Everyone wants to make the Valentine Day unforgettable for the one and only. So how do you pick the wine that can turn the romantic dinner into the date to remember? No worries. We will help you to navigate through wine labyrinth with the suggestions on 14 Valentine Day Wines that work like Love Potions.
14 Valentine Day Wines That Work Like Love Potions
Sparkling, White, Rosé, Red, and Dessert Wine Recommendations
This honest and non-sponsored advice is our gift to wine lovers around the world on Valentine’s Day. We purchased all the wine at retail price, evaluated it professionally and asked for the opinion of “non-professional” wine lovers and members of our wine club.
To help you find the right bottle for one and only, we have suggestions in five major wine categories: sparkling, white, rose, red and dessert wines. After reading this, you should be able to find your love potion even if you have little idea of your Valentine's preferences.
Bubbles Rule!
Go with bubbles if you're in doubt what your Valentine likes! Everyone associates sparkling wines with celebration and festive mood and most people love it. Among the wine drinkers, there are only three people on Earth who hate bubbles, but we haven't met them yet. So it's a sure bet.
When people think bubbles, they think Champagne, and it's an obvious choice to celebrate love. Countless movie scenes engraved into us that Champagne is quintessential for romantic relationships. When it comes to Champagne, there's no $10 "unicorn" waiting to be found, because it's more complicated and expensive to make than regular wine and quality correlates with the price, most of the time. To get a nice bottle of Champagne, you need to spend around $40-60 retail or more and taste the difference.
Champagne and Sparkling Choices
Many famous and well-known brands make great Champagne. We prefer less advertised producers who make fine sparkling wines and charge less. One of our "sure bets" bottles that fit $45-60 budget is Billecart-Salmon Brut Reserve from the Champagne house with over 200 years of history.
With excellent sparkling wines now being made in many regions of the world, you can surprise your Valentine with some great options outside of France and often from domestic producers. One of our favorite local bubblies earned high marks from its first vintage and kept getting better every year. Perfectly balanced 2015 RMS comes from Roco winery in Willamette Valley of Oregon. It is made following the traditional method and has everything we would expect from high-quality Champagne and more.
Even inside France, you don't have to stick to bubbles from Champagne anymore because almost any region now makes sparkling wines and many are equally impressive. We had a chance to introduce a few of them to our friends during our French Sparkling Christmas evening. A couple of those wines wowed everyone.
The first one came from Burgundy and, in our opinion, can stand alongside if not outshine many wines from the Champagne region. It was 2008 Cremant de Bourgogne Louis Bouillot Perle d’Or made following the traditional Champagne method.
Another favorite came from Provence in Southern France and was made from entirely different grapes. Luc Belair Rare Rosé combines what we love about bubbles with what we like about Provence rosé wine. Everyone became a fan of its festive color, aromas, and flavors.
To make your Valentine's date even more unforgettable, you can have a Sabrage party as we did during our Sparkling Tasting event.
Sparkling Pairing Surprises
What can you pair with sparkling wines?
Luc Belair Rare Rosé (see above) is almost universal wine and can pair well with most foods except strong-flavored red meats and super spicy dishes. Champagne or other white sparkling wine typically pair best with oysters and white fish. We also love it with sushi. Just go easy on soy sauce and wasabi because they may overpower delicate bubbles.
While you're waiting for the main course in the restaurant try it with Parmigiano Reggiano cheese as an appetizer. You'll save a few dollars on two appetizers and impress your date with wine pairing knowledge. The richness of Parmigiano and crispiness of bubbles counterbalance each other very well. Besides, nothing gets people quicker to a jolly mood than bubbles on an empty stomach.
Want to go simple? Pair bubbles with fried chicken and French fries. Yeap! It was an instant hit at our French Sparkling event.
Forgot to book a restaurant and your lover is vegan? No problem. Just grab a bottle of Champagne and a bag of potato chips on a way home. You'll be surprised how well they work together, and you will be able to B.C. (Bubbles & Chips) yourself out of a "dog house." Try it.
Minus Bubbles
If your Valentine date is among three people on Earth who hates bubbles and two people on Earth who get headaches from sulfites in red wine, we got your back with white wine suggestions. Just kidding. We get headaches from wine too sometimes, but sulfites are not a culprit.
We recommend two white wines that can make your Valentine Day special.
The first one is classic and the most popular white wine everywhere. You probably guessed what it is by now. This bottle comes from the region that produces Chardonnay considered as gold standard for the rest of the world. 2015 Etienne Sauzet Beaune Premier Cru "Les Pertuisots" can satisfy most Chardonnay lovers. Whether you like it bone dry or buttery and oaky be prepared to fall in love with it. This is your sure bet white wine.
The second bottle is as rare as your Valentine and comes from Austria. 2016 Johanneshof Reinisch is a wine with exotic aroma made from an unusual grape that grows almost exclusively around Vienna. You can enjoy it with a meal or on its own.
White on White
Both wines pair well with hard cheeses, white fish, crustaceans, pork, chicken and pasta with white sauces. Etienne Sauzet may pair well with dry-aged strip steak and foie gras.
Johanneshof works with salads and can withstand light heat of Asian cuisine.
Rosés are Pink
After bubbles, rosé wine is your second best bet for Valentine's Day romantic dinner. It's light and fresh, fruity and pink and it's easy on the valet too. Rosé wine would have to be invented for Valentine's Day celebration if it didn't exist before.
Rosé now is made all over the world in many different styles, and you can always find a selection in restaurants. As with Chardonnay, France sets the standards with wines from Provence. Some of the best rosés come from Bandol appellation of Provence, and it will impress most wine lovers. Like this delicious 2016 Domaines Bunan Chateau La Rouviere which is among the top rosé wines of Bandol.
Lucky for us we have some excellent pink wines coming from Willamette Valley in Oregon and Walla Walla in Washington. There are great rosé wines made by Roco, Domaine Divio, Clos Griotte, and Trisaetum wineries of Willamette Valley to mention a few. From our recent wineswinging trip to Walla Walla Valley, we brought back 2017 Julia's Dazzle Rosé created by innovative Long Shadows Winery.
Rosé wines made to be consumed young and when you buy a bottle younger is better. So if a restaurant offers this "very special 10-years old" bottle of rosé, you can smile and say, "No. I prefer young and fresh rosé just like my Valentine."
Pair to Rosé
Food to pair with rosé depends on its style. Most will work great with burger and fries. If it's lighter wine such as Bandol or Julia's Dazzle, you can treat it almost like white wine and have it with salads, seafood, and pasta. Medium-bodied such as Oregon rosé works well with a lamb roast.
Full-bodied wines from California or Australia pair well with most foods including barbeques and spicy foods. Rosé is pretty versatile wine and can work well if one of you orders meat and the other seafood or veggie dish.
Red is for Love
Red is wine is for those who are making all the stops, and if your idea of a classic romantic dinner includes steak or other meats. The red choices are overwhelming whether in the store or restaurant and often stressful to navigate because we want to get it right.
The four wines we selected for Valentine’s dinner are from four different wine regions and made from different grapes. Each is a shining star in its category and area. They are made to impress, and they got our hearts and palates.
2012 Fontanafredda Barolo Serralunga d’Alba is from one of the best regions in Italy and made from the grape that doesn't thrive anywhere else in the world as it does in this part of Italy. Barolo is full-bodied yet elegant wine with substantial tannins and aging capability. With Barolo age is the sign of quality unlike with rosé.
K Ovide is an exceptional wine produced by K Vintners with Cabernet and Syrah grapes from Walla Walla Valley of Washington. It's big, luscious and complex wine. Your Valentine will love this one if she or he likes powerful reds.
Nothing says love like a good Pinot Noir, and it works like magic on romantic dates. Pinot Noir is finicky grape, and there are only a few places outside of Burgundy where it gives its best. Again lucky us we live right next to Willamette Valley of Oregon that happens to produce world-class Pinots.
There are so many amazing Pinots here that we accumulated quite a collection, and we have a bottle that can make any Valentine dinner special. 2015 Toison d'Or Pinot Noir by Domaine Divio winery is a beautiful wine that you can drink now and age for a decade or longer.
This wine is among the top wines from the region, and there are other impressive and less expensive alternatives from Willamette Valley including wineries we mentioned in rosé section. One thing to remember, don't buy cheap Pinot Noir and expect to spend $25-30 retail for good quality Pinot Noir.
The last red wine is from one of the best regions in Spain and made from famous Spanish grape Tempranillo. 2010 Ardal Reserva from Balbas Winery is an excellent wine with an intense, highly elegant and seductive finish. Ardal has everything we would expect from high-quality wine, and it's an outstanding value if you're on the budget.
Red for Red
Red wines were made for red meat and goat and sheep cheeses. Everything of the grill pairs well with all four.
Barolo and Pinot Noir are ideal wines for a game, roast lamb and porcini risotto. Pinot Noir and Tempranillo were made for a duck with cherry sauce. K Ovide and Ardal can pair well with bitter-sweet chocolate desserts.
Foods to avoid are soft or blue cheeses because they can make your red wine taste bitter.
Sweet Emotions
Here are a couple of irresistible love potions if your Valentine is not entirely into your by the end of the evening. There are only three people on Earth who wouldn't love the next two wines. They are probably the same three who don't like bubbles.
The first sweet love potion is 2012 Chateau Climens Premier Cru Barsac. It comes from the place considered to produce the best dessert wines in the world. After the first sip, he or she is yours!
Another love potion will be more challenging to find but it worth it. At one of our wine club tasting events, a few women stood up and said, "If anyone wants to make me a present, please take a picture of this bottle."
1987 Pedro Ximenez is a surreal experience and one of those rare occasions when you are drinking more than wine. You are drinking history.
Both of these wines are among the top examples from their regions, and if you on the budget there are more valet friendly alternatives from the same areas.
Sweet on Sweet
Desserts and dessert wines are made for each other. Although Sauternes and Pedro Ximenez have different taste profiles, both pair well with cheesecakes and chocolate desserts. Both wines can send you on flavor journey when you have them with brie, blue and other soft cheeses.
Chateau Climens works better with fruity desserts like pies and tarts. Pedro Ximenez is excellent with nuts, caramel and coffee flavored desserts such as Pecan Nuts Pie, caramel toffee or Tiramisu. You can also pour Pedro Ximenez over vanilla ice-cream.
We wish you a lovely February 14th and hope some of these wines will make it very special. We would love to hear your Valentine's Day wine love story.
What was your love potion?