Wine and Cigars part 1

Wine and Cigars

By Shawn O’Connor

There are only a few simple things to enjoy in life. Obliviously wine is one of them. I feel that wine brings out the best in people. It relaxes them and it enables the idea of true conversation to flow. Now port is a great wine after dinner. It is seductive and sweet and it just allows you to be taken away by the thrill of it.

The ultimate thrill is the combination of port and a fine hand rolled cigar. Smoking a cigar is not really smoking but more of sipping on the flavor of it. First you do not inhale a cigar but you gather it in your mouth. The flavors you can taste are hazelnuts, cedar, pepper, nutmeg, and other flavors. The problem is the flavor tends to become over powering even if it is a mild smoke. So you need something to cleanse the palate. Now understand that I love red wine but it does not stand up to a port. A port clears the sense of taste like coffee beans do when smelling perfumes. Why would I do this? Because it is like trying two different wedding cakes to see which one is better but in reality you are only eating more cake. Let me explain a little more why I love these two things.

First the cigar is joy to smoke. The taste is exquisite. The smell of a fine cigar is enthralling. You get a relaxing feeling from smoking a cigar. The pleasure of blowing smoke is just simple fun. A cigar gives you a block of time back that is back to your life. It takes at least forty five minutes to smoke an average cigar. In our rushed world today it is a rare treat that we can live the moment and a cigar gives us that.

Now port is a great red wine. It is smooth and it sweet. A good tawny port is silky and rich. It coats your tongue and slides down your throat. Since most tawny ports are aged it has a thickness to the liquid that allows it to just linger on your tongue. So you really enjoy the full flavor. It is also a little stronger than wine so you really can’t rush this either. Are you beginning to see the why these pair so well?

not a big fan of wine, but I do like to sip on a glass while smoking a cigar on occassions. The tastes mingle well together, in my opinion. To date, a Bourdeax blend has been my best complement, but that is not saying much. I'll have to try a port.

What Bourdeax blends do you like?

Ch. Bellevue St. Emilion 2003 has been my favorite so far, any other recommendations?

What wines do you recommend for a novice??
Not much into wines now, but would like to.

Now you're talking!!!!!!!!!! :smiley20: :smiley31:

You can't relaly go wrong with St Emillion. Bordeaux wines are a really good place to start indeed. It really depends what you're into but I can give you a few tips.

First of all, how much of a novice are you? I assume that's you've probably tried a few glasses here and there? Ask yourself what kind of flavour you like. Do you like something very intense and fruity (do you like port for example?) or lighter and fresh (white wine like chardonnay for example).

I would personnaly leave the white wines out for the time being. They are less complex and interesting than the reds as you have less variations of taste with a white. In terms of red I will suggest you try three different (and very distinct) regions. I will only talk about French wines here, not because they are the best in the world (which, of course, they are) but because I know them better than New World wines.

1. Bourgogne (Burgundy)
2. Bordeaux
3. Chateauneuf du Pape (from the Provence Region)

I have classified these three types in order of intensity. The first is a very light wine. Most of its flavour is contained in the vapours / nose which means it does NOT need opening 30 minutes or so prior to drinking. A very flavourful wine but perhaps too light for a cigar. I would however recommend this with a nice steak on the BBQ or light cheese (nothing too overpowering).

The second is my personal favourite. You simply can’t beat a Bordeaux and you certainly can’t beat a St Emillion. Choose a wine which is already around 5 years old. The older the better. Open it and leave it to rest for an hour at room temperature in the bottle or 15 minutes in glasses. If you’ve got a decanter it’s even better. This wine is best enjoyed with cheese , red meat , game or sausage casserole (yum!). It is a wine which will always benefit ageing and its character develops as the years go by. From complex fruity undertones of raspberry to the smooth velvety texture of err…velvet, this is most definitely my all time favourite. Grab yourself a bottle of St Emillion 1999, a Cohiba siglo iv and watch the world go by in clouds of smoke and vapours of this most delicious wine. (Jeez I’m going to stop soon, I need to get back to work!)

Finally Chateauneuf du pape. Very intense. Too intense for my liking but some people simply swear by it. With serious hints of blackcurrant and port you will not be disappointed if you like your wine to be “in your face”. Definitely a wine for game, VERY strong cheeses and will manage to hold it’s own even against a more intense cigar.

There. I’m sure you wish you hadn’;t asked. Next week: Whites wines:

Chablis
Puilly Fume
Vouvray

Happy drinking! :smiley20: :smiley37:

Thank Cohibanut!

My ex-wife knows an incredible amount about wine and I've picked up on some of it over the years. She manages a local vineyard here in Connecticut. What I've learned from here was reinforced by your post.

I too am a big fan of Bordeaux especially St. Emillion :smiley20:

As the California wines have increased in popularity and stature here in the USA, so has the PRICE! :smiley3: As a result, I've found that I've been able to find many French wines for competitive prices.

Hi CC,

Over the past few years the notoriety, quality and not least quantity of new world wines has indeed rocketed to the detriment of the French market unable to foresee the threat and wrongly convinced of its superiority (arrogance perhaps? The French? Arrogant? Surely not!!!! :smiley2: ). As a result here in england we can see almost on a 6 monthly basis stocks of French wines dwindling to the benefit of wines from the US, Chile, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.

My worry is not so much in terms of quality of the wines produced there as they are indeed excellent. What IS worrying is that the diversity in French wines which is (to my knowledge) unrivalled is being killed off by mass production. If we take Bordeaux for example, there are so many different types of wines within that region (sometime a particular vineyard will produce a totally different wine even if the very same grape is planted next door. The soil may vary slightly, it may get more/less rain, and / or 1 hour of sunshine more/less per day and this will make all the difference) that a small producer cannot possibly compete with, say, a company focusing entirely on Shiraz and selling it to a world-wide market.

What is really worrying is that I can see a danger in standardising tastes where, in 50 years time, people will only know and like 2 or 3 wines unaware of the multitude of choice once available.

I don't want to end up forced to make a choice between a Shiraz and a Merlot. It may be that I fancy something in between (Bordeaux for Example) but may not be able to find it in a few years time.

Sooooooooo to (finally) reply to your post, it is great for you guys to be able to find cheaper French wines at the moment but I am worried it is a sign that the diversity provided by the French is in danger. Once they are unable to compete a small producer will simply close shop or even worse will start making Shiraz, Merlot or Pinot Grigio.

Stock up on St Emillion CC!!!! We may not have long left! :smiley19: :smiley20: