PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Valentine's Day is only a few days away, and FOX43 knows that you have to be prepared.
After all, it's important to know the perfect snack and drink combination for your romantic evening.
This is why Nate Snelbaker, wine specialist with Fine Wine & Good Spirits, offered a few suggestions. Read them below:
Chateau Laribotte Sauternes 2018 & White Chocolate
- Pairing this with the ultra-sweet dessert wines like sauternes, white ports, or ice wines will yield the best results. It’s always important to pair wine that is sweeter than the food it is being paired with.
Adesso Cagnina di Romagna or Graham's Six Grapes Porto Reserve & Milk Chocolate
- Milk chocolate is significantly sweeter than dark, so here a sweet, red wine from Italy would work. Ruby Port is another option that will work well.
Banfi Rosa Regale Red Sparkling & Hazelnut Chocolate
- Try pairing this with a wine from the Piedmont area in Italy that is known for its production of high-quality gourmet hazelnuts. Brachetto d’Acqui is sweet, fizzy, and red, with notes of strawberry and raspberry that complement the nuttiness of this pairing option. Another option would be Tawny Port, which has a nuttiness of its own to bring to the table.
Cooper and Thief Cellarmasters Red Wine Blend & Dark Chocolate
- Here is where you can start to introduce drier options like Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, and Pinot Noir. You want to try to stick with rich, over-extracted wines like Australian Cabs or Shiraz or a powerful Lodi Zin. Dark chocolate has much less sweetness and actually contains tannins, much like the red wines that we want to pair with them.
Martini and Rossi Asti & Chocolate Covered Strawberries
- People like to think that champagne is a good option for fruit, but that’s a tradition that is a holdover from the days when most champagnes were sweet. So, if you are set on it, look for a sparkling wine marked deux or demi-sec, otherwise go for something on the sweeter side like Asti Spumante or a sweet German Riesling.
To see the whole interview with Snelbaker, check out the clip above.