Romantic Valentine’s Day Wines

With Valentine’s Day following the caveman jubilee and hog fest known as Super Bowl the weekend before, many of us will be ripe for some romance.

These tips may not be quite enough to take someone’s heart by storm but they’re sure to kick-start a wonderful evening. After all, it’s the company and the sentiment that count, right?

This New Orleans shopkeeper keeps the love vibe going all year round.

It’s the bubbles

Champagne may get dissed as a Valentine’s Day cliché but let’s face it: Nothing spells romance like Champagne, from the uncorking ritual to the pour. Bubblies deliver a full-on sensual and sensory experience, starting with the eye-catching streaming perlage to the prickling sensation on the tongue, the brioche-like aromas on the nose and finally, those first scintillating sips. If Champagne isn’t in your budget this year, or even if it is, look to Spanish cava (made also in the traditional French style), consistently excellent American sparkling wine producers (Schramsberg, Scharffenberger, Roederer Estate and J Vineyards in California; Argyle in Oregon) and even to South America. We like the Antucura Fleurie sparkling rosé of Pinot Noir so much, we’ll be serving it at our Valentine’s Day five-course food and wine pairing dinner at Cooking with Class.

Drop acid and go for aromatic

Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio and other high-acid wines marry beautifully with many foods, from goat cheese salads to simply grilled fish in lemon-butter sauce – lovely, but not exactly sentimental favorites. Hold off on wines that deliver tang and zing, opting instead for wines with captivating floral aromas and those that deliver weight on the palate. V is for Viognier this Valentine’s Day – we like just about all the different Viogniers made by Yalumba over the past five years. The gently priced Y series (2014) is available in the desert at many locations, including grocers. 

For reds, do like Rob Thomas: smooth

Wine professionals sometimes joke about the overriding appeal of smooth wines. But hey, smooth is good and on Valentine’s Day, smooth is also sexy. Even if your usual wine taste veers toward austere, give your palate a party on the 14^th with a fuller, more zoftig wine. Instead of lean or cooler-climate reds, treat yourself to a hefty Syrah (nothing says sexy better than Syrah and while Alban takes the cake, the Shafer Relentless is just that); a mouth-coating Merlot (Washington’s Northstar is a perennial favorite while Chile’s 2012 and 2013 Santa Ema Merlot are bargain standouts); or a not-so-young Cabernet (notable exception: the 2012 Jamieson Ranch Vineyards Double Lariat Cabernet from Napa Valley is drinking surprisingly well now, available at Dan’s Wine Shop in Palm Desert). A high-alcohol Zinfandel might put the kibosh on your romantic plans so perhaps steer clear of Zins pushing 15% or more ABV. Dan’s Wine Shop featured the 2010 Lake Sonoma Zinfandel from Dry Creek Valley, a steal at about $10. Others worth a sip are the Trentadue La Storia 2013 Zin from Alexander Valley and reliably excellent Zins from Ridge, William Selyem and Novy.

Be a sweetie

Somm tip: Save the after-dinner wine for after or instead of the dessert, not alongside it. Valentine’s Day desserts tend to be extra-sweet or over-the-top, which can make even a very sweet dessert wine taste off or unexciting. For a classic pour, go with a Port with all its dark-fruited creamy sensuality and spice. The outstanding 2011 vintage Ports are too young to drink now but plenty of choices and bargains abound in 2007 late-bottled vintage (abbreviated LBV on the label) Ports. Try the Quinta do Crasto or the savory Quinta do Portal. Show some panache after a chocolatey or fruity dessert with a Banyuls, the Grenache-based fortified wine from southern France. M. Chapoutier is a reliable producer.

Romance the place

If your sweetie is of Italian, Canadian, Spanish or another ancestry connected to a winemaking country, consider choosing a wine that acknowledges that heritage. Match your beloved to a fine Canadian ice wine, an aged and noble Brunello or Tempranillo, an Australian late-harvest Muscat or whatever wine best reflects that ancestry.

Pick and choose from these suggestions or go full-throttle with one of each. Now that’s amore.

Valentine's Day Wines for Romance

Now that the sandstorms have cleared, romance is back in the air. It's Valentine's Week, time to unleash love-laced scents with every swirl, and savor sips of wines built for love.

Here are Valentine's Day wine picks to get your juices flowing. Let the swooning begin!

Bubblies

While Champagne makes a fine traditional choice, sparklers that let loose with exotic aromas are sure to get you in the mood for love. Say amore with an Italian Moscato, whether a fine-fizz frizzante or full-sparkling spumante. Don't be put off by some of the mass-production stuff you may have glugged down during the Moscato mania of the past few years. The real deal from Piedmont is perfumy with orange blossom aromas and a peachy palate that's bellissima.

If slightly sweet isn't your thing, try a brut rosé sparkler. We like Mirabelle by Northern California's Schramsberg, a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Made in the traditional method perfected in Champagne, France, Mirabelle is beautiful to look at and bursting with fresh, red-fruited flavor. This dry, perky rosé goes with a wide range of foods, from pizza for casual lovebirds to chicken and fish. 

Want to pull out all stops this Valentine's? Match a grower's Champagne to a free-spirited lover, or make your stylista smile with a designer label such as Krug or Tattinger.  

Rosé

All pretty in pink, rosé is springtime love in a glass, even in the dead of winter. Rosé rocks romance, and comes in a range of styles from around the world. As a wine for pairing up and down the menu, it has few competitors. Rosé can sail along with a variety of small plates or tackle a range of adventurous main dishes. Best of all, rosé leaves your palate feeling refreshed and ready for more – perhaps a few after-dinner smooches. Beyond reliable rosés from southern France, get frisky with rosés made from your favorite red wine grapes. Oregon rosés of Pinot Noir are as seductive as you might expect from that grape while Malbec from Argentina makes a deeply colored rosé that delivers full-throated fruity indulgence.

Whites

Even though a glass of white wine doesn't have that come-hither look you get from a glass of red, some whites have the flower power to seduce. Go with aromatic Viognier, whether a French homey from Condrieu or a Central Coast beauty from Calera, Wild Horse or Jaffurs. Go down under with an apricot-scented Viognier from Australia's Tahbilk or Yalumba, or head south of the border to tango with Torrontés from Argentina. She might not even miss the flowers you forgot to order. Well, maybe not.  

Reds

If you've gotten this far, you probably agree that reds are made for romance. And they are, especially reds that are soft on tannins yet big on aromatics and mouthfeel. Save the puckering for later and go with a plush Valpolicella made in the ripasso style. Zenato makes one that's creamy and exotic, while Allegrini's effort in Argentina, Enamore, is made to do just that. Other reds that reel in the sirens' call are Syrah (count on Washington, Central Coast, northern Rhone, South Africa and Australia), pricier Pinots (Shea, Bergstrom and Ayoub are consistent winners) and Argentine Malbec. With the latter, spend a bit more than you're used to spending for Malbec to indulge in a sinfully rich experience that's front-loaded by heady violet and boysenberry aromas with a chocolate and dark cherry climax. 

Dessert Wines

Pass on heavy dessert calories and drink your dessert instead. Stickies not only satisfy a sweet tooth but also wrap up Valentine's dinner with tasty, lingering warmth that will keep you in the mood for love. Choices abound, from complex and rich Ports to honeyed Muscat. Look to Australia's Rutherglen or Beaumes-de-Venise for bouquet and exotic flavors with just the right amount of sweetness. If money is no object, go for broke with Essencia, a Hungarian Tokaji that is pure luxury.

My pick this Valentine's? I'm going with the 2008 Clio, an opulent, glass-staining Monastrell-Cabernet blend from Jumilla, Spain. Let us know your love picks in the comments section. Happy Valentine's Day!