Ask George: Will you be drinking anything interesting over the Valentine’s Day weekend?
With Valentine’s Day today and President’s Day on Monday, this year’s Valentine’s celebration has turned into a three-day holiday weekend—a perfect mix of dining out and cozying up at home.
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The latter gives me a chance to catch up on a value-priced bottle from The Wine Merchant’s wonderful Merch Club (four tiers, two bottles per shipment, from $35 per month), specifically the 2022 vintage of 38 Barrels. The flagship of Ego Bodegas’ El Goru series, the bold, rich, spicy cuvée combines the top lots from 38 different barrels, this one 85 percent Monastrell (a.k.a. Mourvèdre) and 15 percent Cabernet. Decanter magazine awarded this vintage an impressive 96 points, yet it retails for less than $20.
We also queried a few local beverage experts to see what they would recommend this weekend.
Simon Lehrer of Parker’s Table says an appropriate choice is the 2023 vintage of Stolpman Vineyard’s “Love You Bunches” ($26.99 at Parker’s Table), a 100 percent Sangiovese that receives extra “loving” during harvest when grapes are gathered for carbonic (whole cluster) fermentation. The result is a lighter, fresher expression that’s fruitier and less tannic.
Certified Sommelier and CSW Denise Mueller opts for a wine from Veneto, home to Venice, the city of love. The 2020 Aldegheri Santambrogio Valpolicella Ripasso, a blend of Corvina, Rondibella, and Corvinone, is available at both Sasha’s Wine Bars for $58 on site, with 25 percent off to-go bottles (Also available at Straubs and Parker’s Table.) Mueller says the base wine has an expensive big brother (Amarone della Valpolicella), a bold, rich wine with beautiful stewed fruit flavors and a very long finish. “But this is a ripasso (meaning ‘re-pass’),” she explains, “a classic red blend from the Valpolicella region that was ‘passed through’ the Amarone grape must, providing a ‘kiss’ of the expensive wine’s texture and flavor profile at half the price.”
Spirits expert and SLM contributor Bill Meyers suggests Prichard’s Double Chocolate Bourbon Whiskey, a collaboration with Olive and Sinclair Chocolate Company. “At 90 proof, this is definitely bourbon with notes of chocolate and not the other way around,” he says, “and a great complement to chocolate-covered strawberries.” It’s available at Randall’s for $69.99.
For those with a sweeter tooth, Meyers makes a chocolate raspberry martini, made with raspberry vodka, chocolate vodka, and Mozart Dark Chocolate Liqueur. Meyers uses equal parts, but feel free to adjust the proportions to taste. Simply add the ingredients to a shaker of ice, shake, and strain into a martini glass. To add some flair, pour some chocolate syrup on a plate and place the empty martini glass in the syrup to coat the rim and add a fresh berry of your choice as a garnish.
And when we mentioned Valentine’s Day quaffs to beer guru Jordan Palmer, author of SLM’s Craft Beer newsletter and curator of the Drink 314 blog, his thoughts turned to beers that conjured chocolates and fruit. “When it comes to the chocolate of brew,” he says, “you won’t find any finer than 4 Hands‘ Milk Chocolate Stout, which pours black and smooth and quickly rewards with differing bursts of chocolate. It’s sweet but not too sweet, which makes it even more approachable. Or consider a fruited kettle sour. There are few better than Modern Brewing’s Disco Punch. This is the beer that kicked off my romance with the style. Why not dance with the one that brought you?”
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