Drinks Expert Explains How to Marry the Right Wine With the Right Food This Valentine’s Day

Drinks Expert Explains How to Marry the Right Wine With the Right Food This Valentine’s Day

Matching the wine and food perfectly can transform this most romantic of mealtimes into marital bliss for your tastebuds

Key Points:

• Drinks expert Daniel Ufland of The Whisky Masters reveals how wine can enrich your Valentine’s Day romantic meal if chosen well

• Wine and food can be brought together to enhance your experience of both with your special other – an expert shows how

• Lighter-bodied wines complement lighter dishes, and intense wines tend to pair well with heartier dishes … If food be the music of love … 

Fabulous food is a wonderful way to celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14. Great food can be enhanced by delicious wine, too, as long as those wines are perfectly suited to the edibles in question. Get it wrong, and the tastes don’t complement each other. Get it right, and the food can enrich the wine, and vice versa. But what wine goes with which food, and why?

“Whether you’re wooing someone new or romancing your long term partner this Valentine’s Day at home or in a restaurant, the meal should be something to remember,” says drinks expert Daniel Ufland, of The Whisky Masters. “A marriage between scrumptious food and the wine best suited to it can help make for a fantastic edible experience. But you’ve got to know which wine to drink with what food. Get that right, and the food and the wine will fall in love.” 

Below, Daniel explains how to marry wine and edibles perfectly to ensure a delectable Valentine’s dinner experience. 

The Right Wine for Each Course of Your Valentine’s Meal

The drinks expert recommends matchmaking the following fine wines with the meal types and courses best suited to them – and the other way around.

Wines that were born to be with certain food forever:

1. Starters: Choose a prosecco, champagne or sparkling wine to sip with your entrees and celebrate the occasion.
   
2. Seafood: Sensational seafood loves to be enjoyed with crisp white wine. 

“Choose something light with fruity notes like a quality Chenin Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Albariño, Muscadet, and Vermentino,” says Daniel. “These wines tread lightly on your tongue and won’t overwhelm the subtle flavors of the Frutti Di Mare”.

1. Poultry: Which wine to relish with poultry on your romantic date depends on the type of poultry and how it’s cooked. 

“Light reds like Pinot Noir, Beaujolais, Merlot, Shiraz, or lean, crisp whites like Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Unoaked Chardonnay, and Chenin Blanc will all dance with your poultry on your tongue as long as the moment lasts. ” 

1. Red Meat … demands red wine. Classic, fuller-bodied reds like Malbec, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, and Merlot work perfectly with things like steak and other red meat based feasts.  

“Red wines can be associated with romance and passion. The night is young.”

1. Vegetarian Options: The veggie food-wine combi is a bit less bound by tradition than the meaty options. But meat-free dining options, like roasted vegetables, complement wine with fruity notes like Grenache or Zinfandel. And glorious steamed veggies love crisp light wines such as Pinot Grigio or Verdejo.  

“The flavours of stir-fried vegetables can be elevated by versatile wines like Viognier or Chenin Blanc. Whereas butternut squash dishes want to be with wine with harmonizing richness and aromatic complexity, like a Côtes du Luberon Rouge, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, Napa Valley Chardonnay, or Condrieu.”

1. Desert: Sweet wines pair well with a lover’s sweet tooth. The ideal wine to enjoy with pudding depends on the flavours and ingredients of the food. 

“When choosing a wine to drink with your dessert, consider the wine’s sweetness, acidity, and color. Sweet Moscato d’Asti goes well with cake, whereas Spanish Moscatel likes to flirt with chocolate mousse. Lovers of chocolate puddings should make eyes at late-harvest Riesling; and Brachetto d’Acqui is a semi-sparkling Italian red that lights up chocolate mousse and apple pie with its high notes. Pure opera”.

Drinks expert, Daniel Ufland of The Whisky Masters, comments:

“The ideal wine to drink with certain foods is largely a question of tradition and personal taste. It also depends on the specific type of food and the way it’s prepared, and the wine’s peculiarities. Not all wines with the same names are the same. They can vary according to area of provenance, grape harvesting methods, storage, transport, and more. The temperature at which they are served is very important, too. So do your research if you want to make a meal of this! 

“When choosing the right wine to have with your Valentine’s Day meal, you should of course prioritize one thing above all others: your partner’s preferences. If you agree with each other and want to learn more about the wonderful and highly diverse world of wine, a general rule of thumb is that lighter-bodied wines go well with lighter dishes, whereas intense wines tend to pair well with heartier dishes. Bon Appetit – and remember that music is the food of love. What you drink with that is up to you!”

About The Whisky Masters

The Whisky Masters is a premier online whisky retailer offering a curated selection of fine and rare whiskies. Catering to both seasoned connoisseurs and newcomers, the company provides an extensive range of products from renowned distilleries worldwide. Their collection includes limited editions, rare collectibles, and exclusive releases, all aimed at enhancing the whisky tasting experience. The Whisky Masters prides itself on exceptional customer service and reliable nationwide delivery across the UK.

Media release provided by Claudia E. Image: Pixabay