To fan the flames of romance, nothing outdoes a great bottle of wine. While there are many possibilities, some wines seem to get the Valentine’s Day message across with extra ardor. To that worthy end, consider the following amorous potions.
Champagnes are available at many shops; for others, use online resources such as www.winesearcher.com and www.wineaccess.com. Call stores to verify availability. Prices are approximate.
Romance begins with Banyuls, a tawny port-like sweet wine from the Roussillon region of France that is spectacular with chocolate. In addition to the Wine of the Week (see accompanying box), look for the 2003 Banyuls made by Chapoutier ($35), Domaine du Mas Blanc/Dr. Parce ($38) and Domaine la Tour Vieille ($24).
You can rarely go wrong with pink sparkling wine. Champagne Demoiselle has packaged four adorable bottles of its pinot noir-based brut rose in a flower-decorated carrying basket ($60 for four 200-ml bottles). In the same vein, the onomatopoeic Pink POP, Champagne Pommery’s lighthearted take on the bubbly, comes in shiny pink 200-ml minibottles meant to be used with a straw or applied directly to the lips, sans the usual flute.
I love the evocative name of Piper-Heidsieck Brut “Rose Sauvage” ($30-$45). Perrier-Jouet Brut Rose “Fleur de Champagne Belle Epoque” ($150) always looks grand in its hand-decorated flower bottle, but so does Perrier-Jouet Brut Rose Champagne Blason ($30-$45), which has a new flower-decorated label inspired by Belle Epoque’s. Moet &Chandon Brut Imperial Rose ($35-$45) is attractively packaged in pink.
Red wines are also lovely. Domaine Sauvete 2005 “Passion” ($14) is made from the gamay grape, and the chalky soil of Touraine gives this one extra verve. Saint-Amour is one of the 10 so-called “crus” (best vineyards) of Beaujolais, and the gamay-based Mommessin 2004 Saint-Amour “3 Terroirs” ($25) tastes a lot like a pinot noir from the Cote d’Or. Georges Duboeuf also bottles several cru Beaujolais in the attractive “Flower Label” series ($11), and they are excellent, as is the Kris Heart 2004/2005 Merlot Delle Dolomiti ($15), a delicately fruity merlot from the Trentino-Alto Adige region of northeastern Italy. The Medusa 2004 Lover’s Lane Vineyard Old Vine Zinfandel ($39) has intense raspberry-flavored fruit that goes with red meats and also with semisweet and dark chocolate desserts, as do many other zinfandels and petite sirahs from excellent producers such as Ridge, Rosenblum and Seghesio.
Finally, my fancy was tickled by O’Brien Cellars’ 2004 Napa Valley “Seduction” ($36; www.obrienfamilyvineyard.com, 707-252-8463), a stylish blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc that comes nicely wrapped – in its own tiny sheer negligee.
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