Wine for your Valentine

Ahh Valentine's Day, it comes around once a year. This means fancy dinners, chocolate covered strawberries and spoiling your loved one (even more than you usually do!).

Chocolate and wine are a great pairing and definitely highlighted this holiday. I've come up with some great wine suggestions for those sweet, heart shaped chocolates:

Bubbles, of course! There's nothing like strawberries and champagne. Or chocolate covered strawberries...even better! A favorite bubbly of mine is the J Vineyards Brut from California. It's a great sparkling wine to start, or finish, your night.

Riesling, for the white chocolate fan. Slight sweetness will pair perfectly with the creamy texture of white chocolate. My Riesling choice is the Montinore Almost Dry Riesling from Oregon . This wine is not overly sweet and has a crisp, dry finish so it doesn't overpower, but actually compliments the chocolate.

Zinfandel for those who prefer the heart-healthy dark chocolate. That's right, chocolate and red wine are said to be good for your heart, so drink up! Sinfully good Zinfandel has the big, bold flavor to pair with those dark chocolates. Some even have chocolatey notes themselves. I've admired Hook & Ladder for years and they're my pick for a great Zinfandel. Located in California, this wine has tones of dark fruits that exemplify the paired chocolate. This is probably the most popular red wine pairing for chocolates.

Dessert wines are also an option for chocolate pairing. These go better with milk chocolates, however, because the chocolate is more mild and creamier allowing the wine to compliment it. I'm not a big fan of "sweet" but Fabbioli Cellars in Virginia makes my favorite. They produce a great Raspberry Merlot that is the perfect semi-sweet dessert wine for this occasion. This wine and dark chocolate....the ultimate Valentine's Day pairing.


So which wine is for your Valentine?

Cheers!