Happy Valentine's Day

Of course there would be heart shaped sprinkles on my Valentine's Day. May your day be filled with good friends, loved ones and good food.

Let's look at the perfect pair - wine and chocolate. Wine and chocolate have a lot of similarities to each other. For one, they’re both considered aphrodisiacs and they both contain flavanols (antioxidants).

Milk chocolate is paired with a sweet sparkling red wine from Piedmont, Italy. It is also an excellent pair with chocolate mousse. I prefer a Port from Portugal it makes for a more spiced and berry driven pairing with milk chocolate.

Dark chocolate is paired best with a Pedro Ximinez. The region of Montilla-Moriles in Spain makes this inky brown-black colored wine (PX or Pedro Ximinez) designed to be enjoyed in exceptionally small sips. The wine adds nutty and raisinated flavors to dark chocolate and even goes well with espresso. I prefer a dry Chianti paired dark chocolate and like to have tart cherries on the side. Make me a dark chocolate martini with cherries and I'm yours forever!

White chocolate, I know it's not really chocolate but the by product of chocolate, is a creature all it's own.

Moscato is nicely paired with white chocolate. Since white chocolate is delicate enough to match with white wines, a Muscat Blanc or Moscato d’Asti delivers flavors of peaches and cream with floral notes of roses. Sparkling wines make the pairing have extra creaminess.

Ask any wine sommelier and they will tell you that you can drink whatever you like with the kind of chocolate you prefer.

Show your love to your sweety by making one of the recipes from this blog and introduce a fun pair - WINE AND CHOCOLATE for dessert.

Happy Valentine's Day to all.