Napa Valley. 2008 is Oregon Pinot Noir's year. I must admit, I am an Oregon Pinotphile, but personal preference aside, I have already seen scores of close to near perfect from various producers. The conditions in 2008 were near perfect and the hang time on the vines ideal, so they produced textbook Oregon Pinots. ABC has a fine selection of Oregon Pinots, many of them "Direct to You" like Carlton Cellars, Boedecker Cellars, and Maysara.

 Moe and Flora Momtazi and their family purchased 532 acres in 1997 in the town of McMinnville, on a property that had volcanic soil and was free from any chemicals for 7 years. They are a certified Demeter biodynamic property. What does that mean in plain English? First of all, they are organic, no pesticides. Secondly they cannot adjust sugar levels and most importantly, they have to holistically feed the land with compost that they feel would nurture the vines. In their case, they do that with dandelion greens, Persian tea leaves, chamomile and green tea. If you are a lucky winemaker in Oregon, Moe and Flora might sell you some grapes, however Maysara (Persian word meaning “house of wine”) is their own estate bottled wine.

 Both the 2007 and the 2008 Maysara Jamsheed Pinot Noirs were rated 90 points by Wine Spectator and retail at the time of this writing for $24.99. According to ancient Persian legend, King Jamsheed was able to observe his entire realm by peering into his full wine goblet, hence the name of this bottling. I just sampled the 2008 vintage and now I see what all this hoopla is. Night and day in style from the 2007 offering. Zippy is a good word to use. Bright, cherry, black raspberry fruits attack my mid-palate with the acidity being so dead on that it creates a very persistent, lingering finish. I had delusions of some wild sautéed morels or chanterelles, or a perfectly cooked piece of grilled king salmon. I loved 2005 in Oregon (for you Burgundy fans), but if this 2008 Jamsheed is any indication of what 2008s will taste like from Boedecker (Athena and Stewart Pinots already rated 91 and 92 points by Spectator)or Carlton Cellars or any Oregon producer, then I know my prediction will be right. May I have the envelope please? The #1 Wine of the Year on Wine Spectator's Top 100 List for 2011 is the 2008 ________   ________ Willamette Valley Pinot Noir from Oregon. After you taste some of these spectacular wines from that vintage I think you will be able to fill in the blanks!

Larry Baker is the wine consultant in our Pembroke Pines store. You can also see more of his wine writings at his personal website, www.larrythewineguy.net.