Nothing compares to the perfect pairing of champagne and a cigar. Too often, cigars wind up with dark liquors, their natural partners. Rum, port, scotch and cognac are the norm for an after-dinner smoke -- not champagne. With the holiday season coming, of course, the preferred beverage will likely bubble, so finding the right cigars for the top libation will be crucial.

Fortunately, Vin Lee, CEO of the Beverly Hills Cigar Club, has agreed to help us out. As you prepare for the new year, take a look at the cigar and champagne pairings that he recommends, with both ubiquitous and rare products on the list. Lee says, "In this day and age, not everyone can afford a $50 cigar and a $300 bottle of champagne," said Lee. "Complementing a wonderful glass of champagne with a great cigar for the holidays is something everyone should be able to enjoy."

BHCC's 2010 Top 10 Champagne and Cigar Pairings are:

Wine Spectator has announced their wine of the year. Top honors this year go to France for the Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2005. The wine is rated at 98 points and Wine Spectator says that under the care of Vincent Avril, Clos des Papes is making the best wine in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape domaine. Their red is a blend of 65 percent Grenache, 20 percent Mourvedre and 10 percent Syrah and other grapes. The wine is aged in wooden foudres for up to 12 months before the final blend and there were 7,500 cases made. Wine Spectator gives the price as $80 but now that the wine has been anointed as WOTY I'm guessing the price is set to cruise into the $100 to $150 range (an auction on Wine Commune was sitting at $100 per bottle last time I checked).

To honor Jimmy Mancbach, the longtime director of fine wine for Southern Wine & Spirits, who died earlier this year, Southern Wine & Spirits and Wine Spectator have partnered up for a unique auction. Throughout the month of October, lots of rare wines and travel and food packages will be auctioned off in order to establish the Jimmy Mancbach Memorial Scholarship Foundation. Proceeds of the auction will help fund young wine professionals to work side-by-side with renowned winemakers during harvest. The auction is a one-time event and it is hoped that the money raised will hep fund the program for many years.

The auction includes 450 cases of magnums available in the auction and several "lifestyle" lots. Some wine lots are available for bidding now and bidding on the lifestyle lots will be opened on October 15. The auction includes Signature Cuvees from Au Bon Climat, Loring Wine Company, Schrader Cellars, and Soter Vineyards, large rare bottles, vertical collections and special selections from Jimmy's personal cellar. The list of wineries donating lots is a who's who of California wine including Colgin Cellars, Grace Family Vineyards, Hanzell Vineyards, Kistler, Marcassin and Screaming Eagle. The lifestyle lots feature dinners with chefs such as Emeril Lagasse and Daniel Boulud, winery tours and dinners, vacation packages and VIP tickets to popular wine event. All in all, it's a very fitting tribute to a beloved bon vivant of the wine industry.

[via Wine Business]

Wine Spectator has chosen their wine of the year and have unveiled the first ten of their 100 best list. The top wine is the Brunello di Montalcino Tunuta Nuova 2001 from Casanova di Neri. The family-run winery in Tuscany creates this Sangiovese-based red wine which is aged in 600-liter French oak casks. In the Wine Spectator video, James Suckling says that the warm summer days and cool nights of that year created a wine with a rich perfume and raspberry and blackberry flavors with a hint of chocolate and seamless tannins. He also believes the wine could be even better in a couple years.

The Casanova di Neri website says that the quest for the Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova came about with the search for the perfect microclimate of the terrain as well as the delicate cultivation of the Sangiovese grapes. The wine is aged in small oak casks for 24 to 30 months and then for at least a year in the bottle. The first vintage produced was in 1993. The wine has earned a rating of 97 and sells for $70. There were 4,830 cases made. The winery also makes olive oil and grappa as well as fine wines.

Also, I must mention, Giacomo Neri is a serious wine fox.

Covenant Wines are said to be some of the world's finest kosher wines and possibly the best made in the United States. The wines are all Cabernet Sauvignons from Napa Valley, California. The 2003 vintage has received a rating of 92 points from Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate awarded it with 93 points and the 2004 vintage with a 90-92. The deep red wines boast a richly fruity array of flavors, with notes of black currant and blackberry, while scents of vanilla and hints of oak hit the nose.  Price: $74.95.