Brew Hops & Wine Stops

Bardolino, to many wine drinkers, is a cheerful, uncomplicated red wine from the south eastern shores of Lake Garda in the Veneto region of Italy. To others it is cheap industrial wine that older Italian-Americans purchase with their weekly grocery shopping.

Having just returned from the Veneto region I have a very different view of Bardolino. First, as a tourist destination Bardolino is a charming medieval town worth spending a few days exploring.

Sunset in Bardolino

And while the town of Bardolino was more than a pleasant discovery, the real revelation for me were the wines of Giovanna Tantini. Giovanna went to school to become a lawyer, just as her father and her sister did before her. After acquiring her law degree,  Giovanna decided (somewhat to the dismay of her parents) she wanted to prove to the world that her native Bardolino was capable of producing world class wines.

Some have called Giovanna the original "garagista" from Bardolino because she began her wine making literally from her garage. In the vineyard she has implemented high density plantings and new low yielding clones to increase the concentration in her wines. All of her 11 hectares of vines are farmed organically.

Decanter magazine recently said of her wines that it is rare to find wines with as much personality and individuality as hers. A revelation.

Giovanna Tantini and me in her vineyards in Bardolino

We currently carry three wines from Giovanna: Bardolino DOC, Chiaretto DOC (one of my favorite rose wines), and Ettore, a unique blend of Corvina grapes which have been partially dried on the vine and then blended with a small amount of cabernet and merlot.

A final word if you decide to visit Bardolino: Giovanna has a beautiful new bed & breakfast set in the heart of her vineyards. info@giovannatantini.it

Paul Quaglini, SE Florida Wine Supervisor

Follow me on Twitter @abcwinepaulq

I am sailing the ship to Strasbourg, France, to the Brasseries Kronenbourg to try Kronenbourg 1664.  The beer is named for the year the original brewery, “Brasserie Du Canon,” was founded by master brewer Jerome Hatt.  It is a Euro Pale Lager style brewed with a hop exclusive to Alsace, France called Strisselspalt creating a very unique taste.

Appearance - I am going to enjoy it in my new BJ’s Brewhouse limited edition Grand Cru glass.  It is being served well chilled.  As you can see, it pours a luminous light golden color with a two finger snow-white head.  I can already smell that telltale Euro lager funk that you get from beers like Heineken. 

Smell – there is a sweet grassy aroma, slightly biscuity.  There is nothing wrong with that pungent, skunky smell.  In fact, many brewers desire it and select special yeast strains that accentuate it.  There is the common misconception that all beers in a green bottle (like Kronenbourg) are “skunked” by light affecting it but do not fret, you are only drinking a carefully crafted masterpiece by a proud European brewer.

Taste – rather refreshing with a crisp, slightly spicy finish created by the hops.  It produces a tang on the tip of my tongue.  I would say it is a little maltier than Heineken but remains very sessionable.

This is a decent Euro Lager.  Be sure to raise a pint July 14^th for the French holiday Bastille Day.   Kronenbourg 1664 can be found at any ABC near you.

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

Growing up, the poem “The Road Not Taken” was a sentimental favorite.  Paths chosen and their consequential permutations do echo and resonate, even in mid-life.  Regrets?  Perhaps I’ve had a few, but it’s been rare when it comes to the subject of wine.  Taking the unconventional route can reap its rewards.

Choosing between just another New World Cabernet and an obscure little red like Mencia, for example, is certainly akin to selecting the road less travelled.  Here’s a little Spanish variety with plenty of personality and worthy of discovery.  It’s unique to the northwest of Spain, grown in the regions of Bierzo, Valdeorras, Monterrei and Ribeira Sacra, right in the heart of Galicia.  Once purported to being a cousin of Cabernet Franc (an assumption since disproven), Mencia produces a medium-bodied, savory red with juicy raspberry and currant fruit.  It usually has a hint of tobacco leaf, bay, cumin or red spice, and sometimes olive tapenade.  Not surprisingly, it makes a great partner with grilled lamb or deeply flavored cuts of beef like hangar steak.

Because of the slate and granite sub-soil, in the denominacion of Bierzo, Mencia usually has a pleasant, earthy minerality to the wine.  The same can be said for neighboring Valdeorras.  I’ve been fortunate to enjoy Mencia on its home turf at Bodegas Avanthia.  Talk about a wine epiphany!

For a terrific introduction to Mencia at a bargain of a price, wander off the beaten wine path and seek out a bottle of La Mano Mencia Roble.  You’ll find it for $8.99 at your local ABCFWS store location.

Jim Greeley, Wine Supervisor, SW Florida

Follow me on twitter @AbcWineJimG

I think most people were expecting the vintage to open with a tiny little POP or maybe even a sigh, but it appears that 2011 will be a campaign of surprises! Whatever it takes to draw attention to the wines, I suppose, especially in a less-than-anticipated year like 2011. Of course the top estates will craft wonderful wines, as they always do, but overall there is less than the usual excitement in the market for 2011...Not everyone has the cash for another great vintage, much less another ‘vintage of the Century’.

 Prices are expected to drop somewhere between 25-40%, which is about what it will take to jumpstart the campaign. That would be a pleasant surprise. This is good news from top to bottom, collectors can snag First Growths (well, Lafite, anyways) with mid-90’s ratings for (are you holding your breath?) around $700-$750 a bottle on release price.

This represents a pretty sizable decrease over the 2010 vintage, where we offered (and sold every bottle) of Lafite-Rothschild for $1,150-$1,700, depending on when in the campaign you called me!

 Another surprise is that Lafite-Rothschild has actually opened the vintage, offering a small amount at 360 Euro to negociants, who in turn offered it at 420 Euro on the opening (first tranche) price. A fair savings over 2010, where the wines were offered at 600 euro, more than a third difference! For Lafite to open this early in the campaign is very rare. First Growths typically play the waiting game, letting all of the other Classified Growths set their prices, then wait until the other First Growths decide their price….they don’t want to be low man on the totem!

 The third bit of news at this early stage of the vintage is from Ch. Latour. This hugely collectable estate announced that 2011 would be the last time you would find her wines available on the ‘futures’ market. Instead, as far as I can see, the wines will be released when the estate thinks they are more approachable (maybe 10 years?) and most likely profit themselves for their patience, rather than watch their wines skyrocket in value right after the futures campaign, the profits lining the investors' pockets rather than the Chateau.

 It's awfully early in the vintage to digest this much news! But it sure is exciting to watch…

Shayne Hebert, Central Florida Wine Supervisor

Follow me on Twitter @abcwineshayne

ALT BEER  (Dusseldorf, German-brewed beer)

Traveling in Germany and enjoying myriads of Rieslings, a stop at a local eatery and enjoying brats w/sauerkraut and a cold glass of ALTbier seems like the normal thing to do, especially in Dusseldorf!

Altbier is a German top-fermenting beer, brewed in Dusseldorf and other parts of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The name means "old beer" referring to the pre-lager brewing method of using warm top-fermenting yeast.  Over time, the ALT yeast adjusted to lower temperatiures and the ALT brewers would store the beer after fermentation, leading to a cleaner, crisper beer than is normal for some other top-fermented beers, such as British pale ale. I'll remember it always!

Marie Griffin, wine supervisor

Follow me on Twitter @abcwinemarieg

Appearance: copper with hints of blood orange and ruby.

 Nose: honey and spiced orange heat tickles in the back much like a wintry flame crackling in the chill night air. Peaches and apricot. Honey on crunchy cornbread. Wild rye husks and seeds.

 Body: swirls oily, thick, and sticky. Full and mouth-coating. Sticky lips. Dry in the back.

 Palate: sweet up front, dry in the back, heat, and then lingering spice. Honey along the sides. Cornbread is a faint afterthought, mostly crust. Rye seeds in the middle, sweet and caramelized in honey apricots. Orange oils and zest.

 Finish: grips the middle of my chest and never really lets go, lingering and teasing with sweet spicy heat. Finish is dry with raw rye seeds and husks in the back. Somewhere a fireplace is crackling.

My first dip into the newly rediscovered world of rye whiskey, a brand new venture I thoroughly enjoyed and continue to enjoy. While (ri)1 isn’t the most complex rye whiskey, brimming with depth and individual character, I found it more than satisfactory. Considering my overall curiosity when it comes to flavor generally speaking and spirits specifically speaking, my journey is far from over…if it will ever be over at all. I damn well hope not for as rewarding is the destination, so too is the journey itself. Since my virgin baptism (ri)1 style, I’ve sampled a few other rye whiskeys and it pleasures me greatly to know there are many more. In fact, with the resurgence of interest in rye (both in whiskey and beer) and the ever expanding embrace of small, artisanal, and local, methinks this is a journey without end and I am quite alright with that.

 But just what is it that makes rye whiskey so special? Well, it really is all in the namesake and that is rye. Whiskey is nothing new, though always something special, and as American is bourbon, so too is rye. Our own island of austerity and unapologetic character, rye’s flavor is dry and spiced, sweet and heat, fruity and husky. Rye is not an easy character to deal with; from mash to wort to distillation to barrel, rye fights each and every step in a robust proclamation of its individuality and proud declaration to stay that way. Side by side by side, rye is neither bourbon nor scotch nor Canadian whiskey nor moonshine.

 Truly unique and truly delicious, in my not so humble and proud of it opinion, rye continues to enjoy its flavorful boom, and so will I. Ask your liquor store clerk, your bartender, or your local cocktail geek (for every cocktailarian is equally a spirit geek) for some rye. Have a taste or three. Savor the horizons and never once stop being curious. The spice of life? Maybe not THE spice of life, but definitely one of integrity and respect.

Kristyn Lier, Vero Beach (20th St. ABC Fine Wine and Spirits)

Shandies (shandy is short for shandygaff) date back to the 19^th century, and are a blend of beer and soda—such as ginger ale—lemonade, or another flavor.  Think of them, perhaps, as the original beer cocktail. The generally lower alcohol content and the addition of flavor makes them really refreshing alternatives for the summer.

Recently arrived: Leinenkugal's Summer Shandy, a lemonade-flavored beer that will be a hit for your tastebuds. It's brewed with wheat and malted barley, then the brew masters mix in lemonade and citrus flavors. The result is a creamy yellow shandy with lemon/citrusy aromas interwoven with malt and hop notes. The aromas and flavors balance malt sweetness with the tartness of the lemon and citrus for a refreshing twist on beer.

Team it up with summer foods like lightly seasoned seafood, chicken, and Tex-Mex (mild salsas), fairly mild cheeses like mild-to-medium cheddar or baby Swiss, or salads.

These beers are in very limited distribution, but well worth the find.

First up: North Coast Brewing's 20th Anniversary Ale (Grand Cru)

Appearance: brilliant golds and coppers. Small and tight head the color of pith which fades fast, leaving just an itsy bitsy teensy weensy collar of miniscule bubbles. Swirls without lace.

 Nose: boozy cidery fermented apples with a touch of apple vinegar. Further boozy spicy honeyed notes of peaches, apricots, and cantaloupe. Rhubarb and raspberries get their equal treatment of boozy delights. Whisper of granny smith apples for tartness. Essence of single-malt saturated oak barrels.

 Palate: light up front, long and sticky and warm in the middle, with a dry spiced boozy honeyed finish. Honeyed apples, peaches, and apricots followed by more honey followed by single-malt spicy boozy delights. Not heavy or overpowering at all. Liquid essence of rhubarb and raspberry in the middle. As she loses her initial chill, the chest-warming delights of oak, spicy, and booze kick it up one more notch. Honey holds everything together. Red apples than granny smith apples.

Final Thoughts: yowza!! Wasn’t sure what to expect when I first poured this anniversary beer into my glass. Typically anniversary beers are big bad imperial stouts, but not so at North Coast and for that, I am so glad. Their Twentieth Anniversary Ale probably won’t become a seasonal staple which means I need to hunt down another bottle or three.

Next find: Cigar City Brewing's Sugar Plum Brown

Appearance: chestnut browns under an average khaki head with bubbles ringing the side. Head fades into a small filmy puddle in the middle. Swirls thick along the sides but no lace.

 Nose: cooked melted caramelized brown sugar and sugar in the raw. Meaty dates, prunes, and raisins find a home in dense, moist, chewy cinnamon laced bread. Fig cake, fruit cake. Maraschino.

 Palate: yummy! Cooked brown sugar sweetness mingles with prunes and dates. Fruitcake underneath finishes with maraschino cherries. As it warms up, tannic tartness nips at the back of my tongue with plum skins, leather, and dry red wine. Surprisingly medium-light body with a clean, slightly silky mouthfeel. Stewed and boozed prunes, raisins, plums, and purple grapes.

Final Thoughts: I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with this beer. I feared excessive sweetness and cloying tendencies and got the exact opposite. Delicately rich and sophisticated, I hope Cigar City releases this winter wonderland again this year.

Kristyn Lier can be found at our 20th Street, Vero Beach store. More of her beer finds and other writings can be found on her personal blog at beerambassador.net.

The 2011 vintage in Bordeaux was a challenging one due to several factors: hot weather in springtime, an early harvest, lack of sunshine in July, a month of August with above-average precipitation, and the return of summer weather in early autumn.

The quality of the 2011 wines is variable; it was therefore more imperative than in a homogenous vintage, like 2009 and 2010 were, to be at the Primeurs tastings in Bordeaux. We tasted some great wines and many very good ones as well; overall the right bank is more consistent in quality than the left bank in 2011.

More on this--and the trip overall--later

Atanas Nechkov, Central Florida Wine Supervisor

Follow me on Twitter @abcwineatanas

  I was just reading a couple of posts from two of my colleagues; one had just returned from a wine trip to Italy and the other will be along with me on a trip to France in May. Paul Quaglini, who returned from Italy, remarked that however fun and romantic a wine trip would seem to be, it is still work. Spending all day tasting wine sounds like a day in heaven, but believe me, it can be a bit hellish. And though I have not been to this same event, I have spent days on end being driven around in a mini-bus from winery to winery tasting some good…and some not so good...wines all day long. Now, don’t get me wrong, this is not coal-mining, but as Paul said, it is also not a vacation. I can tell you that what we learn on these trips is invaluable to us as wine educators, teaching what we learn from books goes a long way, but standing in the vineyard gives you a much different perspective that truly resonates with our students.

A trip to Italy a couple of years ago started at Orlando airport at eight a.m. Eastern time and that day ended as we checked into our hotel at midnight Italy time…a very long day. We were on the bus at seven the next morning on the way to our first stop and even though we kept a frenetic pace throughout, we did visit some wonderful wineries like Poggio Castellare, La Tancia, the town of Montalcino and others that made the travel was well worth it.

Oh, and we were also stranded for an extra week in Florence when the volcano blew in Iceland.

Now that can be taken a couple of ways. For me it was quite inconvenient, but for those on the trip who hadn’t been to Italy before, it was a winning lotto ticket. And while we did have to “suffer” in a nice hotel in downtown Florence,  many and I do mean many people, young and old, had to live on a cot in a number of European Airports until the ash-cloud blew away and air traffic was restored. You never know what may happen when you travel or if you and your luggage have the same itinerary.

   Long days, too much wine…is there such a thing?? Volcanoes, lost luggage…the exchange rate, all of that seems insignificant  when you’re have an “al fresco” lunch in a vineyard, on a beautiful Tuscan afternoon with those who share your love of wine, food and the Italian culture. All in all not a bad trade.

   I will be leaving on my first wine trip in a couple of years and look forward to visiting the French wine regions of the Rhone Valley and Burgundy. My first time in both, so regardless of the schedule, the travel, the too much food and wine…is there such a thing?? I will go and suffer through, only so I can bring back the knowledge and experience to share with my students.

Ken Amendola, Wine Supervisor, North Florida

 Follow me on Twitter @abcwinekena

Let me repeat, I was not on vacation! I don't know how many times I have had to explain to my friends and colleagues that going to a trade show, even if it is in Italy, is not a vacation.  Verona, the host city for Vinitaly, while beautiful and romantic, is poorly equipped to handle the huge influx of visitors. Traffic moves at a crawl and if you are not staying in the city center it can take hours just to get to the fairgrounds and find a place to park.

Once inside the fairgrounds the real work begins. Appointments were scheduled from 9:00am to 6:00pm each day without even a break for lunch some days. I was with our wine buyer, Brad Lewis, who is a seasoned pro at surviving these marathon tasting days. One day he brought his lovely wife Joy along for a day in the life of Brad. Halfway through I noticed she was beginning to fade and by 3:00pm that day Brad decided it might be good for his marriage if he called it quits early.

I don't want to give the impression that going to Vinitaly is torture. It's just not vacation! In fact I hope to return again next year. There is nothing like sitting down face to face with winemakers and tasting the new vintage and discussing future business opportunities. 

Speaking of future business, look for new wines from Campania and  Franciacorta, as well as a couple of exciting new projects from some old friends. One is a new blend from the dynamic Gregory Perrucci of Racemi winery. The other is a new dry white wine conceived by our favorite Italian importer, Nadia Galati.

One of Italy's great winemakers, Gregory Perrucci at Vinitaly. The "car" in the background is part of the promotion for the wine Anarkos. Anarkos is available in our stores now...a must try.

Paul Quaglini, SE Florida Wine Supervisor

Follow me on Twitter @abcwinepaulq

Today I am visiting Dublin, Ireland for a dark offering from Guinness Ltd. known as Guinness Foreign Extra Stout.  This has been a long anticipated brew to reach the states.  Most people know Guinness for their draught and extra stout.  They are fine but not the best dark beer for someone to try who is just beginning to get into dark beers.  They are bitter and harsh and do not highlight the delightful coffee and chocolate notes a lot of other full-bodied stouts impart.  Now we come to the coveted Foreign Extra Stout, the epitome of a well-balanced and flavorful stout.

Appearance – It pours the inky midnight color expected from a strong stout.  I am enjoying it barely chilled in my Guinness tumbler.  A delicate pour still yields a hefty, bubbly head.

Aroma – sweet, roasted malts waft with a hint of sherry.  Though I mentioned before that coffee and chocolate are big in stouts, it is American stouts that emphasize these fragrances.  A good dry Irish stout is more medium bodied and easily drinkable.  It is also the Irish stout that goes well in a nitrogen can with a widget (refer to my old post on the widget) giving it that silky feel on the palate.

Taste – smooth, roasty, with a hint of currants and some firm citrus hops to back it up.  It is certainly the big brother of the classic Extra Stout.  The astringency shines through and stays true to the Irish style--no need for Kona coffee or Dutch chocolate here. 

This is what people should sample when they want to try a good, well-rounded stout.   If you are a black coffee or bitter sweet cacao lover then by all means, try Dogfish Head “Chicory Stout” or Rogue “Chocolate Stout,” which are two very fine examples of American stouts, but you won’t get the real dry stout experience.  Other dry Irish stouts include Beamish and Murphy’s, which can be found at a few ABCs. 

Beer blogger Adam Shugan manages our Silver Spring Blvd store in Ocala.

I’m almost positive that somewhere in the backlog of ‘Notes from Wine Country’ blog postings, I’ve made at least one, perhaps two, references to my love of good cheese paired with equally good wine (and what a joy it is when the match is perfect).  I mean, let’s be honest, it’s the ultimate food and wine equation:

HAPPY = (Good Cheese + Good Wine) / X

Of course, there’s the value of ‘X’ to be considered here.  So let’s assign a value of PERFECT for X.  But PERFECT is an inconsistent constant, and there’s the rub.  You see, for all the cheesemongers and wine geeks out there who claim there are many great wine and cheese matches, truthfully, there are just a paltry few that are a perfect match: Sauternes and Roquefort, Tawny Port and Stilton, Sancerre and Chevre, etc.  There are many more bad matches to be found, some of which are traditional pairings. 

Now I recently had a new (for me, anyway), delicious European cheese called Etorki.  This is a sheep’s milk cheese from the Basque region near the Pyrenees.  The Basque area straddles both the Spanish and French side of the mountains, but technically, this ivory colored, buttery, and slightly nutty cheese is a fromage and not a queso (translation: it’s French!).  Apparently they’ve been making it for millennia out of the milk of a certain breed of sheep, the Manech.  Basque shepherds traditionally serve it with black cherry jam.

Now the jam part got me to thinking.  What if I try a jammy, fruity red wine as a foil for the Etorki?  Well I sampled it the other day with a rich Spanish Garnacha (Bodegas Borsao Tres Picos).  It was a pretty good match.  Was it PERFECT?  Well, not quite.  But with Etorki now available at select ABCFWS store locations, I plan on picking up some more and having fun with my recalculations!

Jim Greeley, Wine Supervisor (and admitted wine geek), SW Florida

Follow me on Twitter @AbcWineJimG

One month away!

Heading to France in May, and I can’t wait. I was in Bordeaux in April last year, for UGC, but the weather is so much nicer in May. And we will be a little further south.

We will begin in Marseilles, and visit a few producers in Provence before moving up the Rhone Valley, which happen to be two of my favorite places in the world!

Avignon is a wonderful place to photograph, never mind the food. Mt. Ventoux, the Dentilles de Montmirail and of course many of the most beautiful little villages in France like Seguret and Roussillon.

 From the Rhone, we will spend a few days in Burgundy. I love the food in Burgundy, and the wines! Burgundy is the perfect place to visit in France if you only have a few days, since it is compact and packed with sights and excellent places to dine. I enjoy hiking or driving through her vineyards and taking pictures of all of the history. Burgundy is our last stop, before ending in Paris, where we have some free time to explore. As many times as I have flown into or out of Paris, I have never taken time to see any of it. This year, we have an entire day to roam, and I plan to photograph as much as I can get to, making time for a long lunch.

 Tasting along the way, visiting with winemakers and, of course, eating…what could be more exciting!  If all goes according to plan, I should have plenty of photos and fodder to fill months of blogs and twitter.

Do you have any favorite places I should try to make time for?

Shayne Hebert, Central Florida Wine Supervisor

Follow me on Twitter @abcwineshayne

AB (agriculture biologique) label for wines from EU

The AB logo above is a seal owned by the French state.  It stands for Agriculture Biologique.   Products can be labeled with this mark when they contain at least 95% organic components, were produced or processed within the EU, and were certified by one of the inspection bodies accredited by the state agency.

Starting with the 2012 vintage, European Union wine labels will show organic wines on the label. Remember that organic wines are actually made with conventional methods; only the grapes are organic. (Remember to look for the AB seal on 2012 wine).

Marie Griffin, NW Wine Supervisor

Follow me on Twitter @abcwinemarieg

Friday we introduced our new blogger: Kristyn Lier (your humble editor apparently can't spell--sorry, Kristyn!). Kristyn will be blogging on beers every other Friday, and on spirits once or twice a month as well. You can find her at our Hwy 60 Vero Beach store for in-person recommendations.

Bowmore Legend Islay Scotch

Color: copper and gold deep in the middle with lighter hues of sun-kissed straw and hay along the side.

 Nose: salty smoke, seaweed, and a hint of iodine. Wet sod. Honey baked grains. Band-Aids. Pervasive smoke.

 Palate: medium light weight, full in the middle with a fast finish. Salty smoke holds everything together. Sweet and dry golden hay. Leather in the back. Iodine mixed in salt and smoke in the breath, lingering long and growing Band-Aid notes. Simple but good.

Finish: salty smoke with a hard bite of iodine and Band-Aids underneath. Fast.

Bowmore. I had less than stellar expectations for the single-malts from Bowmore of Islay (pronounced “eye-la”) on the eastern shore of Loch Indaal, expectations which I should know by now are just plain silly. The Islay Legend is Bowmore’s core classic single-malt of no age denomination which, for me, is a first. Age denomination aside, she had plenty of flavor and classic Islay character to satiate. Everyone’s palate is different so flavors will weigh differently on each tasters palate, such as mine, where lemon zest was non-existent. The perennial sea salt, iodine, smoke, and leather were clean-cut and at full attention.

I loved it. A daily quaffer if I ever savored one.

And I shouldn’t be surprised. Bowmore has been around since 1779. To add a bit of perspective, Bowmore has been around as long as the now United States of America, minus three years, of course. Now that is living drinkable touchable tasteable history – a dram timeless. With a Standard range that includes a 12, 15, 18, and 25 year, Bowmore also boasts a Travel Retail line of 5 different malts and a USofA specific range that boasts a whopping 10 different malts. The Islay Legend which I savored above shares her home with both Scotland and America, a mutual relationship of dram drinking burgundianism.

Introducing Krystin, our new beer blogger! Krystin will be blogging off-Fridays (alternating with Adam Shugan) as well as some odd spots on spirits once a month or so.

 Krystin:

I love beer especially, but I also love anything fermented and/or distilled with flavor. One could say that I am a flavorholic. I’ll taste pretty much anything and everything at least once and pretty much like anything and everything I taste no matter how unique, unusual, or different. All I ask for is a little TLC and a passion for local.

I’ve completed the first level with the Cicerone Certification Program – Certified Beer Server – with plans for Certified Cicerone,  and completed one course at the Siebel Institute of Technology and World Brewing Acadamy (Professional Beer Tasting & Styles) with plans for many more. My love for beer, writing, pictures, food, and liquid libations has culminated in this: my ever evolving blog of beery bliss, distilled discoveries, and cocktail geekery. My hero is the great Beer Hunter and Whiskey Chaser Michael Jackson.

This weekend, we got Krystin to review a pair of craft beers worth trying on a hot and sunny weekend.

Breckinridge 471 IPA

Appearance: dark orange with copper and amber highlights. A pithy head is raucous with lacey blotches scattered all about. Swirls bubbly and chunky.

Nose: massive mandarin orange pith. Hints of banana peel. Washington apples amidst the orchard, air heavy with musk and the impending harvest. Aloe plants. Rind and peel and oily zest. Sticky up front and in the middle but finishes dry.

Palate: oranges and spice – rindy, dry, and pithy. Banana peel in the breath. Mango and guava skin. Sweet and sticky then raw tropical fruit skin notes. Aloe plants abound. Juicy piney and minty hops in the middle, prickly almost, putting the tastebuds on high alert.

Final Thoughts: not overly complex but big, bold, and demanding of attention while also managing to be extremely quaffable. Given the 9.2%ABV this is a deliciously dangerous combination…but I like danger and I really liked this beer.

Islander IPA

Appearance: pours clear orange with a touch of chill haze. Gorgeous pithy head is clumpy, lacey, wispy, bubbly, and thick. Swirls thicker.

Nose: orange, mandarin, mango, and lemon. Dew-dropped flower petals and green grass. Zip and zest. Floral esters in the back.

Palate: chewy and meaty with orange, mango, and honey up front. Dry finish of citrus skin and inner pith. Chewing on green grass heavy with morning dew. Pith parches while skins bitter and thirst ensues. Floral esters lightly tinge the breath.

Final Thoughts: simply good and straight to the hoppy point – pith, skin, resin, oils, zest, grass, dew.

Beer blogger Krystin Lier--the Beer Ambassador-- Hwy 60 Vero Beach ABC.

                                    (Two Hands – the premium Picture Series)

            How quickly we forget. Forget what? That Australia makes some of the most downright delicious, eminently enjoyable, sumptuously sensual wine in the world. Yes, we know all about that range of critter wines that do their daily workaday job, and are what they are, and have made vast fortunes for their purveyors even at the expense of Australia’s long-term prestige. But Australian wine is so much more than that.

            A perfect example – Two Hands Winery. It was established in 1999 with the aim of making the best possible Shiraz-based wines from prized growing regions throughout Australia. Based in the Barossa Valley in South Australia, the winery set out from the beginning to be unique – check out some of the names and labels – and to “put some fun back into wine”.

            The folks at Two Hands made a name for themselves almost immediately. Robert Parker proclaimed Two Hands “…the finest negociant operation south of the equator…” And if that wasn’t praise enough, in November 2011 Two Hands was named in the Wine Spectator’s annual Top 100 for the ninth consecutive year – an achievement that has never been equaled by any other winery.

                                    (Two Hands – the super premium Garden Series)

            Two Hands is dedicated to showcasing the diversity of Australian Shiraz. From Barossa Valley (robust with intense fruit and concentration, and firm, ripe tannins) to Clare Valley (generous but elegant) to McLaren Vale (generous dark fruits, sometimes chocolaty, with earth and spice notes) to Langhorne Creek (harmonious, medium to full bodied, with soft, silky tannins) to Padthaway (full-bodied, dense, fleshy, with peppery overtones) to Heathcote, Central Victoria (full-bodied and rich with cool, restrained elements) – every one is a winner.

            Treat yourself to a Two Hands wine today!

Bill Stobbs, ABC Wine Supervisor, Tampa/St Pete

(Follow me on Twitter at abcwinebills)

   As it’s getting a lot warmer each day we get more and more of our guests asking for a white wine they can enjoy in the hot days to follow… that isn’t Chardonnay. The ABC: Anything But Chardonnay wines. This is not an unusual thing to occur this time of year; people are looking for wines that are a little lighter and maybe a little fruitier to drink in the summer. Chardonnay sales seem to dip a bit this time of year as sales of some alternatives increase. For those alternatives, we have many wines to choose from, especially wines made in California & Oregon.

   From Lake County, in Northern California, the people at Shannon Ridge Winery produce a few very good examples of Sauvignon Blanc. These crisp, bright and fruit forward Sauvignon Blancs really hit the spot when the weather turns from hot to hotter. One of my favorite of these is the Vigilance Sauvignon Blanc, which is a steel-tank fermented white allowing the beautiful pineapple, melon and grapefruit flavors and aromas of Sauvignon Blanc to show through. Which I guess is, in my mind, the difference between a clean, crisp summer white wine and an oaky, smoky Chardonnay. Now there are some good unoaked Chardonnays, Paradise Sound for example, but for the most part this is a good time of year to try a new ABC wine.

   A very refreshing new wine from Sugar Plum is their Riesling. This an off-dry style that is full of green apple, pear and apricot flavors with some sweetness, but a lot of fun. The kind of wine to have in plenty in a tub of ice while you and your friends are playing volleyball, bocce or an intense game of cornhole. Another delicious wine to enjoy in the heat is the Pinot Gris from the Maysara family of wines. This Oregon wine has a brilliant golden color and a nose of pineapple & spice with the flavors of fresh mangos, pears and honeydew. A perfect wine with Asian foods or some grilled shrimp on top of some coconut rice.

   Regardless which way you turn, there are many white wines to try outside of the realm of Chardonnay. So take a look around your favorite wine shop and see how many great choices you have from white wines like Chenin Blanc, Viognier, Rousanne, and Pinot Blanc along with many others. Another good way to experiment with new wines is to attend one of your local ABC Fine Wine & Spirits wine tastings…ok, shameless self-promotion, but wine tastings are a fantastic way to be exposed to new wines.

Ken Amendola, Wine Supervisor, North Florida

Follow me on Twitter @abcwinekena

In the wine industry we are always trying to figure out the next hot trend. The French Paradox story that aired on 60 Minutes in 1991 catapulted sales of red wine and Merlot in particular. The 2004 movie Sideways is credited with creating huge sales increases  of California Pinot Noir.

The current craze for Moscato is a little more difficult to pinp on one specific event. Certainly pop culture stars have done their share to create"moscato madness." Sales in the U.S. are up a staggering 73% over last year. This has left big wine companies scrambling to make as much as possible with some large producers buying bulk moscato from wherever they can to quench demand.

Long before the current infatuation, moscato was produced in Italy. Moscato is Italian for muscat and I think it is important to know that there are over 50 different types of moscato just in Italy. I won't bore you with the details, but the finest example is Moscato Bianco, sometimes called Moscato di Canelli.

Moscato Bianco is an ancient variety that is planted over virtually the entire Italian peninsula. The best known and most popular is the Moscato Bianco grown in the Asti region of Piedmont. It comes in two forms: the fully sparkling Asti version and the lightly fizzy, less alcoholic Moscato D'Asti.

My favorite producer of these wines is a Azienda Ca' D'Gal. Winemaker Alessandro Boido crafts wines from his vineyards in the heart of the Asti region. His low yielding vines [some are more than 50 years old] produce wines that have the perfect balance of sugars and acidity.

If you are one of those wine buffs who snubs moscato, I'll bet you haven't tried Ca' D'Gal. If you routinely but moscato in a 1.5 liter bottle from the grocery store, treat yourself to the real thing.

Paul Quaglini, SE Florida Wine Supervisor

Follow me on Twitter @abcwinepaulq