Archive for February 2014

Home Archive for February 2014

Pa·tience

/ˈpāSHəns/

noun: patience

1. the capacity to accept or tolerate delay.

Sometimes in life, good things come to those who wait, even if the waiting period is much longer than expected. You’ll notice that I couldn’t resist the urge to lead off this post with a definition for “patience.” Many months ago, around the time a particular Rioja wine order was placed by us with its supplier, I might have substituted the verb “anticipating,” as used in the following sentence:

“ABC Fine Wine & Spirits is eagerly anticipating the arrival of the Wine Spectator’s 2013 Wine of the Year in their stores.”

But unfortunately, to paraphrase Robert Burns (or was it John Steinbeck?), it seemed that the best laid plans of mice and men did indeed go awry. In fact, with our order for 2004 Cune Imperial Rioja Gran Reserva endlessly tied up in distribution limbo, things were beginning to take the guise of another literary tome, Milton’s Paradise Lost.

So imagine my immense surprise when, lo and behold, our allocation appeared out of the blue at our warehouse last week! Well, that is to say, albeit short of our original requested allocation. At only 20 cases in stock, plainly stating this highly regarded wine will be gone relatively quickly is probably an understatement.

So if you too were eagerly anticipating the arrival of this 95 point rated classic (priced at $59.99), I would run rather than walk to your local ABCFWS location and secure a bottle or two. Once you acquire this wine you can enjoy it now (especially decanted and served with grilled beef or lamb). However, do not feel any unduly pressure to consume it straight away even though the vintage is nearly a decade old.

Technically, Gran Reserva wines in Rioja require a minimum 5 years traditional aging in a combination of barrel and bottle before they are allowed by Consejo rules to be released to the public. For many of the top Rioja producers, like Cune, 2004 is their current release for these wines. This vintage, along with 2005, is considered one of the very best in the region during the previous decade.

They’re often made in a style that will reward additional cellaring as Gran Reserva wines typically have the stuffing to age and improve for many more years. I can attest to this personally, as I’ve experienced the pleasure of great old Rioja vintages that are still drinking very well today, including 1970 and 1964.

Will this wine live up to the legends of those exceptional years? Just like great works of literature that still echo through time, I believe it ultimately will.

Jim Greeley, SW Florida Wine Supervisor

Follow me on Twitter @ABCWineJimG

Guests shopping in my store often ask, “Dave, what do the numbers below the wine tags mean?” They are referring to tasting notes with a score assigned, written by influential critics, whose words have been known to build or destroy a winery’s reputation. In this industry, a critic’s review is a very big deal.

For consumers, understanding how these reviews work goes far beyond looking for a high point score at an attractive price. To help you better understand how wine scores and tasting notes work, in an effort to help you pick out a delicious bottle of wine, I offer the following information and tips:

First, most critics use a 100-point scale, with 100 being a “perfect wine.” The base score for most is 55 points. Every day wines that are well made generally score in the 80 to 85 range.

Second, not every wine produced is reviewed by a critic for a variety of reasons. Just because a wine didn’t get reviewed, doesn’t mean it’s a bad wine.

Third, wines are tasted, reviewed, and scored against their peers. For example, a 90 rated Spanish wine may not taste better than an 85 rated French wine. I see consumers fall into this trap all too often, simply comparing point scores and nothing else. To get a scope of the whole picture, one must consider the wine’s origin and price when comparing one review to another.

Fourth, when a critic tastes a wine, points are assigned on a variety of factors, including the wine’s color, aroma, taste, over-all appeal and age-worthiness. A wine deemed not to be age-worthy will score lower, but this does not mean the wine tastes bad. It just tells us that you may not want to save this bottle for your newborn child’s twenty-first birthday celebration.

I recently experienced this phenomenon first hand when I attended ABC’s Grande Bordeaux Tasting, which featured wines from a very difficult 2011 vintage. Mother Nature really challenged these winemakers. On the whole, many succeeded in producing outstanding wines that will be enjoyable young, but not likely to age well. Is this a fault? Yes. Did many wines get scored lower because of this? Yes. Were they absolutely delicious when I tasted them? Yes! My conclusion on the 2011 vintage in Bordeaux? Stock up on your favorite producers and enjoy them now!

This brings me to my last tip: read the tasting note and try as many wines as you can to form your own conclusions. A wine critic’s goal is to give you an idea as to what the wine will taste like and offer insight on the wine’s quality, which almost always includes a suggestion on when the wine will be prime for drinking. If you ignore the tasting note and pay attention to just the score, you miss out on a lot of valuable information.

In the end, your enjoyment of the wine is all that matters. If a wine that scores well doesn’t quite meet your expectations, don’t get discouraged. It just means your opinion of the wine didn’t match that of the critic. It happens to me often.

Next time you visit ABC, be sure to check out the tasting notes and ask your store’s wine consultant for their opinion. Most likely we’ve tasted it too!

Until next time, happy tasting everyone and thank you for reading!

Dave Malone, Wine Consultant in Tallahassee (1930 Thomasville Rd.). Follow me on Twitter @abcwinedavem.

After my recent trip to Nicaragua I feel obliged to review a lot of cigars packed full of Nicaraguan tobacco. If that is your sort of thing then make sure you check back in here for the next few Saturdays.

Today I am enjoying a relatively new cigar to ABC, the Villiger 125. This cigar was created to celebrate their 125th year of being in the business. This cigar is limited to just 30,000 sticks, so once they are gone that is it.

This cigar starts with a beautiful Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. There isn't a "hotter" and more sought after wrapper leaf in the industry right now than the Ecuadorian Habano. I saw this leaf being put to use at every factory I visited on my trip to Estelí, Nicaragua last week. This cigar has a double Habano Jalapa binder. Of course, no Nicaraguan cigar would be complete without some Estelí filler. The blend of Jalapa Viso and Estelí Viso give the cigar just the right amount of spice and strength.

Ecuadorian Habano wrapper leaf just after fermentation.

I really enjoyed this cigar right from the start. Its appearance and feel were flawless. I couldn't find any soft spots anywhere on the stick. The flavor of the cigar was exactly what I expect to find in a cigar containing these wonderful Central American tobaccos. The Estelí filler provides its trademark pepper spice flavor along with a little extra nicotine. The fact that they used Viso priming and also incorporated some Jalapa on the inside does keep the power muted a bit, but this cigar is definitely a Nica. I classify the strength as a solid medium to full-bodied. Along with the pepper I experienced some sweet spices, most notably cinnamon. There was also a little cocoa, but the cinnamon was the most prevalent spice on the sweet side of the flavor wheel. Of course, the black pepper intensified as I smoked it past the halfway point, but the smoke was cool and it never got bitter. This cigar comes in three sizes, but their only variation is the length. The ring gauge is 54 on all three vitolas. Of course today a 54 is almost considered a Lancero compared to some of the massive cigars being produced. The cigar burned evenly throughout the one hour and 45 minutes I enjoyed it, and I never once had to relight or touch it up.

If you like spice and all the things that make Nicaragua tobacco what it is, give this cigar a shot. It is certainly up to the task of commemorating Villiger 125 years in the cigar business. I enjoyed this cigar with a nice cup of black Nicaraguan coffee but a nice porter or even a refreshing pilsner would have also been a fine companion.

Long Ashes,

Chris Gwaltney, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits North Florida Regional Manager. Certified Tobacconist and Cicerone Beer Server. Follow me on Twitter @abccigarchris.

I would like to welcome Uinta Brewing Company of Salt Lake City to sunny Florida. They feature a lineup of highly rated, masterfully crafted beers. They strive to be environmentally friendly and are the first company in Utah to be 100% wind-powered. Uinta is named after the east-west mountain range that runs through Utah.

They offer an array of big, full-flavored, elevated alcohol bombers called the Crooked Line that includes Sea Legs Baltic Porter, Tinder Rauchbier, Labyrinth Black Ale and Tilted Smile Imperial Pilsner. I sampled a can of Hop Nosh IPA. A curious story about Hop Nosh is that it was originally called Hop Notch but the fine folks of Notch Brewing of Ipswich, Massachusetts, politely asked Uinta to change it because some innocent beer drinkers were confusing the two breweries. Uinta kindly obliged and changed the name to Hop Nosh, which is Yiddish for "snack" and much more humorous in my opinion, because I can picture my sweet, old Jewish grandmother saying in her Midwestern accent, “Adam, you look a little thirsty, you want a little Hop Nosh?”

I have found that IPAs taste fresher out of the can and did a little experiment a while back by comparing equal dated IPAs from one brewery side by side, one out of a can and one out of a bottle. My conclusion was the hops were more pronounced and a tad more bitter out of the can. Although Hop Nosh is available in both a can and a bottle, I am happy that it is readily accessible to me in a handy six-pack box of cans.

I poured it into my favorite specially designed IPA glass and watched a beautiful cascade of honey gold develope a cushy white, three finger head--nothing says a good IPA more than a healthy gold hue.

The aroma was equally pleasant to the old olfactory system. It displayed bright flowery notes with hints of citrus and pineapple. One thing I love is the smell of hops, any hops. I would burn essential oils to get my house smelling like tropical fruits and pine.

The taste was fantastic. There were layers of grapefruit, tea leave, pine and papaya all held together with a warm hug of decadent caramel malts. A truly refreshing IPA.

I was able to get a preview of Uinta when I attended the Great American Beer Festival last year and enjoyed their Baba Black Lager and Detour Double IPA with much enthusiasm. Cheers!

Adam Shugan, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits Beer Consultant - Gainesville

Follow me on Twitter @abcbeeradams

A Cascabel is a small bell used in Spanish celebrations and is synonymous with festivity, liveliness and charm. The name here seems apt as these are also some of the qualities we look for in the enjoyment of wine.

Located at the southern end of McLaren Vale in south Australia, Cascabel is a joint project of winemakers Duncan Ferguson and Susana Fernandez who are not content to offer yet another ‘boutique’ wine thrown together to meet some marketing ploy. Their plan is to produce wines with a complexity and finesse beyond simple combinations of fruit and oak. They choose to control the quality of their wines by being personally and passionately involved in every step of the wine-making process from crush to bottling and to create all of their wines in-house. Their inspirations are the medium- to full-bodied red blends of the Rhône in France and the Rioja in Spain.

Composé is a blend of 50% Mourvèdre and 50% Syrah. That they choose to use the words Mourvèdre (instead of the usual Australian term Mataro) and Syrah (instead of Shiraz) suggests the inspiration and style of the wine. As their own tasting notes attest – “Compose wines are in essence blends and styles that pursue lively and charming wines with supple tannins and less overt oak influence, while allowing the varieties to show their most natural seductiveness. We love working with Rhone blends and the aim is to release a light and elegant wine with only one year in barrel, allowing freshness and charm so evident of these varieties when released young.”

In reviewing the current 2011 vintage Stephen Tanzer of the International Wine Cellar awarded the wine 90 points with the notes, “Pungent aromas of raspberry liqueur, lavender and licorice, lifted by an exotic Indian spice quality. Lush and pliant but with a surprisingly light touch to its flavors of red berries, floral pastilles and spicecake. Youthfully energetic and taut on the finish, which shows appealing sweetness and no obvious tannins. This is a very suave wine for the money.”

This delicious beauty of a wine is currently available at ABC Fine Wine & Spirits for $16.99. Enjoy!

Bill Stobbs, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits Wine Supervisor

Follow me on Twitter @abcwinebills

There's a popular saying in the wine world. You can't make good wine with bad grapes, but you can certainly make bad wine with good grapes. The same can be said for cigars. Actually, there are more things that have to go right after the harvest for cigar production than there does in wine production.

To successfully make a good cigar, you have to start with good leaves that are nurtured in the field, harvested correctly and at the right time. These leaves have to be air cured then sent to a processing facility to undergo fermentation. After fermentation the tobacco must be aged for one to three years, maybe even longer, then conditioned and prepared to be made into a cigar. The cigar is then rolled, then aged again until the stick is ready to be boxed up and shipped out. Throughout this entire process there are many hands that touch this tobacco. It is sorted, graded, and resorted so many times it's hard to keep track. There are many chances for something to go wrong during all this time, but there is one process that is the most crucial.

Fermentation is the most important step and the one that can absolutely ruin lots of tobacco if not done correctly. Without this process the cigar would be un-smokeable. It is this process that removes the ammonia from the leaf. I have attempted to smoke some tobacco that was not fermented completely and it was not a pleasant experience.

As those of you who regularly read this blog know, I was down in Nicaragua this past week with a small group of folks from ABC. We were the guests of the Torano family and our guides were Armando Lapido and Carlos Llaca-Torano of Torano Cigars. We had a great time and it was a very educational trip. I always learn something new, but I take special pleasure in seeing those who are seeing cigar country for the first time. It's hard to know what goes into making a cigar unless you've actually been there and seen it first-hand. That certainly rings true for understanding the fermentation process. When you walk into a room packed full of fermenting tobacco, the importance of this step certainly hits you and your sinuses very hard.

So how does this process work and what causes the tobacco to ferment? Well, the good thing about tobacco is that the only thing needed after leaving the field is water and time. The tobacco bunches are moistened and stacked onto a pallet known as pillones. Around a third of the way up a piece of conduit with holes in it, made of either plastic or wood, is laid on the pile which extends to the center of the stack. Tobacco is then stacked on top of it then the whole thing is topped off with burlap, plastic, or both. The weight and the moisture trapped in the leaves begins the process of fermentation. The tobacco on the bottom of the pile literally begins to cook just like a compost bin in your backyard. The temperatures reach well over 100 degrees and you can see smoke rising above the pillones. This is where things get a little tricky. If you don't ferment the tobacco long enough then it tastes bad and has the lovely flavor of ammonia, ferment too long and you ruin it by scorching the leaves. This is where those pieces of conduit come in. Inside the pipe is a string or piece of wire with a thermometer on the end. This temperature is carefully recorded on a chart and after a certain amount of time the tobacco is re stacked so the leaves ferment evenly. The times and temperatures vary according to the leaf, so it takes a skilled worker to get it just right.

A room full of pillones fermenting

We were fortunate during the tour of one processing facility that they had several different rooms with tobacco at various stages of fermentation. The first room we walked into wasn't bad and after checking the charts it was easy to understand why. Someone commented to me that the ammonia wasn't that bad. My response was that the temperature on the tobacco was just 80 degrees, which means it is close to being complete. In the next room we walked into, the chart showed the tobacco at over 100 degrees and the "not so bad" comment was quickly forgotten. We didn't spend as much time in the second room as we did the first. That difference in temperature was very noticeable.

Large pillones being perfectly stacked.

Carlos Torano and I checking the temperature chart on a pillones.

Making a great cigar is part art and part science and nowhere else is this more evident than during the fermentation process. The guy watching the big piles of tobacco, covered with tarps, and emitting ammonia may not spark the same romantic feelings as a skilled roller performing his/her craft on the rolling table. But without proper fermentation that torcedor would just be wasting time. It takes many hands to make a cigar, but it's the watchful eye of the person supervising the fermentation process that plays the most important roll.

Long Ashes,

Chris Gwaltney, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits North Florida Regional Manager. Certified Tobacconist and Cicerone Beer Server. Follow me on Twitter @abccigarchris.

Today is Valentinte’s Day, the perfect day to tell you about my newest beer fascination: lambics. Lambics hold a very strong root originally brewed in the Pajottenland, a regions of Belgium (southwest of Brussels); fits into several popular modern craft beer categories as well. Some recent categories I have seen lambics fall into are sours, fruit, farmhouse, wheat, and saison ales. According to lindemans.com, "A Lambic is 30% wheat and 70% malt spontaneous fermented beer seasoned with hops. The most typical difference between the brewing process of a conventional lager beer and a lambic are the following: to brew a spontaneous fermented lambic, no yeast is artificially added to the wort, but the wort is exposed to open air."

While exploring the world of different lambics, I found A FANTASTIC Frambroise (Raspberry) Lambic Beer Sorbetto on www.yummly.com, and it’s perfect for Valentine’s Day. Treat your significant other to a sweet, pink treat for dessert tonight.

The recipe is as follows:

6 cups of fresh raspberries

1 tsp lemon juice

simple syrup (1 cup sugar/1 cup water)

1 cup of Framboise Lambic

Place the raspberries and lemon juice in a food processor. Puree until smooth, pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl, pressing on the solids to extract the raspberry puree. Discard the seeds.

Whisk the chilled simple syrup into the raspberry puree. Put mixture in fridge to chill.

Pour the beer into a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat slightly, and boil for 1 minute. Watch the pan carefully so it doesn’t boil over. Remove from the heat and cool.

Gently whisk the beer into the raspberry mixture. Process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.

In a medium saucepan, combine the water and sugar. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil, whisking often to dissolve sugar. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 4 minutes, while continuing to whisk until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and cool, then transfer to a container, cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour.

If you’re planning on simply sipping on a lambic, Serve at 40-45 degrees F and pair with chocolate desserts, light seafoods and steamed mussels. Or, even better, mix it with a chocolate stout—it’s better than chocolate covered strawberries.

What will you make your honey this holiday?

Nadine Sweeten, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits Beer Consultant, Sarasota

Follow me on Twitter @abcbeernadines

I fancy myself a lover of wine and cigars. Selecting great wine for our guests is my vocation as is the personal enjoyment of wine. But fine cigars are also a passion of mine. So understandably, when presented with an opportunity to travel into the heart of cigar country, I jumped at the chance to feed my fascination and obtain a more tactile understanding of the cigar maker's art.

My affinity with cigars began back in the early 90s, around the same time as the launch of Cigar Aficionado as a publication. Up until then I had been a cigarette smoker. On the recommendation of a business associate, I transitioned to cigars as a seemingly better alternative. I haven't touched a cigarette since.

While both topics may seem disparate, wine and cigars share a deeper bond than just a pairing of puros and Ports. In fact, as I was to discover, the concepts of variety selection, fermentation, aging, terroir, innovation and organic practices share commonality within both spheres. Not to mention the passion and drive shared between the best producers of each in their respective crafts.

Within those early pages of Cigar Aficionado, I learned about the legendary cigars of Cuba. Fortunately it was a time when Cuban cigars, while difficult to obtain, were still on par with their reputation. For an American cigar lover, the post-embargo Cuban puro was the forbidden fruit. And of course, you had to travel outside of the US to taste it. Back then a Cuban was worth the long journey.

Sadly, over the last couple of decades the rush to overproduction and the extinction of Cuba's singular wrapper leaf, El Corojo, has Cuba's preeminence within the cigar world waning. Quality control is now a major issue.

Other countries in the Caribbean have more than adequately filled the quality vacuum. Today, I would argue that Honduras, the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua produce cigars that are consistently superior.

One of the top producers today in Nicaragua is undoubtably Toraño Family Cigars. Imagine the thrill of a lifetime for this wine guy accompanying Carlos Toraño to his company's operations in Esteli this past week! Señor Toraño and his Sales Manager, Armando Lapido were extraordinarily gracious hosts, inviting us to witness every facet of production from its inception on the farm to its packing in the box.

Carlos Toraño

And I thought the production of great wine was labor intensive!

If you've been following this space over the last three days, then you already have a keen account of our travels from our certified tobacconist, Chris Gwaltney.

In future, look for postings from our other ABCFWS team members Bob Gibson, Gary Murphy, and James Keep as well, lending their own personal accounts to the mix.

I too plan on chiming in, especially with tasting notes on great Toraño cigars as I sample them paired with the appropriate libation :)

James Greeley, SW Florida Wine Supervisor. Follow me on Twitter @ABCWineJimG

I decided to catch the sunrise on our last morning in Esteli by heading up to the roof patio of our hotel. I missed the first light of the morning, but I did get a close up experience with the 6 a.m. air raid siren that rustles everyone out of their beds and off to work and school.

A quick breakfast and one last visit to the little shop across the street for some of their delicious sugar cookies, and I was ready for another day of cigar adventure.

Our first stop of the day was at American Caribbean Cigars where they make several of the lines for our gracious hosts from Torano Cigars. It didn't take us long to light that first cigar of the day and we were off to the factory floor. As a special treat, some of their master rollers created some very interesting cigars. Double wrappers, triple wrappers, barber poles, and one piece of artwork that is impossible to describe with words.

The great thing about American Caribbean Cigars is that it was a much smaller factory—more “boutique,” to use a cigar term. They did some aging and processing here but it was all in small batches.

A quick ride out of town took us to a large scale processing plant. It is here that we were able to witness fermentation, sorting and grading. The size of the facility was very impressive and the amount of tobacco that they were able to process in a day is truly remarkable. As we made our way through the various buildings there were room after room of women sorting and shaking these wonderful leaves. It is rare to see a man do this job and it has nothing to do with sexism. Women are much better at distinguishing the differences in color and quality of the leaves. Their eye for detail is critical in the process.

As important as rolling a cigar correctly is in the process of producing a cigar, there isn't anything more critical than proper fermentation. As we walked into the room with the large pallets of fermenting tobacco, known as pillones, the aroma of ammonia certainly filled the air. The level was dependent on just how long the pillones had been fermenting. Those early in the process had very intense smells and sinus congestion was not a problem after a few moments next to these stacks. After completing our tobacco processing lessons we boarded our van and headed off to lunch. Columbian fare along with a few cervezas really hit the spot. It prepared us for our visit to the box factory. We did visit another small processing center before ultimately arriving at the place where the packaging is created.

What starts out as a big block of cedar is soon crafted into some of the most beautiful cigar boxes found anywhere. One hundred percent of this process is done by hand. The boxes are assembled, glued, nailed, and hinged all by hand. They are then lacquered and finished the same way. The work conditions at this factory are quite dusty and loud, but everyone there was focused on their job and seemed to enjoy what they were doing.

Our final visit of the trip before we headed back to Managua, was a visit to Plasencia Cigars. Not many cigar factories are laid out like a resort, but this one truly is. Court yards with fountains, pristine landscaping, and some of the cleanest floors you will ever see are the standard here. At each stop along the way we were presented with many exceptional gifts of cigars, but at Plasencia we were given a nice set of the Torano Finite cigars. These limited edition sticks are as tasty as they are scarce. Of course everyone in the group quickly lit one up, which we enjoyed for the rest of the tour. Just before we boarded our van for the last time we were afforded the opportunity to visit their blending room/library. It is here that they have samples of every leaf in their portfolio. One only needs to make a few marks on a sheet and within minutes they can taste a sample of their blend. I made a few copies of the sheet, so I may have to send them some specs for the cigar I have wanted to blend for many years. It is amazing how diverse their tobacco portfolio is. They had all the tobacco I want to use.

As usual, all good things must come to an end and it was time for us to leave this magical place. As we drove down the Pan American Highway towards Managua I couldn't help but think of just how important cigars are to this area. If there were no cigar industry here, one third of Esteli's population would be unemployed. Think about that the next time you pay $7 for a Nicaraguan cigar. For the price of an hour of relaxation, you are building schools, clinics and better living conditions for a lot of people.

Our final night in Central America consisted of a nice dinner followed by a few more great cigars. What a great trip, what great people and sadly now a great memory.

Long Ashes,

Chris Gwaltney, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits North Florida Regional Manager. Certified Tobacconist and Cicerone Beer Server. Follow me on Twitter @abccigarchris.

Valentine’s Day, one of the biggest wine holidays of the year, is just around the corner—and with it comes our annual test to see if we can help choose the right wine for that special someone, or to pair with that box of chocolates! Choosing wines does not have to be so difficult, although there is a bit more to it than “drinking what you like.” Drinking what you like is wonderful in that it saves many of us from thinking too hard about it, and in the end, you may as well enjoy the wine regardless of whether or not it is the “perfect” complement for that dish. White wine with fish, red wine with meat seems like an easy way to navigate the literally thousands of wine choices you find at our locations, really enough to scare anyone into either running for the door or, better still, asking for some advice. We have very talented Wine Consultants in many stores and spend a great deal of time tasting and training not only them, but our entire staff. A good recommendation from one of them is usually good as gold.

And fortunately, the white wine with fish, red wine with meat theory typically holds true. Not because it is easy to remember, but simply because it takes into consideration the flavors, fat and weight of the fish (on the lighter side for white fish, a bit richer for tuna, salmon and swordfish) as well as these characteristics in meat. The fattier or more marbled the cut, the more tannins in the red wine will be needed to cut through that fat (think Pinot Noir on the lighter side, think Cabernet/Bordeaux for the juiciest steaks) so even if you thought you knew nothing about pairing food and wine together, it is really easier than you think! Of course, the more you know, the more there is to know…so you could spend a great deal of time (and money) on the perfect wine, and find out nobody else at the table gets it, or cares that much in the first place!

So arm yourself with a few basic guidelines and find what you like in that style—and you will be fine! As for wine with strawberries, or chocolate...Champagne!

Shayne Hebert, Central Florida Wine Supervisor. Follow me on Twitter @abcwineshayne.

With all of our travels behind us Sunday, we got down to business on Monday with our first factory tour at Scandanavia Tobacco, where most of the Torano brands are made.

As we entered the factory compound, the first thing that grabbed our attention was the mountain that is actually part of their property. The red brick building lying at the base of the mountain certainly made for the most scenic factory I have ever visited.

After marveling at the view for a few moments, we ventured inside the reception area where we met and mingled with our hosts for the day. It is here where we lit up our first smokes of the day and enjoyed a few cups of cafe negra.

We chatted for a while and once we were all on a first name basis it was time to head into the factory. We witnessed the sorting process and the de stemming of the wrapper leaves. A leisurely stroll through the rolling room gave us a taste of what was in store for us later in the day. It always amazes me to see these artisans skillfully turn these dried leaves of tobacco into bunches, then later into a perfectly crafted cigar. The speed at which they ply their craft makes it even more impressive.

We then headed over to the warehouse where the tobacco bales are aged. The smell in the room is hard to describe. For a true lover of cigars, it is a wonderful aroma that I wish could be packaged and placed inside a plug-in air refresher.

Our experience inside the warehouse didn't end there. Our hosts were kind enough to open a bale and roll a few "test sticks" for us to try right there. My companions urged me to roll my own, so I humored them and completed the task. My finished product was a little more rustic than the one rolled by our professional guide, but it smoked just the same.

Our last task before lunch was to bunch and roll a few of our own. I have had the privilege of doing this several times over the years and I must admit, it never gets any easier. The experience definitely gives you an appreciation of exactly what goes into making that final product.

With our time at this factory completed it was time for lunch and a ride into the country side to visit the farm.

The San Benito tobacco farm isn't too far from the city limits but the "unimproved road" made for bumpy and slow travels.

As we turned into the farm, the first thing we saw were the huge curing barns. As we passed them by, we drove along the edge of the fields and stopped at the green houses where they give the seedling their start in life. We then toured the shade fields where they are growing some wrapper leaves before heading over to the open fields. The sight of those sun grown tobacco plants in the foreground of the mountain range is certainly a sight I could never grow tired of seeing.

We concluded our adventure with a visit to a curing barn which was packed full of Esteli's finest, somewhere between a green and brown state.

It was certainly a wonderful day of visiting with wonderful people and getting a chance to see all the hard work that goes into making that little stick of relaxation that so many folks take for granted. I can't wait to see what lies in store for us tomorrow.

Long Ashes,

Chris Gwaltney, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits North Florida Regional Manager. Certified Tobacconist and Cicerone Beer Server. Follow me on Twitter @abccigarchris.

It's not everyday that you get to travel to the places in the world that are responsible for creating the premium cigars that we all enjoy. I was invited, along with a few friends/business associates, by the Torano family to travel down to their operations in Nicaragua. Accompanying me on this trip is a diverse group of guys from ABC Fine Wine & Spirits. We would actually make for a great opening line in a joke: "A marketing director, teacher, sommelier, beer guy, and tobacconist, walk into a bar." You can let your imagination fill in the rest.

Actually, I am traveling with our Marketing Officer Bob Gibson, Wine Supervisor Jim Greeley, Corporate Trainer Gary Murphy, and Store Manager/Beer Geek James Keep.

Our flight into Nicaragua was uneventful. We were fortunate enough to have Miss Puerto Rico and the Junior Miss Universe on our flight, so we had that going for us. It was also nice that Customs didn't give anyone a hard time and after grabbing our bags, we were soon out the door and on our way to Esteli.

After a two hour, white knuckle ride through the mountainside, we arrived at our hotel in the heart of Esteli. A quick room check-in completed I wasted little time meeting up with Armando Lipido, Torano Regional Sales Manager and we both headed down to the hotel bar for our first cigar of the trip. Armando and I were soon joined by Carlos Llaca-Torano Director of Operations for Torano Cigars and eventually everyone else in our party joined in the relaxation, as well as a few liquid libations.

After a few cervezas and a little Flor de Cana Rum, we decided it was time for dinner. Since our hotel is located in the center of town, we only had to walk a few blocks for a delicious steak. Most of us decided on the same dinner, a nice hunk of churrasco with a side of chimichurri sauce. After a few more cigars we decided it was time to call it an evening. It was a long day of travel and tomorrow will be a day filled with factory tours and, of course, plenty of cigars.

Long Ashes,

Chris Gwaltney, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits North Florida Regional Manager. Certified Tobacconist and Cicerone Beer Server. Follow me on Twitter @abccigarchris.

We have counted down the Top Cigars of 2013 and last week we revealed the first part of our best value cigars. Today we unveil the top five of these great cigars that are all under $7. With so many great cigars to choose from it certainly was not an easy task putting this list together, but I am certain that there is something on this list for everyone seeking a great value as well as a quality smoke.

Starting things off at number five is the EPC Core Maduro Churchill. This medium bodied cigar which consists of a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, and Nicaraguan and Dominican filler is a cigar we just recently picked up from our friend Ernesto Perez-Carrillo.

Chris Gwaltney: “What else should we expect from the man that created the La Gloria cigar line? This is an absolute gem of a maduro. The wrapper gives it nice cocoa and coffee flavors, while that Ecuadorian Sumatra binder provides a nice blend of spice and nuttiness. If you love maduro then you will love this cigar.”

Steve Mungeer: “Not knowing much about the EP Carrillo line until this past year, I was pleasantly surprised when I first tried this cigar about 6-7 months ago. This man is a master in cigars and this cigar has rapidly become one of my favorites. This smoke has perfect balance...more mellow than most maduros. Some sweetness and a wide variety of fruity and chocolate flavors show through with just a hint of spice. A near perfect blend that is just so smooth.

Our fourth cigar on the list is the power stick Camacho Corojo Toro. This cigar is a Honduran puro that bills itself as the only cigar that still uses Corojo tobacco. Cuba stopped using Corojo in the 90s due to its inability to fight off disease and mold. In Jamastram, Honduras Corojo seeds taken from Cuba’s famed Vuelta Abajo region were transplanted and have done quite well.

CG: “This is a cigar for the serious smoker. I like to think of it as a window into the past, an opportunity to try something that is all but extinct today. It’s a powerful cigar with a woodsy flavor and some spice notes. There is a hint of cocoa, but the sweetness in the cigar is barely noticeable.”

SM: “This is a cigar that is not for the timid! This is full bodied and in your face type of smoke. This is not a breakfast cigar but for the end of the day with a nice glass of bourbon or a rich Port wine. Corojo wrappers are powerful and they make themselves known here. This is a Honduran puro and, while not overly complex, it does give some spice and earth flavors with some serious depth. For a true lover of cigars, this is an outstanding smoke.”

Our bronze medal finisher is the Nica Rustica from Drew Estate. It has a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, a Mexican San Andres binder, and some really nice Nicaragua filler from the regions of Jalapa and Estelí. This is a medium-bodied smoke and a wonderful example of a cigar caught somewhere between a maduro and oscuro.

CG: “This draw was easy, the burn even, and both produced lots of smoke. The initial flavors were black pepper spice with some mild cocoa notes. Not a lot of sweetness in the early stages and its power is evident right from the start. I would venture to guess that this is probably a favorite of the factory and farm workers.”

SM: “One of the latest offerings from Drew Estate and they came up with a real winner...perhaps one of the best cigars of 2013. While its appearance may look a bit “rustic and rough,” once you light this up the richness and flavors will make you say “WOW.” Nicaraguan filler, San Andres binder and Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper all shine through in this complex and delicious smoke with hints of dark chocolate, some sweetness, earthiness and just a bit of spice. To m,e this is what a good smoke should be.”

Crossing the finish line in second place is another offering from Drew Estate. This time it is the Liga Undercrown Gran Toro that gets the attention. It’s a cigar that is closely related to the Liga Privada 9, substituting a Mexican San Andres Negra wrapper for the more costly and specially aged Connecticut Broadleaf. At half the price of the elusive Liga Privadas, this is certainly a cigar all smokers should have in their humidors.

CG: “After smoking a few, you may determine that the Undercrown deserves a better title than that of little brother to the Liga series. Coffee, cocoa, and black pepper...those flavors are all there. It’s rolled perfectly and smokes like a dream. A very complex cigar for under $7.”

SM: “Being a fan of the Mexican San Andres wrapper this is a cigar I just had to include as a top value. This is the working man’s Liga Privada which I consider one of the best. Bold flavors, lots of thick rich smoke with roasted nuts and coffee nuances with a medium body.”

Our top value cigar of 2013 is a new one that we picked up at the IPCPR trade show this year. The H. Upmann Legacy Robusto is a medium-bodied cigar wrapped with a beautiful Ecuadorian Sumatra leaf. The binder is Nicaraguan while the filler is a mix of Nicaraguan and Dominican. It’s a complex cigar with so many flavors going on its hard to keep track.

CG: "There is nuttiness to the cigar along with some nice muted coffee flavors. By muted I mean coffee with cream, not the heavy espresso flavors you get in a lot of maduros. I also get some nutmeg, cinnamon, and a little dried fruit notes as well. It is amazing that this cigar is priced as it is.”

SM: “This cigar shows how aging tobacco for 5+ years creates just a complex yet smooth smoke. The filler blend with a Sumatran wrapper just marries the flavors perfectly for a creamy medium-bodied smoke with hints of fruits, spice, and a touch of earthiness and a perfect burn.”

This completes our Top Value Cigars for 2013. Please feel free to give these all a test drive. You know it won’t cost you more than $35. It’s hard to find a less expensive way to relax than puffing on these guys for a few hours. Send us a tweet @abccigarchris and @abccigarmuno and let us know how you like them.

Long Ashes,

Chris and Steve

How many wine lovers, I wonder, in their anticipation, appreciation and assimilation of this glorious liquid, give any thought to the importance of two very necessary prerequisites to their enjoyment – the bottle and the cork. Without them the modern wine industry would be very different, much less profitable and infinitely less gratifying.

Cork has been used as a stopper for wine containers as far back as the 5^th century BCE, although other sealants such as pitch, gypsum, sealing wax, pine resin or a coating of olive oil floating on top of the wine were the more popular methods. Indeed the use of corks seems to have vanished by the Middle Ages, and even up until the early 1600s the preferred method was an oil-soaked cloth or strip of leather stuck into the neck of the bottle.

Cork came into its own along with the production of uniform glass bottles in the 17^th century. Suddenly wine could be shipped and stored much more easily and with much less spoilage. And a further important development – quality wine could now be aged.

So where does this little giant of the wine world – cork – come from, and how is it produced?

Over half the world’s cork is produced in Portugal and Spain and comes from the outer bark of Quercus suber – the evergreen cork oak tree. Cork production is sustainable because it does not involve the death of the tree. The tree itself can live to be over 200 years old, although it must be 25 years old before cork can be removed from it. Even then it does not produce quality cork suitable for wine stoppers until it is over 40 years old. Once the cork is extracted, the tree can be harvested every nine years.

Extraction takes place in the summer. A horizontal cut (the necklace) is made around the circumference of the tree with a very sharp axe. This is followed by a series of verticle cuts (openings or rulers). The cork bark is then gently but firmly pulled away from the tree, stacked in layers (called planks) and left to dry out before taken away to be processed.

Cork is the most environmentally friendly wine stopper. As well as being eco-friendly it is also one of the most recyclable harvests on the planet. Cork trees protect the local environment from desertification and are home to various endangered species.

About 60% of the cork harvest is used in making bottle stoppers. Other uses include shuttlecocks, baseballs and cricket balls, musical instruments, the heat shields and fairings of spacecraft, shoes and hats, and thermal insulation where it is non-allergenic and if set on fire non-toxic.

But cork has been getting some bad press in recent years when it was discovered that 1% to 5% of corks can carry a chemical compound called Trichloroanisole (TCA) which produces an odorous cork taint. Because of this, many wineries have gone over to synthetic Cellukork closures or Stelvin screw caps. While Cellukork can be very difficult to extract, the Stelvin screw cap has much going for it. Its main disadvantage is simply public perception – although more expensive to produce than cork, they are still identified with the most basic wines. They also reduce the oxygen transfer rate to almost zero which can lead to reductive qualities in the wine.

In recent years major cork producers have developed methods to remove TCA from natural corks, and as natural corks allow minute amounts of oxygen to interact with the wine for proper aging, perhaps there is still good reason to retain this noble, traditional and environmentally friendly bottle stopper.

Bill Stobbs, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits Wine Supervisor

Follow me on Twitter @abcwinebills

This is the second blog about the wines from Savoie in the French Alps. Read part one, “Après-ski Wine,” here.

The mountain vineyards of Savoie, surrounded by Alpine lakes and snowcapped peaks, make for some of the most spectacular sights in the wine world. We mentioned earlier that the vineyards under Vins de Savoie appellation are spread around a fairly large area and several communities; the one area that holds the best vineyards and produces the most exciting wines is located south of the town of Chambéry and in proximity of Lac de Bourget. Here we have the most important appellations of Savoie: Abymes, Apremont, Chignin and the Grand Cru of Chignin Bergeron.

A recent cataclysmic event has shaped the geology of this area and made it unique: one of the world’s largest landslides in history!

Mont Granier is a limestone mountain located between the departments of Savoie and Isère; it has a fairly tall peak at an elevation of 1,933 meters (6,342 ft) above sea level. Its north face overlooks Chambéry.

In the year 1248, on November 24^th and 25^th, a mass of limestone resting on marls slid into the valley, causing a massive landslide that destroyed 7 villages and caused over 1,000 casualties. In fact, most of the vineyards of the appellations Abymes and Apremont lay on the site of the landslide.

On mountain slopes opposite of Mont Granier are located the 79 ha of Grand Cru Vineyards of Chignin Bergeron. Bergeron (from the name of the Bergeron apricot) is the local name for the Roussanne grape of the Rhône Valley.

Our wine team visited the area in June 2013; the most anticipated visit was that of Domaine les Cantates in the village of Chignin. This domain, previously known under the name of Les Fils de René Quénard (the René Quénard family has been farming vineyards in Chignin for over 300 years) was purchased in 2008 by Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger (Champagne Taittinger), and his wife Claire Taittinger, who’s a native of Savoie.

Claire Taittinger with Emilie Terrier in vineyards above Chignin

Claire Taittinger with Emilie Terrier in the vineyards above Chignin

The Bergeron vineyards are located on the south-southwest facing slopes of limestone and marl and are amongst the steepest in the world; in fact one of Domaine les Cantates vineyards may very well detain the record at 70º incline; the vineyard workers are roped when getting onto that one!

Domaine les Cantates owns 11ha of steep vineyards with full southern exposure. The grapes are hand harvested and each parcel is vinified separately. In 2004 the domain was certified sustainable agriculture.

In the tasting room, our wine experts were immediately seduced by the surprisingly full-bodied and intensely flavored 2012 Chignin Bergeron which was very much at odds with the usual image of light, delicate Savoie white wines. This tank fermented and aged wine delights with its creamy texture and pure and intense aromas and flavors of apricots, pear, stone fruit, spices and a touch of honey. Fresh aromas of field flowers and apricot blossom linger on the long finish.

The 2012 Chignin Bergeron from Domaine les Cantates is available in select ABC Fine Wine & Spirits store for $17.99--a rare find and top quality wine not to be missed!

Santé!

Atanas Nehckov, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits Wine Supervisor

Follow me on Twitter @abcwineatanas

Releasing a list of top cigars for the year is something that Steve Mungeer and I look forward to doing each year. But I think even more enjoyable is putting together our rankings for the best cigar values. Today we will be revealing cigars 10 thru 6, whose only criteria is that they be under $7 and great smokes.

We start off our countdown with a very unique cigar. It's the only flavor infused cigar in our top ten, but we feel that it deserves as much recognition as the others listed. I know that there are many folks that don't consider these cigars to be premium smokes, but make no mistake about it—these are premium tobaccos that just happen to have a little flavor added. The 10th ranked cigar under $7 for 2013 is the Rocky Patel Java Latte. The Connecticut wrapper along with its Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos are perfect receptacles for the delicious coffee and vanilla flavorings.

Chris Gwaltney: "Infused cigars aren't something that I enjoy every day but I do like them as a change of pace smoke. The Rocky Patel Java Latte, which gets its flavor infusion from Drew Estate, is a great cigar for those wanting something mild in the morning. You can have a latte with your latte. The cigar has a nice coffee flavor which is married nicely with a nice vanilla creamer. I recommended for novices and experienced smokers alike."

Steve Mungeer: “This little petite corona may not be for everyone, but I do occasionally enjoy a flavored smoke. This joint effort between Drew Estate and Rocky Patel is just a tasty mild smoke that is brimming with flavors that remind me of French vanilla coffee. Sweet but not overpowering on the flavor…still allowing the flavors of the tobacco to come through. This is a quality infused cigar…Nicaraguan filler with a Connecticut Shade wrapper. If you haven’t tried one yet, go for it and you will be pleasantly surprised.”

Our ninth best value of 2013 is an extension of a very popular line of cigars, one that has a huge following. The La Gloria Series R Estelí #54 is a Nicaraguan puro which contains tobaccos from all over the country. General Cigar isn’t very specific about the blend, but they do tell us that it has a Jalapa Sol wrapper and that the tobacco contained inside is a collection of ligeros and visos. The cigar is superbly blended, which will be noticed early after lighting. Though the flavors are robust, the power in this cigar isn’t what you would expect from a La Gloria Series R packed full of Nicaraguan leaf. This is a cigar that is medium to full-bodied, with flavors ranging from earthy to sweet.

CG: “It was a nice creamy smoke, providing plenty of rich coffee, cocoa and tobacco flavors that I’ve come to expect in a quality oscuro cigar. There is a nice bit of pepper spice in the cigar as well. The R Estelí is certainly a departure from the Dominican version we have been smoking and loving for years, but it is a cigar that I will always have in my humidor.”

SM: “La Gloria ventures into the Nicaraguan mountains to bring in a great offering this year. A beautiful oily wrapper and some smooth Jalapa tobaccos make this a flavorful smoke with a lot of earthiness, rich spices, and just a hint of pepper. While not as powerful as the La Gloria Series R, you still get a wonderful medium bodied smoke that won’t hurt your wallet.”

Casa Magna Robusto is the eighth cigar on our countdown today. Not too many years removed from being Cigar Aficionado’s Cigar of the Year, this Nicaraguan puro still shows that it is worthy of all accolades thrown its way. The tobaccos filler tobaccos are an expert blend of both Estelí and Jalapa, which seems to balance this power stick and mute the strength a little. With that said, the cigar is still a full-bodied experience, but one filled with tremendous flavor. With its rich coffee notes along with flavors of fruit, cocoa, and cedar, it’s amazing that this cigar is still priced under $7. It’s a testament to Manuel Quesada and his contributions to the cigar world. He could have easily raised the price of this cigar due to its popularity and demand, but instead chose to allow this cigar to be enjoyed by all. If you haven’t tried one of these you are certainly missing out.

CG: “Those who have enjoyed the Oktoberfest cigars from Quesada that we have carried the last two years must try the cigar that made it possible. I absolutely love the complexity of the Casa Magna Robusto and its wonderful blend of flavors. It’s not an easy task to get a cigar full of Nicaraguan tobacco to have so many different flavors and not have one outshine the others. This cigar was expertly blended and one I would recommend to someone who wishes to wander into the full-bodied world of cigars.”

SM: “A beautiful little cigar that is just packed with flavors. The appearance of this cigar is just outstanding…perfect construction with some oils present. A Nicaraguan puro that does not smoke like a Nicaraguan puro. While some of the powerful spiciness comes through, there are a ton of other flavors present: earth flavors, dark fruit, some cocoa. Just a total richness in this cigar that is a joy to the taste buds.”

Lucky number seven in our top cigar values of 2013 is J.C. Newman’s little “pearl of the sea.” The Perla del Mar G is a cigar that was released this past year and one that incorporates the Ecuadorian Connecticut Seed wrapper, one that is growing in popularity these days. The great thing about this wrapper leaf is it’s “cloud shade” characteristics. Because of the cloud cover the tobacco gets many of the attributes of being shade grown, such as a silky leaf with muted strength, but unlike its Connecticut cousin, is less grassy and nuttier. The price also makes it more attractive to the wallet. But it takes more than just a wrapper to make a cigar, and at the heart of the Perla del Mar are some wonderful Nicaraguan tobaccos. They are sourced from many different regions in Nicaragua and are blended perfectly to give the cigar some strength, but not enough to push it over the medium-bodied line. This cigar is a great companion to a peaty Scotch, perhaps a single malt from Islay. The nutty creaminess from the wrapper blend quite nicely with the pepper spice notes that are in the filler.

CG: “I recall reviewing the Perla del Mar P just a few weeks after it was released. I was very impressed with the way the two major profiles blended together so nicely. It was a cigar that screamed for a good Scotch and I obliged. The G is a larger vitola but the flavors are still the same. I do think the larger ring gauge increases the strength a little but not to the level of full. No matter the strength, this is a great little smoke and one that everyone should have in there humidor and lunchbox. Even if the world isn't your oyster, at least you can still have a pearl.”

SM: “An excellent cigar that combines two different profiles. The spiciness and richness of Nicaraguan fillers wrapped in a mild Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper. One notices the creaminess of the smoke that is not always present in a Nicaraguan cigar and the pepperiness of the filler are allowed to shine through. These two contrasting profiles make for a thoroughly enjoyable smoke and the marriage of the two works perfectly!”

We complete our list this week with number six: The Nub Habano 460 from the Oliva Cigar Company. We also stock the Nub Cameroon, Nub Maduro, and Nub Connecticut in our humidors, but it is the Habano that grabbed sixth place in our Top Cigar Values of 2013. At first glance many judge this cigar to be a quick smoke, something that can be put down in 15 minutes to a half hour. Nothing could be farther from the truth. This cigar takes a minimum of 45 minutes to enjoy and I have stretched one out to an hour and a half. The Nub Habano is all Nicaraguan. It has a Habano wrapper and is packed full of Nicaraguan filler. The construction of this cigar is superb, as it was blended to be a 4x60 cigar. This a very important fact, because the common complaint about large ring cigars is that they don’t burn evenly, require constant touch ups, and extinguish themselves too quickly. These malfunctions are because the blends of these cigars were meant for smaller vitolas. You can’t take a corona and a few more leaves of filler and have a 60 ring gauge. The Nub was not only blended to be a fat stick, but its short length was also carefully planned. This cigar immediately hits you with its rich creamy smoke, and its wonderful spice flavors. There are some nice pepper and mild cedar notes in this stick. This is a full-bodied cigar that should be enjoyed slowly and to the very end. This is also a cigar that will give you some great long-ash photos.

CG: “The Nub Habano 460 is proof that great things come in small packages. I have enjoyed countless numbers of these cigars and I have never had a stick that wasn’t great. Expert construction will provide you with long ashes and great memories. I have smoked several past the band and never dropped the ash. It is a powerful cigar with great flavors and rich, creamy smoke.

SM: “Don’t let the small size of this cigar fool you! This is 45 minutes of full flavored Nicaraguan tobaccos at their best. While it may not have the complexity of some other smokes, it does offer up some just great spice and rich tobacco flavors in a full bodied cigar. Burns well…draws well…and just a real pleasure to smoke.”

This completes the first part of our list. Make sure you come back next week and see what made the cut for our Top Five Cigar Values of 2013. As with anything we rate or review, we encourage feedback from our guests. Give these cigars a try and see if you agree with us. The great thing about these sticks is that they won’t set you back too many dollars. Tweet your comments to us @abccigarchris and @abccigarmungo!

Long Ashes,

Chris and Steve

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