We (ABC) were part of a big charity tasting this past Friday, Tom Coughlin’s JFund Charity for Children's Cancer. This is an event which is put on by one of the large, national wine wholesalers and is by far the most prestigious wine event of the year in North Florida. In the past we have attended as guests of the event, in that we are also one of the contributors to the tasting. The past couple of years we have also sampled a table of wines that are part of our Direct To You program.

This year I chose some wines that I really enjoy, including a Argentinian Merlot from Cicchitti, Block 506 Pinot Noir from the Russian River, the Messenger Cab from Oakville and a Syrah/Carignan blend from Hegarty in the South of France. Now, to those of us that work for ABC and to our guests that regularly shop with us, these are very good wines. To the guests of the JFund who haven’t heard of these wines they were a great surprise.

   One of the sayings I use when I am introducing a DTY (Direct To You) wine to an ABC guest for the first time is: You don’t drink the label!! Then I show them a wine that isn’t a national brand (i.e Silver Oak, Cakebread, Kendall-Jackson or Sterling) and point out that you should judge a wine by what is in the bottle, not by what the label reads. That this is a good idea was demonstrated Friday night at the JFund event as guest after guest tried the obscure wines we were pouring, then came back for another sample and to let us know how wonderful our wines were. Unknown wines, yes…great wines, absolutely! Next time you’re looking for something really good, track down an ABC Wine Consultant and ask him/her for a quality DTY Wine.

Until they come up with a great Cabernet flavored label, buy wines that focus on what pours out of the bottle, not what you're holding onto as you pour.

Ken Amendola, Wine Supervisor, North Florida

Follow me on Twitter @abcwinekena