WINE TO BE COMBINED WITH AN AFRODISIAC MENU FOR SAN VALENTINO

Oysters, fish and shellfish

If your romantic dinner is based on fish, on Valentine's Day you cannot miss the combination of oysters and Champagne, to which purists will prefer a traditional Muscadet . If you really want to impress, you can opt for a Cuvéee de Prestige, such as the Belle Époque by Perrier Jouet or the Grande Dame by Veuve Cliquot, otherwise the most suitable types are those with low dosages, such as Extra Brut, or Blanc de Blancs , today all in promotion on VINO75. For other courses of fish, crustaceans or seafood, we have selected some of the largest Italian and French whites.

The pleasures of the meat

For meat lovers, we imagine raw meat courses, such as carpaccio or tartare , a nice Florentine steak, or game. In the first case we can still resort to Champagne, preferably Rosé , to a structured white or a slightly tannic red wine such as Pinot Noir or Etna Rosso . The steak finds its ideal pairing in the great Tuscan reds, from Brunello di Montalcino to the Great Selection of Chianti Classico . For game, the wines of choice are the Piedmontese Barolo and Barbaresco .

Sweet, dark or spicy chocolate?

Chocolate has always been the most romantic gift, after roses. And its aphrodisiac properties are well known. But how does chocolate go together? Bitter chocolate, like dark chocolate , can be combined with spirits, but also with soft red wines, with great structure and "meditation". The great Cabernet Sauvignon, Sagrantino di Montefalco, Amarone and Primitivo di Manduria are particularly suitable for this type of pairing. One of the most successful marriages is undoubtedly the one with Rum , which prefers dark chocolate, according to the rule that longer aging must correspond to a greater percentage of cocoa.

Milk chocolate goes well with fortified wines such as Passito di Pantelleria, Marsala, Sherry or Porto , while with spicy chocolate, it is appropriate to opt for a sweet red wine such as Recioto, Aleatico passito, Primitivo natural sweet Manduria, Sagrantino di Montefalco passito or go back to long-aging Rum .

Strawberries, Champagne and more ...

As Pretty Woman teaches, strawberries and Champagne are another great erotic classic, although not always one of the most successful combinations. Strawberries and Champagne entered the collective imagination at the time when Champagne, sweeter than today, was essentially a dessert wine. To enjoy this pairing, it is still possible to play on the acidity of the fruit to make a pairing by concordance: the strawberries served in nature can be combined with low-dose Champagne, but also with Rosé or the Blanc de Noirs , whose scents recall those of the fruits of the woods. If instead the strawberries are served with cream , they must necessarily be accompanied by fresh and light sweet wines or at least Demi-Sec sparkling wines. Moscato Rosa, Moscato d'Asti, Asti Spumante or Brachetto d'Acqui can prove to be the winning choice in this case.