An Italian Red For Your Valentine

If you are seeking a nice wine for your special one on Valentine's Day, you can hardly go wrong with an Italian wine. My friendly neighborhood publicity person contends that, "Romance is a language best expressed through the senses." The 2022 Varvaglione 12 e Mezzo Primitivo Salento will keep your sense of smell and taste busy, so you can save your vision and touch for the object of your affection.

Salento is an area in southern Puglia. It is the sun-soaked heel of Italy's boot shape. The wine's name, 12 e mezzo, means twelve and a half in Italian, which is the alcohol level found in the bottle. That's lower than most other wines from Apulia. Primitivo is the Italian equivalent of what we call Zinfandel, and it is a 100% varietal wine.

After malolactic fermentation, the wine was aged in American oak barriques for about three months. Alcohol at 12.5% abv means you can have an extra glass without getting too tipsy. The price isn't too high, either, about $20.

This wine is colored medium ruby in the glass. The nose gives bright cherry, red plum, and raspberry aromas, with a hint of chocolate and a faint herbal note. The tannins are medium firm and the acidity is zippy. This will pair nicely with a spaghetti sauce, meaty or marinara, and should go nicely with some of the chocolates from the Valentine box.

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Blood Of The Vines - Be My Valentine

Pairing‌‌‌ ‌‌‌wine‌‌‌ ‌‌‌with‌‌‌ ‌‌‌movies!‌‌‌  ‌‌‌See‌‌‌ ‌‌‌the‌‌‌ ‌‌‌trailers‌‌‌ ‌‌‌and‌‌‌ ‌‌‌hear‌‌‌ ‌‌‌the‌‌‌ ‌‌‌fascinating‌‌‌ ‌‌‌commentary‌‌‌ ‌‌‌for‌‌‌ ‌‌‌these‌‌‌ ‌‌‌‌‌movies‌,‌‌ ‌‌‌and‌‌‌ ‌‌‌many‌‌‌ ‌‌‌more‌,‌‌ ‌‌‌at‌‌‌ ‌‌‌Trailers‌‌‌ ‌‌‌From‌‌‌ ‌‌‌Hell.‌‌‌  This week, let us give you one of those chalky candy hearts, the one that says Be My Valentine.

Chilly Scenes of Winter is a 1979 romantic drama - romdra? - which stars John Heard and Mary Beth Hurt.  The producers almost had lead actors whose names are homophones, but no cigar for close.

It was originally called Head Over Heels and had a happy ending, perfect for Valentine's Day.  In a surprise move, the lost-in-love title and the happy ending were scrapped a few years down the line in favor of a more, eh, realistic tone.  Ticket-buyers seemed to appreciate the changes.  

In Chilly Scenes of Winter, Charles and Laura meet in their civil service jobs with the state of Utah.  They figure that it's not bad for guv'mint work and start moving toward the inevitable chilly breakup.  Critics of the day praised the acting, but felt that the story wasn't exactly a heart-shaped box of chocolates.

Valentine wine pairing #1: Colby Red is a California blend of five grapes that's perfect if you don't know which way your relationship is going.  It's cheap and it even has a little smudgy heart on the label.

1977's Annie Hall is Woody Allen's take on his failed relationship with Diane Keaton.  We wouldn't learn until years later just how failed his relationships could be.  This was pre-scandal Woody, though, and nearly everyone fell in love with Annie Hall.  

The movie taught us how to have a great date involving lobsters, what to do if you forget your mantra, where to look for Marshall McLuhan while standing in line for The Sorrow and the Pity, how you can bond with others over killing spiders, and how to win the Truman Capote look-alike contest.  It also taught us that even though love may fade, it's an awful lot of fun while it's shining.

Valentine wine pairing #2: Champagne, since it makes a great impression and goes great with lobster.  Actually, it goes great with everything. Try Champagne Laurent Perrier for about $75.  

As Good as it Gets, from 1997, was exactly that for Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt, who both took home Oscars for their work in the romcom.  Can a mean old obsessive-compulsive misanthrope find happiness with a pretty waitress?  You bet your dog-walking dollar he can, but it takes the intervention of the nice gay guy next door, and his puppy.

It's a great date movie, as long as the eccentricities contained in Nicholson's character don't remind your partner too much of you.  There's no need to pull that string and see the whole sweater unravel, not on Valentine's Day.

The characters in As Good as it Gets show that people can grow together over common ground, no matter how far apart they may seem to be at first.  Just don't forget to take care of the dog properly.  And don't step on a crack.

Valentine wine pairing #3:  Armand De Brignac Champagne may or may not be as good as sparkling wine gets, but it sure is close to being as expensive as it gets.  You'll make an impression if you can find a subtle way to mention the astronomical price tag during dinner conversation.  If that's out of reach, a little Veuve'll do ya.

 

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Santa Ynez Valley Wine: Vincent Vineyards

Homespun and genuine often travel together. Vincent Vineyards displays the best of both qualities. Located in Santa Ynez, just off Highway 154 near Los Olivos, the Vincent tasting room offers a very real and homey experience. I never felt that I was being “sold” on anything.

I spoke with owner Tony Vincent just before the tasting room’s closing time. Actually, it was just after closing, and the staff quietly held their car keys in hand while the boss talked to some dude from L.A. One of them plied my wife with chocolates while we talked. Boy, did they find her weak spot.

Vincent told me excitedly about his exploration of social media. "A bunch of people from Philadelphia were in here earlier today," he said. "You know how they found out about us?" No, how? "Yelp!" He was astounded. Better get with it, Tony. Social media is how I ended up there.

The Vincent winemaker Raxie Ward produces all estate wines, although they do offer some sparklers produced in northern California. They are doing wine and chocolate pairings for Valentine’s month, so you might want take your sweetie there. If your sweetie doesn’t like wine or chocolate, I can't help you. Better luck next Valentine’s Day.

The eastern Santa Ynez valley terroir often shows a distinctive earthy quality, lacing the bright red fruit. That trend holds true at Vincent.

2013 Sauvignon Blanc  $35 - Very fresh, slightly herbal, nice acidity.

2012 Sauvignon Blanc  $31 - 30% New oak lends a nice soft mouthfeel to this one. Grapefruit and melon join tropical fruit for a soft and creamy sip.

2010 Sauvignon Blanc  $24  Very similar to the 2012.

2012 Cabernet Franc  $55 - 100% Cabernet Franc, this wine is a nice light purple color. A perfumed, floral nose leads to spice and red fruit on palate. The mouthfeel is soft, so it’s great for sipping. An uncomplicated quaff, and a little light on the finish, it's a good entry-level wine.

2012 Cabernet Sauvignon  $65 - 3% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot are in the blend. It’s soft, sweet and approachable, also a great entry level offering.

2010 Syrah  $48  - 100% Syrah, with the funky, dark fruit palate I look for in that grape.

2010 Cabernet Sauvignon - The wine’s first vintage.  62% cab, 25% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. An earthy angle to the bright red fruit and a moderate finish.

2010 Cuvee V  $90 - The same percentages as the Cab, with more tannins and bright red fruit.
 
2010 Petit Verdot  $39 - this wine is extremely dry and quite complex, certainly the biggest wine on the list. It’s brawny, so get a steak ready for it. You don't want it to get angry.

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SWEET WINES FOR VALENTINE'S DAY

Valentine's Day gifts usually center around chocolates or flowers.  While those are great choices - you'll hear no argument about either from my valentine - dessert wines have the sweet and pretty angles covered in both aroma and taste.

If your valentine is a wine lover, a dessert wine is the perfect gift idea.  Sweet, floral aromas and luscious candy-like flavors make dessert wine a natural choice for the sweetest person in your life.  Anyway, they taste so much better than those awful candy hearts.

As you may expect, dessert wines are great for dessert, or as an addition to dessert.  They also pair well with blue cheese and you can even liven up a lobster dinner with a sweet wine.

Here are some dessert wines you may want to look into as a gift on the sweetest day of the year:

Sauternes is a sweet Bordeaux white wine.  Sauternes wines can get very expensive, but many affordable examples can be found in the $20 to $30 range for a half-bottle.

A Hungarian wine known as Tokaji (pronounced to-kay) is a sweet white wine often called "the king of wines and the wine of kings."  At least that's what Louis XIV called it.

Italian Brachetto is not extremely sweet - call it off-dry - but it's a sparkling red wine and is certainly a festive choice for Valentine's Day.

An Icewine from Austria, Germany, Canada or New York State will also please sweet-craving palates.

Port is a sweet wine, although it's fortified with brandy or grape spirits and the alcohol level is a bit higher than most dessert wines.  Real Port comes only from Portugal, but Port-style wines are made just about everywhere.

California's Rosenblum Cellars makes a treat called Désirée.  It's a Port-style wine made from Zinfandel and two Portuguese grape varieties, infused with chololate.  It can certainly set a romantic mood all by itself.