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Melissa, the host of CTV’s Morning Live show, and I shared lots of great wine, chocolate and laughs yesterday. These tips will carry you beyond Valentine’s Day.
We’re starting off with a white wine. Does it pair well with chocolate?
Not at all! But the reason I’m including it is that it’s perfect for Galentine’s Day, the day before Valentine’s Day when you and your gal pals celebrate something far more lasting than romantic love: female friendship!
This is especially true if you’re coming out of a break-up or divorce. There is the aptly named 2023 Squealing Pig Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. It’s dry, crisp and refreshing, like the honesty you expect from your best friends rather than the sentimental mush that’s in most Valentine’s Day cards. It pairs well with pasta in a cream sauce as well as burning your ex’s love letters.
Squealing Pig Sauvignon Blanc
Marlborough, South Island, New Zealand
Ha! Let’s move on to your next wine.
This 2019 KIN Vineyards Pinot Noir Carp Ridge is like liquid satin or lingerie, if you will, and has less tannin, that natural compound that gives you that furry mouth feeling like eating walnuts. Therefore, it pairs better with milk chocolate than more full-bodied reds. The spectacular wine is bursting with ripe cherry and subtle spice notes.
The winery is nestled on 47 pristine acres on the Carp Ridge, in the heart of the Ottawa Valley, and practises sustainable viticulture.
It’s named KIN because the entire family is involved in the business, from husband-and-wife owners Shaun McEwan and Lorraine Mastersmith to their adult children, Steve, the vineyard manager, Liam, the retail manager and Kyla who runs tours, tastings, and farmers markets.
Kin Vineyards Carp Ridge Pinot Noir
Ontario V.Q.A., Canada
This wine pairs perfectly with these chocolate-covered cherries and almonds from Hummingbird Chocolate, another superstar local producer. Husband-and-wife team Erica and Drew Gilmour spent much of their careers working in international development with farmers in countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.
They wanted to continue to support these farmers when they moved back to Almonte, so they founded Hummingbird Chocolate, made from cacao sourced directly from farmers at better than Fair Trade prices, grown sustainably, and farmed ethically and humanely. They’ve won over 125 international chocolate awards for their products.
I see you also have some bubbly for us.
I also have a sparkling Pinot Noir, the Westcott Vineyards Brilliant Traditional Method Rosé. Pinot is also the perfect grape for Galentine’s Day as it’s known as the heartbreak grape because it’s so difficult to grow and develop, like some relationships.
Westcott Vineyards Brilliant Traditional Method Sparkling Rosé
Vinemount Ridge, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario V.Q.A., Canada
This gorgeous bubbly from Niagara is perfect for a salted dark milk chocolate like Hummingbird’s Fleur de Sel. The chocolate brings out the fruit and spice notes in the wine. The salt tempers the perceived sweetness in the chocolate. It’s a decadent match.
Now we’re moving into the reds.
If you like to layer your vices, as I do, there’s 7 Deadly Zins, a full-bodied, smooth, zinfully delicious California Zinfandel with aromas of vanilla spice and black plums.
7 Deadly Zins Old Vine Zinfandel 2018
Lodi, California, United States
It’s to-die-for with the Hummingbird’s single origin bar, the Mayan dark chocolate with Chili, Cinnamon, Nutmeg to add a little spice and heat to your Valentine’s Day!
Then we have the Tribute Cabernet Sauvignon from California with blackberries and cedarwood smoke that will muscle in beautifully beside Hummingbird’s single origin bar, the Hispaniola 85% from the Dominican Republic.
Benziger Family Winery Tribute Cabernet Sauvignon
Sonoma, California, United States
I also have the 2019 Luminara, a delicious blend of red grapes from the Napa Valley that’s alcohol-free. It has seductive notes of ripe cherry and raspberry that would pair well with Hummingbird’s single origin Cap-Haitien from Haiti.
The wine is available from psalcoholfree.com who’ll deliver it right to your door. So there’s no need to even get out of your lingerie for this one.
What’s your final pick for us, Natalie?
Finally, we have the Campbells Muscat available at the local wine bar Buyers + Cellars. It’s made from old vine Muscat grapes farmed by Jane and Jules Campbell in Rutherglen, Australia. This glorious dessert wine, also known as a stickie, has aromas of caramel, toffee and apricot.
Campbells Wines Rutherglen Muscat
Rutherglen, France
It’s divine with Hummingbird’s truffle chocolates with ganache, raspberry and whipped honey all beautifully wrapped in a Valentine’s Day box. Gal pals like it too!
You can find the wines that Natalie recommended as well as her online pairing courses at www.nataliemaclean.com/courses.
