Valentine’s Off-Piste Wine Pairings

by James Robinson, Your Co-op Sommelier

If you’re looking for that perfect Valentine’s Day pairing, the Food Coop has you covered – from Birbet to Sauternes, there’s something for every palate and passion. These wines can be found in the “Seasonal Wines” section on aisle 5 - apologies for not being able to include prices in this blog!

Angelo Negro Birbèt

Hailing from Italy’s Piedmont and made from the Brachetto grape, the Angelo Negro Birbet displays subdued red cherry and violet hues in the glass and offers creamy and persistent foam followed by fragrant aromas of strawberry, rose petal, raspberry, blackberry and marzipan. In the mouth, Angelo Negro’s Birbèt is sweet, lush and harmonious and a perfect match for any fresh berry dessert or desserts with hazelnut or marzipan. Birbèt can be drunk slightly chilled, but it is more expressive when served at room temperature – practicing organic.

Cocchi Barolo Chinato

Also from Italy’s Piedmont, Cocchi Barolo Chinato is often considered the fancy cousin to some of Italy’s most sumptuous and beguiling vermouths such as Carpano Antica Formula (also on the available on Aisle 5). Instead of the Moscato base often used in vermouth, Barolo Chinato uses 100 percent Nebbiolo – certified DOCG Barolo – to which a custom blend of herbs, spices and grappa are added.

In the case of Cocchi, their Barolo Chinato features chinchona – the native South American tree from which quinine is extracted -- in addition to gentian, Artemisia, bitter orange, rhubard, star anise, achillea, rose petals, juniper, quassia wood, mace and coriander.

If you’ve never tasted an Italian aromatized wine, prepare to have your mind blown. Sip and savor it with bits of dark chocolate and you’ll have a religious experience. This is, hands down, one of the best chocolate pairing of all time.

The Rare Wine Co. New York Malmsey Madeira

Rich and exotic, the New York Malmsey Madeira mingles aromas of gingerbread and cloves with notions of dates, molasses and figs. Full-bodied, rich and concentrated, it's fleshy and muscular, with lively balancing acids and a long, lusty, generously spiced and layered finish. This is a gorgeous match for crème brûlée and would work beautifully with any rich dessert.

Château Roûmieu-Lacoste Sauternes

The region of Sauternes & Barsac are famous for their lusciously sweet wines – many of which can easily age for decades. Sitting about 20 miles south of Bordeaux city, two rivers, the Garonne and the Ciron, flank the regions and encourage the morning mists which are essential to the development of the botrytis – also known as Noble Rot – and the key to great Sauternes & Barsac.