Champagne & Strawberries, White Wine & Oysters

Impress Your Sweetheart With These Delectable Duos

Feb 2, 2009

Valentine's Day isn't the only time to bring out the wine and the romance -- transform even the most ordinary evening into an occasion with these food and wine pairings.

Whether you are unfurling a red and white tablecloth on the grass at a park, spreading a blanket on the roof outside your garret window, or serving it all up on a silver platter on the deck of your seventy-five foot yacht, the following combinations are sure to please the one that sets off sparks in your heart.

Simple, sincere, classic and sensual - you can't go wrong with this one. Veuve Clicquot is a reliable choice if you are not familiar with champagne, and Heidsieck & Co Monopole Blue Top is another good champagne that falls into a relatively affordable price range, both available for about $40 a bottle.

Preparation is fairly simple: chill the champagne; wash and dry fresh strawberries, stems remaining; place the strawberries into two champagne flutes and, at the last minute, pour the champagne over the strawberries. Serve, eating the strawberries as you sip the champagne. For a special romantic touch, garnish with rose petals (make sure the roses are organic and have not been sprayed and are okay to eat - your local natural food market may have some). And there you have it: champagne with a ripe red strawberry - how romantic is that?

White Wine and Oysters

Although there is debate in the scientific community regarding whether oysters do indeed contain aphrodisiac properties, there is little doubt that this salty, succulent seafood does carry connotations of romance in its wake. Amongst sommeliers, there is considerable debate as to which wine pairs best with the oyster. What makes a good oyster wine?

According to the website of the annual Pacific Coast Oyster Wine Competition, it's a dry, crisp, clean-finishing white wine. M.F.K. Fisher, the legendary food writer, recommends pairing oysters with dry white wines like Chablis, Pouilly-Fuissé, or Champagne. Jon Bonné, San Francisco Chronicle's wine editor, prefers Muscadet, a white wine from France's Loire Valley. However you pair it, remember that the mind is a powerful thing, and the psychological effect of believing that oysters are aphrodisiacs may be all that is needed to produce the desired effect.

Ruby Port and Chocolate

Whether you are presenting your love with a box of hand-crafted Belgian chocolates, a devil's food cake you baked for him or her yourself, or a fine chocolate mousse crafted by an exclusive local chef and served with a fresh raspberry garnish, Ruby Port is a sure fire winner to combine with any food that contains chocolate, particularly dark chocolate.

Ruby Port wine is young, sweet, and has a deep red color. The sweetness of it is what makes it a perfect match for chocolate. Good ports that fall into an affordable range - $10-$20 a bottle - include Dow's Fine Ruby Port, Heredias Ruby Port, and Noval Fine Ruby Porto. Port wine tastes best warm, so room temperature is perfect. The idea, any way you pair it, is to let the chocolate melt or linger in your mouth, then wash it down with Port.

The copyright of the article Champagne & Strawberries, White Wine & Oysters in Old World Wine is owned by Cynthia Riede. Permission to republish Champagne & Strawberries, White Wine & Oysters in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.