Santa Barbara Wine Tasting

When it comes to Valentine’s Day gifts, Wine is just as obligatory as flowers, in my book anyway. Gregory Dal Piaz, writing for the online wine shopping guide Snooth, introduces his top ten wines for Valentine’s Day. Most of them have names related to Valentines, love or romance. One nice suggestion is a 2009 Saint-Amour–a wine appellation in the Beaujolais region. 2009 was a good year for Beaujolais and the Saint-Amour commune produces relatively good wines for this region. Of course if you want to splurge, a Burgundy Premier Cru, Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses sounds great. He also recommends an Italian wine called Mi Amore and a California winery called Valentine Vineyards, both for obvious reasons. But that left me wondering why Mr. Piaz neglected to mention Torres’ San Valentin. It’s available in both red and white incarnations, and is a wine I often drink with my wife on Valentine’s Day. The red is a young, dark cherry-colored Granache with a bouquet that is blackberry jam with a hint of roses and violets. It goes well with barbecued or roasted meats, and red sauces. The white is a medium sweet wine made from the Parellada grape. It goes well with clams, crab, fish in sweet sauces and desserts. Torres San Valentin comes complete with a little cherub hanging from the foil in place of the traditional bull.

Some of the wines that Mr. Piaz recommends are slightly on the racy side: Zinfandel from the Sin Zin Winery; and Menage a Trois, from the Folie à Deux winery in Napa Valley. The Menage a Trois name comes from the fact that all of these wines are blends of three different grapes. Click on the link to read the full article: Top Wines for Valentine’s

Speaking of wine, romance and Valentine’s Day, for a really romantic get away, why not take your valentine on a wine tasting tour in the Santa Barbara Wine Country? Click on the link to visit our homepage and get lots of tips and info on Santa Barbara wineries, vineyards and tasting rooms.