That’s right, it’s Valentine’s Day, folks. The reasoning behind this week’s wine and food pairing suggestion should be obvious to everyone out there. If it’s not, well, just buy a box of chocolates and whatever wine we tell you to because it seems like you will need all the help you can get. We’re asking you to step it up this year when it comes to choosing your gifts for Valentine’s Day. Leave the cards on the shelf and flowers in the…ground? Stick with wine and chocolate and possibly a reservation at Denny’s someplace fancy. Try a decent  bottle this year. Lift your gaze to that second or third shelf and pull out an extra five bucks. Strange advice for a site that looks for the best wine deals under $20, but we don’t want to see you sleeping on the couch come Sunday night. Do you hear me you schlubs (i’m including women in that insult, btw)?

Here are some cheap suggestions (Note: You may want to prevent your significant other from reading this, because then they will know just how much of a cheap b****** you really are, despite all three of these being delicious and under $20):

Fonseca 2003 Late Bottled Vintage Port (Dark Chocolate)

Whether Tawny or Ruby, Port might have been made for chocolate and cigars. This one will be a sure winner because of it’s rich fig, dark cocoa and leathery flavors. The sweetness and high alcohol content don’t hurt either. We’ve done a couple of other Port reviews in the past, and the Fonseca is another good one for under twenty bones.

Found in most stores

or

$16.89 at LowestWinePrices.com

$17.98 at WineLibrary.com (they can get it to you with 1-day shipping)

Altosur 2008 Merlot (Milk Chocolate)

Merlot is a great match with chocolate and fruit. The well-made Merlots (not Bordeauxs, we’re trying to stick under $20 here) tend to have a great shot of chocolate in the mid-palate. Unfortunately, a lot of the under-$20 California Merlots are lacking in the chocolate and cocoa aspects. You would want to hit up some smaller California wineries instead. No, we’re looking abroad for the chocolate flavors in Merlot. Specifically the Mendoza region of Argentina. The Altosur has awesome fruit (blackberry and cherry) with a nice punch of cocoa that should beat your tongue into submission. Great long finish and good tannin structure. A very focused wine that will easily impress even the snootiest woman.

Found in most stores

or

$9.99 at SaluteWineMarket.com

Sebastiani Zinfandel

A popular producer, the Sebastiani is a dark beast in looks but very smooth in taste. Great chocolate-covered cherries, some vanilla and very silky overall. It’s rare to have something this elegant from a producer this large. Also, though popular, odds are your partner has never seen the label and so might think you splurged on a pricier vino. Fools!

Found in most stores

or

$10.99 at WineLibrary.com (they can get it to you with 1-day shipping)

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Time to Let That Belt Out One More Notch

It’s the holidays. That time of year where we unconsciously say “Screw It” to all manner of diet and start washing down deliciously fattening foods with gallons of booze. What better time to learn about what wines go well with cookies? After all, cookies are enjoyed during the holidays more than any other time, as is vino. We’re going to give you 3 common cookies and suggest 3 wines that you can pair with them this holiday season. Oh, and if you aren’t having any of these types of cookies, it’s safe to say that our holiday will be better than yours.

Chocolate Chip Cookies and Port

The grand poo-bah of cookies works well with pretty much any dessert wine as well as some less-sweet wines. However this year we are going to suggest pairing your chocolate chip beauty with a vintage character port. Vintage character port is a style of port that is more sweet, fruity and ready to drink immediately than more traditional ruby or tawny ports. To learn more about what the hell port is, read this.

The Graham’s Six Grapes port is an amazing wine for the price. Deep, rich red fruit mixes with chocolate fudge, raspberry reduction and cream. Matches especially well with homemade chocolate chip cookies because most are made with semi-sweet chocolate chips and retain a bit of their saltiness, unlike their storebought counterparts.

Graham’s Six Grapes Port – $15.99 at WineLibrary.com!

Gingerbread Cookies and Gewurtztraminer

Nothing says “Holidays” more than making a beautiful, hand-crafted gingerbread house, and then tearing it to shreds, putting on five pounds in the process. We’re pairing a brilliant Gewurtztraminer with gingerbread cookies, thanks to the spicy, caramel-like nature of this varietal.

The Malivoire Gewurtztraminer explodes with ginger and citrus. The finish leaves a pleasing mineral taste on your tongue and the sugar stays with you long after you’ve mixed it with the gingerbread. Nearly impossible to find this wine anywhere, so take advantage at this price!

Malivoire Gewurtztraminer 2006 – $15.96 at WineLibrary.com!

Peanut Butter Blossoms and Tawny Port

This cookie is quickly growing in popularity and threatens to soon dethrone our beloved chocolate chip cookie as the go-to holiday cookie of choice. While we prefer a warm homemade chocolate chip cookie, we can’t fly in the face of the popular vote, so the peanut butter blossom must be recognized. We’re pairing this usurper with a delicious Tawny Port that is the stuff of legends.

The Warre’s 10 year Tawny Port Otima is a mind-blowing wine experience. This is toffee in a snifter (glass you’re SUPPOSED to drink port out of; requires a pinkie to be raised like a snob). Tawny port pairs surprisingly well with peanut flavors and chocolate. This wine is traditionally served with fruit, nuts, and a cheese called Stilton (more popular in the UK, kind of like a STRONG bleu cheese, delicious, smells like John Madden’s feet after calling a Thanksgiving Day NFL game), but it works well with the blossom. Delicious caramel and a slight spice.

Warre’s 10 Year Tawny Port Otima – $16.99 at WineLibrary

We hope some of these wines (and cookies, of course) find their way to your table this holiday season because you will not be disappointed. If you do try some of the pairings, or any pairing for that matter, let us know how it went in the comments section below.

Check out our other dessert wine reviews!

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Get Drunk Off of One Glass

First, some helpful information concerning port. Port wine was first made in Portugal (duh) and is fortified, thus making it ridiculously rich, sweet and rather high in alcohol. There are generally two types of Port sold: Tawny and Ruby. Tawny Port has a reddish-brown color, generally has a more caramel style flavor profile, and is not over-the-top sweet. Ruby Port, on the other hand, is a dark, rich red and usually packs more sweetness and alcohol. As such, Port should really be enjoyed with something that can combat that type of strength, or else it is better to just enjoy it alone. By “something,” we not only mean strong, rich foods, but we also mean things other than food: as in a delicious, dark cigar. That’s right, folks, even cigars can go with wine. What a wonderful world.

Bad News First: Not much. We at Wine Welfare love both kinds of Port, but when Kalyra says that this is in a “Tawny” style, boy do they mean it. Not for Ruby lovers.

Now The Good: Holy crap. This is something we have never tasted before: Australian-style Port made from a Muscat grape. Kalyra is run by Mike Brown, who chooses to make classic varietals with an Australian touch to them. Basically what that means for us poor, under-$20 slobs is: “Delicious.” This is no Ruby beast, but rather just a rich, smooth, delicious dessert wine with smells of coffee, chocolate and burnt sugar.

With Food: Like we said in the beginning, either alone or with foods that can step up. This means sharp fruits and extremely smelly cheese. We suggest Stilton, which you can find in most stores nowadays, particularly Trader Joe’s.

$16.00 direct from the Kalyra Winery

Visit the Kalyra Winery website

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