Some drinks to choo-choo choose on Valentine’s Day

If you write a drinks column and it falls on Feb. 14, you are pretty much legally obligated to expound on drinks for Valentine’s Day … drinks to share with your sweetie, tipples to try with chocolate, pink wines and so on and so forth.

With that in mind, I hit the shops to track down some drinks that fit the bill — and if you don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day, well, here some long-weekend libations for your consideration.

If wine’s not your valentine’s proverbial cup of tea, why not pop the cork on a sharing-sized beer — perhaps the 3 Monts Blonde Bière de Flandre (Saint Sylvestre Cappal, France — $8.53/750ml bottle, Liquor Marts and beer vendors)? Deep gold in appearance and with a frothy white head, this French strong beer brings deep malt notes along with cracked oat, bread dough, earthy and red apple aromas. It’s medium-plus bodied and dry, with fresh malt, cracked oat, herbal and bread dough flavours, with a subtle peppery note, modest hops and, at 8.5 per cent alcohol, a long and warm finish. Pop the cork (yes, it’s bottled under cork) and enjoy. 4/5

One can’t do Valentine’s Day drinks without some bubbly, and this one has a twist — it’s a sparkling red. The Cantina Settecani NV Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro (Emilia Romagna, Italy — $23, Ellement Wine + Spirits) is deep garnet in colour with modest effervescence, offering plum, blackberry, violet and black cherry aromas. It’s medium-bodied and dry, with just a hint of residual sugar, and brings big blackberry, plum, dark chocolate and raspberry flavours with light tannin, medium acidity and, at 10.5 per cent alcohol, a modest finish. Chill for 20 minutes and surprise your sweetie with a fizzy red. This one’s available at Ellement Wine + Spirits, but most private wine stores should have a few lambruscos on hand — it’s a style of wine that’s definitely worth a try. 4/5

A light, fresh white with a hint of sweetness that smells like fresh-cut flowers couldn’t be a more Valentine’s Day-appropriate wine — enter the Torres 2024 Viña Esmeralda (Catalunya, Spain — $16.50, Liquor Marts and beyond). Made from the Moscatel de Alejandria grape (with a hint of Gewürztraminer) in northern Spain, this white is pale straw in appearance, with fresh floral, apricot and orange peel aromas as well as herbal, honeysuckle and mango notes. It’s light-bodied and off-dry, with up-front fleshy peach, apricot and pear flavours coming with herbal, sweet melon and spice notes, light acidity and, at 11.5 per cent alcohol, a modest and pleasant finish. A great value wine that would go great with some sushi or mild/medium curries. 3.5/5

With summer still months away, rosé might not be on most wine drinkers’ radars in mid-February, but it’s Valentine’s Day, and drinking pink will not be denied. The Domaine La Sanglière 2023 Juliette Rosé (Méditerranée, France — $19.99, The Winehouse) is a Grenache/Syrah blend that’s very pale pink-orange in appearance, with delicate peach, pear, and ripe strawberry aromas. It’s dry and light-plus-bodied, bringing modest peach, red apple and strawberry notes before the relatively short finish (it’s 12.5 per cent alcohol). A quieter, more restrained rosé. 3/5

If a deeper, more intense pink wine is more to your tastes, the Sandhill 2023 Rosé (Okanagan Valley, B.C. — $24.99, Liquor Marts and beyond) should fit the bill. A blend of Pinot Noir, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Syrah and Cabernet Franc grapes sourced from both the Oliver and Osyoos regions in the southern Okanagan Valley, this rosé is deep salmon pink in appearance and offers ripe cherry and raspberry aromas along with tinned peach and strawberry candy notes. It’s mainly dry and light-plus-bodied, with a ripe, almost-jammy note coming with the red fruit and peach flavours, modest acidity and, at 14.5 per cent alcohol, a warm and persistent finish. Definitely not your subtle, Provence-style rosé — there’s plenty of punch here. 3/5

With many ultra-jammy American red blends still absent from store shelves, the Gérard Bertrand 2020 Heresie red (Corbieres, France — $24.99, Liquor Marts and beyond) certainly looks the part of your Apothic-type reds — and, to an extent, offers some similarity taste-wise. A blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre grapes, the wine’s deep purple in colour and aromatically brings familiar ripe blueberry, blackberry and plum notes along with a secondary component of vanilla and spice that you would find in the sweeter American red blends. On the full-bodied palate, however, those plush dark berry flavours come through with only a hint of sweetness, with those vanilla and spice notes, some soft tannins and a slightly warm finish (it’s 14 per cent alcohol). The flavours drop away pretty quickly — it tastes like a vintage refresh in order for this somewhat tired red that’s probably not sweet enough for Apothic fans, but too jammy for those who like their reds dry. Pair with that heart-shaped box of chocolates you picked up at the drug store on the way home. 2.5/5

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