Valentine's Day Wine Pairings

by Peter John Shearing
Suite101


Just as a strong loving relationship is built on compatibility, harmony, and sensations of pleasure experienced in the presence of your partner, so too does the fine balance between food and its ideal complementary wine.


You may be celebrating your first Valentine’s Day as a couple or raising a glass to many happy years together, but what’s important is making each Valentine’s Day meal as memorable as the last one.



Matching Wine And Food


Whatever you’re eating, you’ll find a wine to match. The range of sweet, dry, red, white and rosé means there’s always a great bottle to pair with your meal.


However, the vast array of wine available can leave the novice thirsting for knowledge, with blends of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel for reds and rosé, and Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon Blanc for dry and sweet whites. Then you have the additional consideration of crisp, unoaked whites; subtle oak-fermented whites; complex, elegant, mature reds; plus fragrant rosés and luscious sweet whites.


The whole gamut can be quite bewildering. The common rule of thumb for beginners is to match white wine with white meat and red with red and spicy meat. However, this is unnecessarily prescriptive as many food and wine combinations prove the exception to this rule; unoaked white wines make surprisingly good partners for dark breast meat, a sweet white wine pairs unexpectedly well with foie de gras.


Don’t despair. This guide will help you decide on the best wine, making your Valentine’s meal hassle-free.


A better method for selecting your wine is to match it with your food by weight; light wines with light dishes and heavy wines with heavier, richer food.



Dry White Wine


These are versatile wines ranging from light fruity to heavily aromatic, loosely in the following order: Pinot Grigio, Soave, Orvieto, Riesling, Muscadet, Chenin Blanc, Chablis, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Pinot Gris, Tokay and Gewurztraminer.


There are two styles of dry white wine: crisp, unoaked whites and richer, more complex versions, fermented in oak barrels. Unoaked versions are lighter than barrel-aged wines. The crisp, restrained flavors of dry whites make them suitable for so many different dishes. These are superb with a wide variety of fish and seafood, particularly if the fish is grilled or pan-fried and served without a sauce. The crisp acidity also cuts through deep-fried fish.


Oaked fermented whites offer a more complex spectrum of flavors, better suited to heavier dishes. Adding a cream or butter-based sauce to a fish dish will make an oaked white your wine of choice. The creamier flavors of the oaked white can be especially appreciated with asparagus in melted butter. Even with the flavors of plainly grilled or pan-fried flat fish – sole, lemon, turbot and halibut – a bottle of oaked white wine will raise the level of enjoyment.
Sweet White Wine


A luscious, Semillon-based sweet white or wines from Sauterne are great partners for desserts based on apples, almonds and cream. Sweet wines can also be enjoyed as partners for cheeses and savoury dishes.


Champagne


To really spoil your Valentine it’s worth doing it in style by investing in some premium bubbly with plenty of richness and depth of flavor. The best food for the King of wine are light chicken dishes, sushi, shrimp, lobster or white fish in creamy sauce. Scallops or smoked-salmon paté with lemon also benefit from Champagne as an accompaniment.



Red Wine


Rosé and light-bodied red wine – Beaujolais, Dolcetto, Pinot Noir , Rioja, Chianti, Burgundy – are rich and soft with brisk tannin and good acidity. These fresh wines can accompany a range of simple dishes – tender-fleshed lamb, steak, sausages, spaghetti Bolognese, beef or vegetable lasagne, all sorts of charcuterie and cold meats. They also make good partners for red-wine sauce dishes, such as chicken in wine and mushroom sauce, or braised smoked ham with green lentils. The sweet fruit of these wines marry well with the natural sweetness of many vegetable dishes. Rioja is the top recommendation for lamb, while the lighter, juicier Pinot Noir is suitable for younger cuts of this succulent meat.


Richer, darker red wines, such as Bordeaux, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Zinfandel, can accompany simply cooked beef and lamb easily, but also cope with darker meats; breast of pigeon, roast pheasant, and hare. More mature red wines can partner complex, spice-laden food. Red pepper dishes work well with Merlot-based wines. These red wines are heavy and generous, darkening to savoury richness, and capable of improving with age. Their elegant austerity beautifully offsets the richness of a beef casserole or roast leg of lamb. However, matching dishes for these wines are not limited to casseroles and joints; grilled or pan-fried red meats with such herbs as rosemary and garlic make tremendous alternatives, as do veal kidneys, roast partridge and goose. The trick is to serve it without too many flavor distractions. A reduced sauce, and garlic, thyme or sage as additional flavors will complement the heavier reds.


Using these tips as a guide for your Valentine’s Day meal will help you and your partner make the best selection of wine for your chosen dishes and allow you to appreciate flavors induced by the right partnership for your meal. And let’s hope you’ll be raising a glass to each other for many years to come.


Updated February 04, 2010

Our great selection of magnums(1.5L)

2003 Jordan Cabernet, Alexander
2007 Caymus Cabernet, Napa
2005 Clark-Claudon Cabernet, Napa
2005 Ridgeline Cabernet, Alexander
2007 Adelsheim Pinot Noir, Willamette


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