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!

I always say that you don’t need a good reason to drink wine; drinking wine is an occasion of its own.  But there is no better reason than to drink for charity.  Adoptive Families Association of BC is one of those organizations who has this figured out.  Wine on the Mountain is an annual event held at Grouse Mountain that attracts wine lovers, local celebs, foodies and firefighters with a common desire to support adoption services.  The fund raising goal of this evening was to raise $100,000 to support an organization that finds “forever families” for children, and the gift of a son or daughter for parents.

We were greeted at the base of the mountain with live music and canapes as we awaited our “chariot” (the cable lift) to transport us to the idyllic snow covered peak of Vancouver.  The first glimpse of snow of the season is always the most magical isn’t it?

As I traveled from table to table I was greeted with gustatory delights to pair with a multitude of wines enhancing flavours and textures.  Desert Hills had a 2008 Gewurztraminer that I enjoyed for its floral notes of rose water with a lychee sweetness and also a 2005 Mirage that paired deliciously with a short rib served nearby.  I had some wine-gasmic experiences with some Big Bold Reds: Hanz Herzog ” Spirit of Marlborough” 2001, Castello di Bossi 2003 Chianti Classico Riserva “Berado”, and Gianfranco Alessandria VDT L’Insieme 2004 followed by a gnocci with some cinnamon and creme freche that made my eyes roll back in my head.  Some Rieslings from the fellas serving 8th Generation, paired well with their sparkling personalities and some citrusy fish.  I wandered through the tables filling my plate and tummy with a white bean cassoulet with duck con-fit & Merguez sausage, a mackerel amuse-bouche, some spicy ahi tuna, cheeses, and a heart stopping pork belly while sipping some of the over 100 different wines.

Two words: Chocolate Cellar.  Oh yes.  A room full of chocolates and dessert, fruit, and friendly wines had my attention several times as I ran back to pair certain wines with different cupcakes.  Research, my friends.  Daniel Le Chocolat Belge had a table covered, I mean, c-o-v-e-r-e-d in different chocolates.  My senses were tingling with glee!  Two of my favourite cupcake pairings was a red velvet cupcake with a Mad Housewife Cabernet Sauvignon, and a lemon cupcake with the Mad Housewife Chardonnay.  Another Mad Housewife cupcake sampler was Taylor Jukes from Virgin Radio.  We shared our tasting notes and nibbled on the tower of iced delight.

A wall of wine and some firefighters hit the stage to generate some bids for the live auction.  The wall of wine is a temperature controlled cellar filled with 100 bottles of wine from Wolf Blass.  It was gorgeous.  But not as gorgeous as the firefighters.  The auction was for these fine (and I mean FINE) gentlemen to come cook and serve dinner for eight in the winner’s house with a case of wine from Rollingdale Winery.  The bids mounted higher and higher and faces were fanned as shirts were peeled off and women cheered.  The arousal of our senses were hightened.

I finished the evening with some liqueurs from Giffard with Kristi Gordon from Global.  I was enamoured with the Poire Williams which is a 43 proof treat with a whole pear in the bottle.  Sparing me from my glazed eyed bewilderment, the guy serving us explained that the bottle is tied to the branch when the pear is still a bud and is removed once the pear has matured making a truly remarkable conversation piece.

The evening wrapped up at about 11 and we decended the mountain with aching feet and satisfied palates.  A little rough math tells me that between the silent auction and the live auction, I am confident that the goal of $100,000 was met.  The evening was surely a success with many happy, rosey faces and I do believe that what went on tonight will benefit many children and families for years to come.   To find out more about adoption and how you can support BC Adoption visit their website or follow them on twitter @bcadopt.

A new dining phenomenon has started up in Vancouver;  it isn’t a new idea in Europe though, and it is something that we have all probably done in some variation of our own.  Annika Reinhardt, of Social Bites, organizes dinner excursions where guests experience two meals made by two hobby chefs in two different locations.  Each attendee has a ballot to fill out for each hobby chef to evaluate the presentation, food, and hospitality for a prize.  This time it was a Zip Car prize package including a rental of a Mini Cooper.  Following the meals, they meet up at a hot spot where they collectively enjoy and learn about an imbible dessert treat.   The intention of these events is not only to sample great new dishes, but also to meet new people and get to know a new neighbourhood/district.

The second Social Bites dinner field-trip was in Yaletown and if this gives you an idea of how popular it has become: all tickets were sold within days of announcing the event!  I loved the first event, so bought my tickets quickly because I wasn’t about to miss this one.  Besides, Karen Hamilton of Tiny Bites was cooking up an asian sampler and her cooking is not to be missed, and the hot spot round-up promised dessert wines and chocolates (need I say more?).

Brent and I hopped over to Yaletown with time to spare so we picked up a screw cap wine to enjoy with our meals at Viti.  Tough call.  One bottle, two different meals.  What to do?  I decided to pair my wine with the Asian Sampler because I wan’t sure what kind of tex-mex to expect later, so I chose Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc for its lemon grassiness and fresh palate cleansing super powers.

Rice Paper Shrimp Rolls, Corned Beef Sinigang, Braised Pork Spare Ribs with Apricot Sauce.

Hobby chef, Karen busied around the kitchen with her sous-chef Bruce making finishing touches to her dishes as we chatted it up with the other two guests.  When the final product was brought out, we were astounded by the beautiful presentation of the sampler inspired by her recent trip to Asia.  You know it’s good when the chatter at the table dies and it is replaced with “mmmm”s and sighs.  As a bonus, I was pleased that my wine choice was a stellar compliment to the food! It was hard to pick a favourite from the trio: the shrimp rice paper rolls stood out with each flavour standing on its own and complimenting each other, the corned beef sinigang was tender and packed with flavour, and the apricot sauce for the spare ribs had just the right amount of sweetness.

Chili Con Carne with Corn Bread

We almost lost track of time, and hurried to the next hobby chef’s place.  (Note to self: wear better shoes when running around downtown)  I love that Annika arranges the locations close enough together so that we can walk to each place without worrying about parking or over imbibing.  I just made poor a poor choice of footwear (but it matched my dress).  The next meal was a Tex-Mex Chili Con Carne made by Marc from Amuse Consulting with his BFF Jackie.  His chili was to die for.  Literally.  Not only was the meat tender and tasty, but the heat from the chipotles was, well, hot.  I am not one to shy away from spicy foods so I devoured every tasty bite of this down home southern concoction and being a sucker for corn bread, I had two pieces.  Pinot Gris doesn’t really go with chili, but it helped cool off my mouth.

From left to right. Blackberry Port - Salt Spring, BC Seeling Schwarzriesling (Pinot Meunier) - Naumburg, Saale Unstrut, Germany Vespaiolo Sparkling Wine - Bregenz, Italy Rotkäppchen Riesling Sparkling Wine - Freyburg, Saale Unstrut, Germany

The hot spot was at Yaletown Gallery where we all met up, filled out and submitted our hobby chef evaluations, and sampled some lovely dessert-type wines presented by Kate, The Wine Mistress.  She brought us wines from Vino Allegro Wine Imports Inc., and Annika shared some German wines which we sampled along with some chocolates from the oldest chocolate factory in Germany.  We enjoyed persuing the gallery with our treats and admiring the beautiful skilled work of local artists.  My wine notes are a little hazy, and I am working on finding a better way to remember my thoughts on what I tatse because by the time I share my thoughts, my mind is often on what I currently have in my glass.  Bear with me.  The Rotkäppchen Riesling Sparkling Wine (Freyburg, Saale Unstrut, Germany) was an off dry riesling that was delightfully refreshing with sour/tart apples and lemons (find out why it is referred to as Lieutenant Lemonade here), and the Seeling Schwarzriesling (Pinot Meunier) (Naumburg, Saale Unstrut, Germany) was a rose that reminded me of chocolate and strawberries.  The Vespaiolo Sparkling Wine (Bregenz, Italy) was my favourite of the evening boasting its toastyness, tiny bubbles, and peach flavours.  Obviously, I did not leave empty handed.  The ballots were tallied, and the hobby chef winners were announced and the last wine was poured.  It was a Blackberry Port (Salt Spring, BC) made with organic Saltspring fruit.  It was a lovely finish to the evening and went down smoothly in all its sweetness.

Social Bites has its next event on May 23 in Fairview / South Granville where yours truly will be cooking up a storm to benefit the Canadian Cancer Society Relay for Life.  Check out the Social Bites Website for more information on how you can participate in either cooking or eating for this great cause.

A huge thank you to Annika, Yaletown Gallery, the Wine Mistress, Vino Allegro, and all of the hobby chefs.  It was a fantastic evening, and you can expect to see me at many more Social Bites events.  You have made a fan out me.