A Romantic Valentine’s Day Dinner Includes Great Wine

Valentine’s Day is a time for lovers to share a romantic dinner together with delicious food and wine. The exact history of Valentine’s Day and its patron saint is a bit of a mystery dating back to ancient times. We do know that Valentine’s Day today is a fun holiday associated with celebrating romantic love. Couples express their love for each other by sending Valentine’s Day cards, giving gifts of chocolate, or flowers, and enjoying a romantic dinner together with their favorite food and wine!

We share some great wine and food pairings as suggestions for your special dinner. These romantic dinners are being offered by some terrific New England restaurants. The exact food and wine pairing may not be offered on your favorite restaurant menu or even on your home cooked menu. The idea here is to take some time before February 14^th and plan ahead to include some Very Good wine with your special meal. You would probably rather spend your candlelight dinner gazing into your lover’s eyes, rather than laboring over the thick wine list passed to you by the Sommelier. For a complete list of tips on how to preplan your restaurant wine selections, click here.

As Valentine’s Day is a special occasion, this romantic dinner calls for a cork-popping Champagne toast to begin the evening. I strongly suggest an offering that is special and will start the evening off right. A “can’t miss” sparkling wine selection is the NV Charles Heidsieck “Brut Reserve.” This Champagne is a terrific choice that is certain to enhance the evening and set the romantic mood.

This Valentine’s Day we thought it would be fun to pair wines with food from some of the best restaurants in New England. We inquired and were lucky enough to get a “sneak peak” at the Valentine’s Day menu from the Mountain View Grand Resort and Spa in Whitefield, New Hampshire. We picked one entrée option from their Valentine’s Day menu. For each part of these meals, you could order either a white or a red wine to go with the meal according to your preference. We will give you a few wine suggestions below. The entrée we chose is the Cochon et Crevette which consists of an Herb Marinated Pork Tenderloin with a Maple Apple Demi Sauce and Maine Lobster Cake and Citrus Shrimp. It is accompanied by a chef’s selection of starch and vegetables.

Below are three wine selections to pair with the meals above. Of the three, the Pinot Noir probably goes best with most of the menu options above. I also like an easy going Syrah for the tenderloin and a solid Sauvignon Blanc for the seafood. One of our favorite Pinot Noir selections is the 2005 Hartford Court “Land’s Edge Vineyards” Pinot Noir. I think it would pair nicely with the richness of the lobster cake or the maple apple sauce. If you prefer Syrah, I suggest an easy going option like the 2006 Water Wheel Shiraz. For you white wine lovers, I suggest the 2006 Mulderbosch Sauvignon Blanc. This wine would greatly complement either meal.

Our second restaurant menu “sneak peak” is “The Spiced Pear” at The Chanler in Newport, Rhode Island. Chef Ketchum has assembled a five coarse meal enhanced by several Aphrodisiacs. His opening course is broiled Wellfleet Oysters with Smoked Bacon, Wilted Spinach and Meyer Lemon Hollandaise Sauce. For this delicious meal I suggest the Heidsieck Champagne as noted above. The second course is Nantucket Bay Scallops served with a fricassee of baby mushrooms, butternut squash, and celery root puree sauce perigeux. For this you can continue with the champagne or move on to a Tuscan Red like the 2004 Sette Ponti “Crognolo.” This Sangiovese and Merlot blend will really complement the mushrooms and transition nicely into the Kobe beef option in the third course. The first half of the third course is Butter Braised European Turbot (flatfish) with a Parsnip Mousseline. For this pairing I suggest a Chardonnay such as the 2006 Artesa “Carneros” Chardonnay. The second half of the third course is a Kobe Beef Oxtail with a “Bone Marrow Bordelaise”. Again, you could stick with the “Crognolo” or try the 2004 Stonehedge Winery “Terroir Select – Pallini Ranch” Petite Sirah. It you wanted to top off the evening with a high end suggestion, you might want to try the 2004 Darioush “Signature” Cabernet Sauvignon which is another fine choice.

For dessert we are going to suggest a couple of wines. We like the Fritz 2006 “Late Harvest” Zinfandel. This wine goes particularly well with Chocolate covered cherries, strawberries, and lovers. We are also a big fan of many of the 2005 dessert Rieslings from Germany. Try the 2005 Dr. Loosen “Wehlener Sonnenuhr – Auslese.” This will go particularly well with a Cheese and Green Apple plate or Crè­¥ br?ute;e.

Ken