Best Wines to Pair with Valentine’s Day ChocolatePinot Noir with Chocolate CaramelButtery and rich, chocolate caramel pairs well with light-to-medium bodied wines like Kendall-Jackson’s 2017 Jackson Estate Anderson Valley Pinot Noir creating a harmonious blend of the creamy texture of the caramel and the silky tannins of the wine.

Best Wines to Pair with Valentine’s Day ChocolateRosé with Dark ChocolateBlush-style wines are a classic Valentine’s Day choice. Balance the vibrant fruit flavors of Kendall-Jackson’s 2019 Vintner’s Reserve California Rosé with a more bitter option, like dark chocolate.

Best Wines to Pair with Valentine’s Day ChocolateWhite Chocolate with ChardonnayWith notes of creamy vanilla, honey and hints of toasted oak, sweet white chocolate pairs well with mildly buttery California Chardonnays like America’s #1 selling Chardonnay, Kendall-Jackson’s 2019 Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay.

Wines to Ward off Winter's ChillWhile red wines are the typical suggestion for the colder months, America’s #1 selling Chardonnay for 26 years and counting is the perfect full-bodied white wine to keep you warm on a chilly winter night with tropical notes of pineapple, mango and papaya, and aromas of vanilla, honey, and toasted oak. Known as the Meryl Streep of wine, Chardonnay is the most versatile grape and is an ideal accompaniment to winter produce like squash, creamy pasta dishes and pork loin.

Save Your Valentine’s Day With These Widely Available Rosés For Under $25The Wine:Here’s another stunner from Monterey. This wine is made of 100 percent pinot noir that is fermented in stainless steel tanks and displays a ton of fruit.Tasting Notes:This wine smells of strawberry, golden and white raspberries, and a spray of mandarin juice. The taste evolves into a dynamic, juicy melody of cranberry, red raspberries, and blood orange. The palate is booming with minerality—a nod to the flinty soil the grapes are grown on—but the finish is delicate and mouthwatering with acidity.Bottom Line:If you’re thirsty, this rosé is the fruit-forward quencher of your dreams.

The Ultimate Valentine’s Day Guide To Celebrate All Things Love In 2021Fresh, fruit-forward wines are the perfect pairing for this Valentines (or Galentine’s) Day — sip on a grapefruit and strawberry forward rosé like Kendall-Jackson’s 2018 Vintner’s Reserve Rosé and pair it with your favorite charcuterie plate combination.

Sparkling Wine a Perfect Pick for Valentine's DayWhich makes the Gran Moraine Brut Rose a versatile wine for Valentine’s Day. It has a pretty, light pink color, festive bubbles and subtle cherry, Meyer lemon and apricot flavors, and is the first wine or wine-inspired gift that could take the place of roses on Feb. 14.

Getting Fresh On Valentine’s DayVery light, delicate shell pink color. Clean, light and elegant with floral tones. Slightly creamy, generous mouthfeel. Makes its point of view more through texture than fruit. Nice showing from a lesser-known sub-area within the Willamette Valley.

7 Perfect Wine and Chocolate Pairings for This Valentine's DayAnd last of the Kendall-Jackson recommendations is the Jackson Estate Hawkeye Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2017. Priced at $65, this wine can be ordered online or purchased in person at the winery. We'll drink a glass of this with our rib-eye steak and then pair it with chocolate to cap off the evening. It features dark fruit flavors of cherry, cassis and red currant. Elegantly muscular with soft, chewy tannins, this wine pairs well with non-sweet dark chocolate and cherry-infused dark chocolate. The bitterness from the cacao accentuates the wine's tannins, creating a match made in heaven.

7 Perfect Wine and Chocolate Pairings for This Valentine's DayKendall-Jackson's Jacskon Estate Anderson Valley Pinot Noir 2017, priced at $40, is one of the top choices for Valentine's Day. Purchase online or in-person at the winery, or some higher-end wine shops may carry this Pinot.The creamy texture of the wine’s caramel flavors and silky tannins pair harmoniously with rich chocolate caramel. 3D Candies, a family-owned operation right here in my hometown of Sacramento, makes the perfect chocolate covered caramel candy for this occasion.

7 Perfect Wine and Chocolate Pairings for This Valentine's DayAnother favorite for Valentine's Day, not just because of its pretty pale pink color, is the Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Rosé. Priced at $17, this one is also found easily at many stores.Aromas of hibiscus, apricot, and fresh cut watermelon meet notes of crisp grapefruit and hibiscus. Normally I would pair this lovely wine with a charcuterie board to be enjoyed on a sunny Sunday afternoon. But for Valentine’s Day, we’re pairing it with raspberry-infused dark chocolates from See’s Candies and Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates. Dark chocolate with hazelnut is another good option.

7 Perfect Wine and Chocolate Pairings for This Valentine's DayIf your lover prefers white wine, I recommend the Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay. Priced at $17 or less per bottle, this chardonnay offers a good value while delivering a traditional California styled chardonnay. Plus, it's easy to find at your grocery store or wine shop.With notes of creamy vanilla, honey, and hints of toasted oak, sweet white chocolate pairs well with the flavors of this mildly buttery white wine. These divinity puffs from See’s Candies work perfectly for this pairing.

30 Wonderful Winter SparklersWinemaker’s Notes: Aromas of Asian pear, honeysuckle, dragon fruit, rose petal, brioche, wild strawberry. Flavors of tangerine, kumquat, nectarine. Great balance and acidity, vibrant and exceptionally clean all the way through the finish, phenomenally precise.

Forget Champagne: 11 Superb New Sparkling Wines From Oregon—Yes, Oregon—to Toast Your ValentineThis vibrant, pale rosé sparkler from Gran Moraine has straight-arrow focus. Rose petal, delicate red berry, orange peel and baked quince aromas—with just a touch of toast—give way to a range of citrus, from pink grapefruit to lime zest, layered with white stone fruit lingering on a refreshingly dry finish.

Chilled wine, warm hearts on Valentine's DayLooking to splurge on a romantic red? You could do far worse than the La Crema 2018 Pinot Noir. There’s plenty of black cherry, earth, cola, herbal and plum aromas that jump out of the glass, with hints of spice from oak aging.It’s dry and light-plus bodied, with cherry and raspberry flavours front and centre, some underlying white pepper and spice, hints of earth and cola and a long, mildly tannic and somewhat warm finish (it’s 13.5 per cent alcohol). It will easily appeal to both budding and diehard Pinot fans, and would work with anything from pork tenderloin to tuna to pizza. 4.5/5

With a long growing season thanks to the influence of the Pacific Ocean on the Sta. Rita Hills AVA, Chardonnay fruit can often be harvested weeks after red wines of the region are picked. Fruit ripens slowly, giving a subtle, delicate undertone to concentrated, textured fruit. Brewer-Clifton Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay shines with lemon-lime citrus and lychee notes, melding with soft herbs, blanched almond, and a touch of crushed stone minerality giving the wine an earthy finish with ethereal elegance. An incredible wine for the price.

Family-owned Cambria Estate showcases cool-climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir produced with passion, approachability, and character. Sustainably-farmed, ensuring the true character of the fruit shines through, Cambria Katherine’s Vineyard Chardonnay is fresh, and floral, showing notes of lemon blossom, honeysuckle, and lime leaf, melding with tangerine and Asian pear.

So many good things going on in this wine, it makes me want to drink more Cabernet from McLaren Vale. Classic cassis, fresh blackberry, and cedar notes on a taut, medium-bodied frame. I sampled with Coravin so I can save for another year. (Won’t happen.)

A reminder why Australian Shiraz was such a success in the first place. Balances ripe black fruits against the grape’s savory, smoky, meaty character. Not overblown or overripe, as some have come to view Aussie Shiraz. Follows the Goldilocks principle of “just right.”

Bright and tense while full-bodied and creamy, offers notes of white flowers, pears, and apples. The intersection of Burgundy and Australia.

The 30 Best Red Wines for 2021I can feel American wine diversifying by the year. More innovation and focus on soil and variety relationships are driving a bright diverse future. But we can’t forget how this all came to be. Founded by Josephine Tychson in the late 19th century, Freemark Abbey survived disease and Prohibition, entering both the red and white categories in the 1976 Judgement of Paris. Dark and brooding, this wine is deserving of aromatic descriptors such as mocha, blackberries, and hints of white and cracked black pepper. It’s still aging with a rustic edge, but is a pleasure to drink now. In a few years, it’ll soften into the legacy it holds.

A small-batch bottling intended as the ultimate expression of the Fijnbosch property. This is all about power – golden in colour, the nose is quite advanced showing marmalade, honey, a particular waxy note plus oak spice while the palate is rich and round, thick textured with tangy acidity lending balance. Makes a huge statement.

40% Fijnbosch, 27% Nooitgedacht, 17% Robertson, 8% Kaaimansgat and 8% Klein Karoo. Matured for 10 months in French oak, 40% new. An exotic nose with citrus, pineapple, vanilla and spice plus leesy complexity. The palate is rich and full – lots of dense fruit to go with vibrant acidity, the finish long and dry. Available in the US at $80 a bottle.

Predominantly from own Fijnbosch grapes plus small portion from Helderberg property Nooitgedacht. A subtle nose with a top note of blossom before pear, citrus, some leesy complexity and vanilla. Quite light-bodied and vivacious relative to its stablemates with bright acidity and savoury finish. Archetypal modern Chardonnay.

Celebrate Valentine’s Day With These Splurge WinesArcanum is the pinnacle of the estate’s Toscana IGT offerings. Based on Cabernet Franc, the true signature of the estate, this remarkable wine is built to age, yet is drinkable young, offering aromas of violets, roses and raspberries, with long and delicate spice notes; it is a wine that is seductive yet subtle. Arcanum is sourced primarily from the L’Apparita and Belvedere blocks of Cabernet Franc. With superb exposure and sandy clay soils, each year these blocks shine to produce the finest expression of the variety, and the leading wine of the estate.