In Vino Veritas
Whether you’re looking to make the perfect date night or just looking to treat yourself this Valentine’s day, there’s no better solution than a good wine! Since the current lockdown means you are going to have to celebrate Valentine’s Day at home, why not lighten the mood with some delicious, light wines that pair so well with Valentine’s Day favourites like chocolate and cheese?
The reviews this month highlight wines that would be perfect for a cheese platter, charcuterie board, or to pair with a chocolatey dessert. We’re keeping it light and fun this Valentine’s day! If you’re looking for an elegant wine to pair with your main course, Reya reviews a beautiful Beaujolais. For a great wine to pair with deserts, Tom reviews a flashy Prosecco. If you are looking for a fruity and fun wine, Angela reviews two rosés that will do the trick. Kimia reviews a quirky Nero d’Avola all the way from Australia! If you’re looking for a festive cocktail, Sawyer shares a delicious Moscato sangria recipe.
Reya Manerikar
Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Brouilly
Treat yourself (or your loved one) to a tried-and-true Beaujolais! These gamay grapes hail from the base of Mont Brouilly, which is topped with a picturesque chapel. Brouilly is one of the most productive “crus” of the Beaujolais region and is known for its vibrant flavour.
I was drawn to this bottle for its classy, minimalist label and its elegant neck. Georges Dubeouf’s Beaujolais Brouilly is bright and fruity. It boasts cherry on the nose, with a slightly nutty flavour on the finish. It paired really well with a margherita pizza, but I would also recommend a tomato-based pasta.
One tip I have for drinking Beaujolais is to chill it before opening, and then pull out the bottle when you have your first glass. Different notes really pop when these wines are chilled versus when they’re room temperature, so it’s fun to have your first glass one way and your second another!
Tom Russell
Bottega Gold Prosecco, Doc Tresivo
$27.95 at the LCBO
If you are planning a big date night this Valentine’s Day I recommend the Bottega Gold Prosecco! It comes in a beautiful (obnoxious) gold bottle and has an even more gorgeous pale, platinum colour. At first taste, I noted wonderful melon, pear, and green apple flavours. I found the aroma a bit dull, but the flavour more than made up for that.
As for the details, the Bottega Gold Prosecco is light, slightly acidic, fizzy, and a bit dry. It is made from Glera (Prosecco) grapes in the Veneto region of Italy. It has an alcohol content of 11% and does contain sulfites.
This wine pairs perfectly with fruit or white, milk, and even some nutty chocolates. Although I would primarily recommend this as a dessert wine, I also recommend trying it with cured meats, pad thai, or vermicelli dishes. Keep it light.
Angela Gu
Gérard Bertrand Côte des Roses Rosé 2019
$18.95 at the LCBO
and Mateus Rosé Original
$4.25 (250ml bottle) at the LCBO
The Gérard Bertrand rosé is a Languedoc blend of grenache, syrah, and cinsault. It has a fresh, floral nose like a fun perfume, albeit one that I’d enjoy smelling in a store but not actually wearing, because it lacks dimension. This wine is simply a very fun wine – easy-drinking and fruity, and not cloyingly so. It’s a little dry, with a bit of salty minerality closing with notes of white pepper. The best part is that it comes in such a fun bottle, with a glass stopper and a rose imprint in the base. Don’t take yourself too seriously, throw the rules out the window, serve this chilled, perhaps in champagne flutes because the colour is so pretty. Well, any glass works, so you do you. Share a bottle over a light brunch.
Make the most out of the Gérard Bertrand bottle by using it as a cookie stamp. You heard me right. Whip up a batch of shortbread cookies, and instead of pressing flat with the usual measuring cup or fork, use this bottle instead. Find a recipe with a high flour ratio so cookies retain their shape. Lightly flour the dough balls and wipe the bottle dry between pressings, to prevent dough from sticking to the indents. I made brown sugar shortbread cookies.
I had the shortbread alongside this Portuguese rosé, which was a mistake because both were so sweet. This semi-sparkling wine is even more fun than the previous rosé. With aromas of citrus and strawberry, a slight zip from the carbonation, round acidity, and honeyed citrus notes (more like pomelo than grapefruit), it’s a superbly cheerful libation. Pair the Mateus rosé with your favourite salty carb or a light fish dish.
Kimia Veisi Nezhad
2020 “Pretty Boy” Nero D’Avola Rosato
Whether you are celebrating Valentine’s day with your loved ones or flying solo, you can count on this “Pretty Boy” to make your day more special. I recently discovered the Australian winery Delinquente Wine Co and I really like their brand. My guess is that the winemakers/owners are naming their unique bottles after their bad[?] dates. Some of Delinquente’s other bottles are named “Weeping Juan”, “Screaming Betty”, and “Roxanne the Razor,” and they each include a hand-drawn sketch of the character on the label.
“Pretty Boy” has a fruity nose with hints of strawberries and cream. On the palate, it is crunchy and refreshing, with notes of raspberry, rosewater, and herbs. Overall, the aromas work really well with the texture and the taste. This rose is fun, lush, light, and just perfect for the occasion. I bought it for $30 plus tax from I DEAL Coffee & Wine in the Ossington area in Toronto. I don’t believe the LCBO carries them, but do not miss out on this amazing find if you are in the Toronto area (or, in Australia)!
Sawyer Peloso
Raspberry Moscato Sangria
Made with Bartenura Moscato, $18.95 at LCBO
On Valentine’s Day, I think it is always nice to put together a fruity wine cocktail to share between myself and my partner. Sometimes that partner also happens to be myself. Who you celebrate with does not matter. February 14 this year is reading week for many, and it is a time to briefly celebrate all the hard work completed up until this point in the semester.
The Raspberry Moscato Sangria is a treat on its own; however it pairs surprisingly well with a number of things including cured meats, lemon pie and other fruity desserts. Given the occasion, I would highly recommend a desert to go with the sangria.
Moscatos, such as the Bartenura Moscato from Italy, are bold, fruity wines with an alcohol content that ranges from 5-7% generally. This particular Moscato is very palatable and has strong hints of tropical fruits such as pineapple and mango, as well as pears.
The sangria consists of a bottle of the Moscato Wine, about 2-3 oz of vodka, 1 cup of lemon soda, and a raspberry simple syrup. I personally made my own raspberry simple syrup. This involved boiling a mixture of ¼ cup of water, ¼ cup of granular sugar and a cup of raspberries, which I then filtered through a mesh sieve. To finish the sangria off, I added an assortment of different fruits, including raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and strawberries. The final result is a very sweet and sugary pink cocktail, that is low in alcohol content and can reasonably be split between two people. Enjoy!
