MyWinePal

Strawberries and wine

Valentine’s Day, a day of celebration, a day of looking back, and a day of looking forward with your spouse, significant other, or someone you hope will be with you, enjoying more bottles of wine, for many years.  I’ve compiled a short list of wines that I hope will help you on this lover’s journey, from sparkling, white, rose, red, and fortified wines.  Enjoy!

Sparkling Wines

• Champagne Lallier Rose, NV, France. If your mother, wife or significant other enjoys bubbles, here is one to please. Very pale pinkish orange colour. Light strawberry nose. Bigger bubble, with strawberry and red cherry flavour. You can never go wrong with Champagne.
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  Chateau Lallier Champagnes

  Perrier Jouet Grand Brut N/V Champagne, France. This is a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.  Pale lemon in colour.  Light lees and toast on the nose. Light body with apples and white fruit.  Small bubbles with lower acidity.  I really enjoyed this one in part due to the lower acidity which made this Champagne very easy to drink on its own.

• Bastianich Flor Prosecco, Italy ($19.99).  A delightful sparkling wine with melon and lychee aromas. Off dry, light body, with cinnamon, citrus and peach flavours.  Small bubble.  This is such a fun wine.
• Cantina Breganze Prosecco Extra Dry, Italy  ($21.99). Pale lemon in colour with a tinge of green. Lemon and juicy orchard fruit on the nose. Orange, lemon, and rose petal flavours. Recommended
• Codorniu Pinot Noir Sparkling Brut, Spain  ($19.99) Light orangy pink in colour. Light strawberry aroma. Very bracing in your mouth, with strawberry and raspberry flavours.
• Hungaria Grand Cuvee, Hungary ($13.90). Quite a deal for this sparkler. Light lemon in colour, with lemon/lime aromas. Light bubble with lemon flavour.

White Wine

• Alasia Sec dry Muscato NV, Italy ($18.99). Here is a wine you may want to consider for Valentine’s Day.  The muscat grape is one of the aromatic grape varieties around. This one had a very flowery nose, with some spice and orange notes. Round mouth feel, medium body with orange peel flavour and a bitter almond finish.
• Vouvrey Grandes Caves Saint Roch – Demi Sec 2010, France.  This is a Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley. Delicate light crab apple and citrus aromas. Medium minus body mouthfeel yet acts like it is a bigger wine.  Apples and citrus flavours.  Quite round with a good acidic backbone.
• Davis Bynum River West Chardonnay, Russian River Valley, 2011 ($29.99). Light toast and citrus on the nose.  Medium body, with round ripe tropical fruits. Soft mouth feel.  Cinnamon, vanilla, and pears on the mid palate. Very tasty.
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  Arrowleaf Gewurztraminer 2011

  Arrowleaf Cellars Gewurztraminer, 2011, BC($15.99). This was my favourite white wine during a BC VQA tasting, and at such an amazing price.  It had a nice light flowery, sweet spice, honey and citrus nose.  Dry with medium minus body, citrus, honey and light herbal flavour.  So tasty and elegant.

• Trivento Tribu Viognier 2011, Argentina ($9.99. SPEC). This was a very surprising wine for sub $10.  Light orange, peach and citrus nose.  Medium minus body with flowers, orange, and spice on the tongue.  Dry citrus finish.  A nice wine.

Rose & Red Wine

• Vina Santa Rita Medalla Real Pinot Noir 2008, Chile. Santa Rita is a premium producer from Chile.  I really enjoy their wines, and spent time visiting them in Chile. Their Medalla Real Pinot Noir is coloured light purple in the glass.  Ripe cassis aromas. Round mouth feel, light boded with an abundance of cassis flavour.  Low tannins.
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  Bartier Scholefield Rose Table wine 2010

  Bartier – Scholefield Rose, BC ($20) is 100% Gamay Noir from the Wise Brothers’ vineyard in Oliver. This wine was medium salmon colour in the glass.  Light, youthful aromas of strawberries, red cherries and other red fruits.  It is dry on the palate with medium plus acidity.  Medium body.  I get fresh summer fruits like raspberries, red currants, strawberries and red cherries, and a lingering watering mouthfeel on the finish.

• Blasted Church Rose 2010, BC ($17.99). This rose is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.  Usually I expect a single varietal, like Pinot Noir or Merlot, so I was very interested to taste this rose. Very pale cherry colour. Nice strawberry aromas.  Raspberry leaf, strawberry, and capsicum flavours.  High acidity and spicy on your palate. Light body and long length.  This wine packs a punch with 14.9% alcohol, so beware as you sip this one.
• Le Vieux Pin Vaïla Pinot Noir Rosé 2010, BC. Light pinkish salmon colour. Raspberries and strawberry fruit on the nose with a bit of raspberry leaf as well.  Off dry with light body and medium acidity.  Quite nice strawberry flavour with some almonds on the finish.  The grapes for this wine come from one of the organic Kalala vineyards in West Kelowna.
• Cameron Hughes Lot 300 Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, Napa Valley. Medium translucent ruby colour.  Nice ripe berry nose.  Elegant and not overpowering. Lighter body with cassis and dark fruit flavours.  High acidity, low tannins and long length.  A quality wine.
• Domaine Serene Yamhill Cuvee Pinot Noir 2008, Oregon ($49.99). A wine 5 years old already, and I think has many more years of enjoyment.  It is light to medium garnet in the glass. Light vanilla and red cherry aromas. Medium body, with raspberries and vanilla, leading to dark cherry flavours.  Dry. Very nice.  Another favourite wine for me.
• Foppiano Vineyards Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, 2010. Light cherries then tea leaves are revealed to your nose. Light body, dry, low tannins and medium acidity. Red cherries with cinnamon mid palate.

Fortified Wine

• Buller Old Fine Muscat, Rutherglen, Australia (dessert wine). Medium dark amber-coloured Muscat has aromas of toffee and marmalade. This Muscat has enough body and flavour to balance with the richness of chocolate (and chocolate cake
• Fonseca 20 Year Old Tawny Port, Portugal ($63.99).  A tawny port is aged in wooden barrels, which exposes the wine to oxygen causing oxidation. As a result, these wines  gradually turn to a golden-brown colour. The exposure to oxygen also imparts “nutty” flavours to the wine. This wine had caramel and roses aromas in the glass.  Amazing flavour with sweet spices, nuttiness and butterscotch.  Sweet but dry with a long length.
• Domaine Le Mont 2004, Bonnezeaux, Loire Valley, France ($36.90). This is a late harvest Chenin Blanc. Pear skin colour.  Apricot and honey nose.  Unctuous, round with apricot and spice flavours.  Off dry, not too sweet to be easily enjoyed by everyone.  Tasty.
• Croft Pink Port, Portugal.  Although I don’t have tasting notes for this wine, I have tasted it in the past.  Serve it chilled and enjoy the fruitiness of this lighter bodied port.

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mywinepal

Drink Good Wine. That is my motto and I really want to help you drink good wine. What is good wine? That can be a different thing for each people. Some people prefer red wines. Some only like Cabernet Sauvignon. MyWinePal was started by Karl Kliparchuk, WSET. I spent many years with the South World Wine Society as the President and then cellar master. I met many great wine makers. I love to travel around the world, visiting wine regions and sharing my passion for food & wine with you. Come live vicariously through me, and enjoy all my recommended wines.

Latest posts by mywinepal (Posts)

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Tags: Arrowleaf, Bastianich, bc, california, Cava, champagne, chardonnay, chenin blanc, Codorniu, Gewurztraminer, italy, Muscato, okanagan, port, Prosecco, TTrivento, Valentine's Day, viognier, Vouvrey