Fall in Love With These Valentine’s Day Wines

Valentine’s Day arrives soon, and this year, it can be a pleasant distraction from all the political shenanigans around us. This week is also an ideal time to splurge on a special wine since it’s our last chance to save on the HST.

Champagne is always a hit. Is it the bubbles . . . the delicate flavours . . . the romantic allure? Veuve Cliquot Brut Imperial is a perennial favourite, with its delicate notes of apples, pears, brioche and fine, frothy bubbles. Pair it with brie cheese, a dish of macadamia nuts and candlelight.

Dry • 12% • LCBO #563338 • $76.15

According to France’s strict labelling laws, French fizz made outside of the Champagne region is labelled as “sparkling wine”. The LCBO and SAQ carry many of these delicious options, such as Crémant de Bourgogne and Crémant d’Alsace. You can also find Italian Prosecco and Spanish Cava, which are delicious, of excellent quality and happily, often priced around $20. per bottle. French Champagne is world famous and rightly so. But why not try a lesser-known sparkling wine? There are several that rival Champagne for quality and flavour (psss . . . don’t tell the French). Many are made using the same traditional method as Champagne, i.e., with a second fermentation in the bottle. One of my favourite sparklers is Franciacorta, from Italy.

Ca’del Bosco Cuvée Extra Brut Franciacorta
Lombardy, Italy

Franciacorta is an elegant dry sparkling white wine produced in Lombardy, near Lake Garda and Verona. It is made using mainly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes. Like Champagne, the sparkling wines of Franciacorta are made using the traditional method. They show flavours of white tree fruit, brioche and marzipan and exhibit a persistent creamy mousse. Franciacorta is an ideal wine to pair with white fish, smoked salmon, veal or ripe cheeses.

Extra dry • 13% • LCBO# 105353 • $40.80

Tommasi Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico 2019
Veneto, Italy

Amarone is named from the Latin verb amare, “to love”, and once you taste this wine, you’ll love it too! This full-bodied red wine is crafted from a blend of Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella and Oseleta, grown in the scenic Veneto region surrounding Verona. Manual harvest and selection of the grapes is followed by the appassimento method of drying the grapes for about 3 months in a well-ventilated loft. Fermentation occurs in stainless steel, followed by maturation for 3 years in Slavonian oak casks. Smooth and elegant, this beautiful rich red wine shows the hallmarks of classic Amarone: a perfumed nose and a rich, layered palate with complex flavours. It’s ruby red in colour, with an intensely aromatic nose that reveals scents of ripe cherry, floral and slightly spicy notes. The velvety palate gives complex flavours of dark cherries, prunes, licorice, mocha and dried herbs. There’s excellent balance between the acidity and the polished tannins and a persistent, lingering finish which fades slowly with hints of red fruit. Amarone makes a perfect accompaniment to game, roast red meats or mature cheeses and if you’re looking for a dessert pairing, it works beautifully with dark chocolate, too.

Dry • 15% • LCBO# 356220 • $47.30

Royal Tokaji Azju Red Label 2017
Tokaj-Hegyalja, Hungary

Award-winning Tokaji Aszú (pronounced toe-ki ah-tsu) has an interesting history. It was once one of the most coveted wines in the world, cherished by royal customers, including Hungarian noblemen, King Louis XIV and Catherine the Great. Apparently, the Austrian composer Joseph Haydn received some of his payments in the form of this wine. When you taste it, you’ll understand why. This beloved Hungarian dessert wine is made using mostly grapes (Furmint variety) that are affected by a beneficial mould called Botrytis cinerea. This mould is considered beneficial to wine grapes because it concentrates the grape sugars and adds distinctive aromas of ginger and saffron. 5 puttonyos refers to the number of 25L baskets of these botryised grapes that are added to the wine barrel; the more baskets added, the sweeter the wine. It’s not available every year in Canada, so when you see it, it’s well worth grabbing.

Tokaji Aszú is a sensuous, satiny, smooth nectar with luscious layers of aromas and flavours: apricot jam, tangerine, honeysuckle, ginger and marzipan. There’s a delicate floral aspect on the nose, too. It’s a very rich wine, yet it feels silky on the tongue. All this flavour is balanced with perfect acidity and a heavenly lingering finish. It’s one of those wines that you never forget once you taste it. Pair it with marzipan chocolates, Crème Brulèe or biscotti.

Sweet • 10.5% • LCBO Vintages# 959031 • $60.90 • 500 ml

Tequila Rose Strawberry Cream Liqueur
United States

Fragrant, flavourful and fun; it’s very sexy! Aromas of strawberry ice cream and agave, with flavours of strawberry, orange liqueur, agave and cream. Enjoy it with chocolate cake or simply as dessert in a glass.

Sweet • 15% • LCBO# 382747 • $32.95 • 750 ml

For more wine and food discovery from Jane Staples, visit www.bellovinoj.com

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