Here & Now
Karen T. Bartlett
I was over at Naples Tomato the other day, sipping a very lovely $300 per bottle Sauterne called Château d’Yquem. I was debating between that and a crisp little sauvignon blanc called Frog’s Leap ($17 per bottle), but I decided on the Sauterne. Well, actually I sampled just an ounce of it, thanks to some very civilized Italian vending machine technology and a chic little wine debit card. With the swipe of my card and the push of a button, all I got was a $34 taste of an extremely silky dessert wine. Which happens to have been a personal favorite of Thomas Jefferson, who enjoyed it so much in France back in 1784 that he shipped home 250 bottles for his own consumption and a few extras for his buddy George Washington. Good enough for me.

What I didn’t yet know is that Silence of the Lambs bad guy Hannibal Lecter also favored Château d’Yquem, and not with beef or fish, either. Matt Damon mentions it in the movie Oceans 13. And Malcolm Forbes, according to Naples Tomato owner Jack Serfass, bought one of Jefferson’s own bottles at an auction for $6 million. (Let’s see, that would be about $234,000 per ounce). Then, he drank it.

Turns out, says Jack, that 1784 was a good year, but its shelf life expired at 50. When asked to comment on his purchase, Forbes reportedly replied, "I wish Jefferson had drunk it."
There’s a good reason why this wine is so expensive. It takes the harvest from an entire vineyard to produce a single bottle, because the grapes have to decay on the vine. Hence the name, pourriture noble. Translation: noble rot.

But let’s keep things in perspective. The moldy grapes don’t seem so pricey in a $300 bottle of wine in comparison with the same stuff in a single ounce of Dior’s new anti-aging cream for the same price. Pretty good gig for something named Noble Rot.

Anyway, not being a wine connoisseur, and with the world-class Naples Winter Wine Festival now a part of my local culture, I think this cozy, high-tech wine tasting room at Naples Tomato is a wonderful thing. I can admire the labels, read the vintner’s descriptions, and sample an ounce each of several unusual, hand-selected wines I won’t see on mass-market shelves. If I do this regularly, and chat with the winemakers when they come in for tastings and wine dinners, I’ll be able to hold my own—for a few minutes at least—in any company.

So here’s to you, Jack Serfass: anybody who can present a $300 bottle of wine alongside a $17 one clearly has a lot of confidence and not a drop of wine snobbery. I like that.

Talk about confidence

without snobbery, I have three words for you: Honey Amber Rose.

It’s a chick beer. Sort of. With a Scarlett O’Hara-meets-Moulin Rouge enchantress in a rose-petal dress on the label, Beautiful Brews of Boca Raton introduced it as the first beer for women.

Infused with clover honey—but not too sweet, with just 108 calories and six grams of carbs, and handcrafted from rose hips—it just screams girly. But Real Men, confides Beautiful Brews founder Abby Waters, don’t seem to be intimidated by the frilly bottle. Still, who would have expected it to be voted a People’s Favorite at this year’s male-dominated Florida Brewer’s Guild BeerFest, or to win medal after medal in microbrewer circles throughout the Southeast?

And here’s the real joke on the big brew-boys: A couple of years ago Abby was just minding her own business (which is the marketing of inventions, none of which are beer) when an out-of-work electrician telephoned with some ideas he had for a T-shirt, a Windex bottle and a "power beer."

The connection wasn’t so good—she thought he said "flower beer." She didn’t care for beer, but a beverage brewed from flowers—roses maybe—had her attention. She gave him an appointment. The personal chemistry was so intense that even after they recognized the miscommunication they decided to invent a flower-based beer. The relationship blossomed, and so did Honey Amber Rose. Comparable in quality and price with handcrafted imports, it’s carried by Whole Foods and 600 other outlets around Florida. You go, Honey. Amber. Rose.

This month honors the 97th wedding anniversary of Ludwig, Crown Prince of Bavaria, commonly known as Oktoberfest. That first 16-day party in 1810 was such a blast that the nuptials are still celebrated annually. Among the oldest annual Oktoberfest events in Southwest Florida is the one hosted by the German American Social Club of Cape Coral on Oct. 19–21 and 26–28. For details, call (239) 283-1400.

Tim Ogden, brewmaster at Hop’s in Fort Myers—the only microbrewery along our entire Gulfshore—says that while he may not compete with the 10 million pints of Marzen-style lager that will be consumed in Munich this year, his on-site brewery’s Hoptoberfest label stands on its own or as a perfect complement to Hops’ October specials of bratwurst, potato pancakes and German potato salad. Beer experts trust him on this—Hop’s hand-crafted labels took four medals in this year’s BeerFest. Who could resist Alligator Ale, "with a surprisingly smooth finish," or the perennial brewmasters’ favorite, Hammerhead Red? Hop’s is located at 5043 Cleveland Ave., Fort Myers, (239) 418-0190.

May the spirit(s) of October smile on you while Season is still just a speck on the horizon. Sign up for one of Naples Tomato’s exciting wine throw-downs. For details, call (239) 598-9800 or join its wine club (no membership fee) to polish up your vineyard savvy before the eyes of the wine world descend upon us in January. Raise a glass to the Crown Prince of Bavaria and be among the first to test Hop’s yet-unnamed American pale ale. Show some female solidarity—or test your manly confidence—with a bottle of Honey Amber Rose.

Savor the flavors, and the moment.