Valentine’s day is essentially the celebration of a good pair, and what better way to acknowledge that than by pairing two of my favourite gustatory delights.  I have asked my wine friends to share their perfect matches so that you can woo your Valentine with wine and chocolate.

The best thing about Valentines Day this year? It falls on the weekend. That’s the perfect excuse to wake up not only to chocolates, but wine too! (technically of course, you could wake up to wine on a work day but in this case, you get to enjoy the option of staying in bed whilst you drink it.). Anyhow, there is going to be no better way to start your Valentines Day and woo your loved one this year than with a glass of fizzy stuff and a sweet treat to match. Champagne is, of course, the perfect bubble to start the day but unless you are a sadist or have no taste buds, champagne, (even the sweetest style, demi-sec) just doesn’t work with chocolate and the most sweet treats. Thankfully, lightly frothing, delicately sweet Michele Chiarlo ‘Nivole’ Moscato d’Asti ($17.99 at select BC liquor and Private liquor stores) does the job very nicely thank-you and its fresh perfume and low alcohol mean you can safely finish the bottle without the threat of a hangover by noon. The grapey, musky aromas of the Moscato grape blend perfectly with chocolate and if you really want to impress your loved one you can create your own perfect pairing as follows: dip some ripe strawberries in melted dark chocolate and let them set over-night in the fridge. A bowl of these chocolate-covered strawbs and a glass or two of moscato when you wake up should give you all the energy you need for your Valentines morning. Preferably a long Valentines morning in bed……

Mark Shipway – Wine Instructor & Department Head The International Culinary School
at The Art Institute of Vancouver

Sometimes, an odd couple is the most endearing—and the most memorable.

Sure, chocolate is gorgeous. I love it. Often. But give me a taste and tongue-touch experience that’s new and exciting, and I achieve euphoria.

Take the first time I had Inniskillin Riesling Icewine from the Okanagan with gorgonzola cheese, for example. When those flavours and textures came together in my mouth—Ka-Boom—true love. To this day, I have a very difficult time finding a pairing that will give me the same feral, sensory rush.

$34.99 will get you a 200ml bottle of the Inniskillin Icewine (10% ABV)at most B.C. Signature Liquor Stores.

Kathleen Rake – Click Media Works / Between the Vines wine blog

Seguras Viudas Lavit Rosado Brut is my favourite dry pink sparkling wine. Spanish and simply the best value sparkler on the market in the under $20 range. Cherry and mineral on nose and palate. Sadly, this might be the last Valentine’s Day that it is available as it is being delisted in the BC market in favour of its slightly sweeter-tasting Brut Rosé sibling. Its still in Government and Private stores – get it while you can. Its one of the 10 wines that I couldn’t be marooned on a Desert Island without, especially for romantic interludes with a bite of two of Green & Black’s dark cherry chocolate.

Paul Rickett – Purveyor of great wines at Bowen Island Cold Beer and Wine and blog

Black Cloud isn’t the kind of name you’d associate with Valentine’s Day but around the household here in the Okanagan Valley, it’s the name of our 2006 Pinot Noir that we love to pair with dark chocolate.

Our Pinot is more robust than the average Pinot.  If Pinot Noir is usually described as ‘feminine’ then this Black Cloud is a female body builder.  Big, bold and rippling with flavours of currant, plum and clove.

It almost goes without saying, white chocolate or milk chocolate would be squashed by this wine.  We choose the Dove 71% Dark Cacao bar to nibble on while we recline on the sofa polluting our minds with network television and sipping Black Cloud. Then we turn to each other, lock eyes, and sigh contentedly, submersed in fond rapture.

It’s available at fine retailers (listed here ) and through our website by dropping us an email.  Currently $19.99.

Bradley Cooper – Winemaker and Blogger

Twenty-four years ago I received a parcel from Germany containing a weirdly delicious item.  It was a Ritter Sport Yogurt chocolate bar, and the exquisitely tangy sweetness wrought by the union of plain white yogurt and creamy milk chocolate has become a lingering obsession.  Only a tangy and slightly sweet wine can work with it. I recommend the Pfaffenheim Pinot Gris from France; its flavours are ripe and late-harvest-like in their honeyed tropical intensity, yet the wine retains only the softest kiss of sweetness to balance its mouthwatering acidity.  Yes, we have the wine if you have the chocolate.

Rose Siemens – Manager & Wine Guide Whatcom Wine & Spirits and Grape Squeeze blog

I hope that these great pairings give you oodles of ideas to enrich the romance (or drown out the ridiculous commercialism of this Hallmark endorsed holiday). Either way, we don’t really need a reason to enjoy chocolate and wine as it is an occasion to itself.  Cheers!

*The winner of the Sweet Valentines Giveaway was Betty Weeds!  Congratulations and I hope that you get some great ideas from this post!

I can’t say this for certain, but there is a good chance that if you follow my blog you have a proclivity for wine and naturally the food that accompanies it.  Be it a stilton and honey with Williams & Humbert Walnut Brown Sherry, a Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape with duck (or just about anything, really) or almost any champagne with popcorn and truffle oil, wine pairings are a real treat.  But with Valentine’s day around the corner, we’re thinking about the chocolate pairings.  Nina Pousette, of My Chocolate Tree,  has graciously offered to woo the heart of one lucky reader with her exclusive artisan chocolates.

These lovely little gems are hand decorated, dipped, and molded with love by Nina.  Nina is a bubbly character who brings smiles wherever she goes!  A Vancouver raised chocolatier who was trained at some of the most prestigious culinary institutes in France, she combines the pride of her craft with as many locally sourced ingredients as she is able.  For example, her lavender truffles are infused with fresh lavender from Langley, BC.

A 13 Piece Box of Chocolates ($32 value)

I could go on and on about the virtues of her chocolates, but I am sure that I already had you at chocolate.

Here is how you can indulge in some of these exclusive treats:

Check out My Chocolate Tree’s website and leave a comment below telling me which one of Nina’s Chocolates you would like to pair with a wine.  On February 10, I will randomly select one reader to win a gift certificate for 32 pieces of mouth watering deliciousness (a $60 value, see above photo for a 13 piece box) to spend at My Chocolate Tree!  The gift certificate can be redeemed immediately for Valentine’s Day, or for winter 2010 (as she does not always have chocolate available).

Feb 3, 2010: I have decided that you can get an extra entry just for tweeting about this giveaway!