Wines for Valentines #1

Since Valentine's Day is approaching in like 11 days (or even sooner if you plan on celebrating the weekend before), why don't I put on this blog some wines that I think will be a good choice for Valentine's Day, whether you decide to take the wine to a restaurant with you (if it is an expensive enough bottle, you at least save some money, otherwise it is not worth the trouble), or if you are planning a romantic dinner at home, or perhaps it is just for drinks by the fire. I think I can do one every couple of day, until the 14th. So let's start with the first one, an Oregon Pinot Noir: Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2002.

Pinot Noirs are usually a mellower and lighter styled red wine that tends to please most people's palate. If you ever have to buy wine for a group of people, and you are not sure what they prefer, Pinot Noir is usually the way to go, as the sensation of drinking Pinot Noirs are somewhere between drinking white wine and drinking red wine. Domaine Serene Evenstad 2002 is a very charming wine, soft, well-rounded and smooth on the palate. The wine is unassuming, subtle, and shows nice note of earthiness. What merit this wine as a Valentine's Day selection though, is the amazing transformation that takes place in your glass. You will start to notice, after a couple of minutes, a sweet aroma floating around in the air. You will think to yourself, as you gazed into your lover's eyes, what is this seductive perfume she is wearing. As you move closer to your love trying to get a whiff of her perfume, you realized, no, this sweet sensation that is starting to fill up the room, the aroma that is rendering you powerless, is actually coming from the subtle, unassuming glass of Pinot Noir next to you. You pick up the glass, and the scent of brown sugar is exploding out the glass. You take a sip of the wine, and the ripe fruit with a hint of mintiness will gently coat your palate like if it was wrapped in silk. The finish offers a gentle touch of pepperiness, which when intermixed with the subtle hint of mint, will leave you with a memorable aftertaste. Drinking this wine evokes the imaginary of falling in love, the imaginary of the first time when you were standing close to the girl of your dream, and you realized how good she smells. The aroma of this wine induces the though of intertwined and melting together with your love on a bed of silk. The aroma of the wine and the flavor of the wine will inflame your romantic desires.

This is truly a wonderful Pinot Noir without flaws, and a wine that I keep on thinking about several months later. Of course, people have different taste and likes different flavors and different wines, and perhaps this wine might be too soft and not individualistic enough for some people. Also, perhaps I exaggerated a bit, or my imaginations has gone wild, but then isn’t that what good food and good wine suppose to do to us, evoke images. Wine is a living, breathing thing, and can taste different depending on the occasion, the people we are with, the surroundings, the type of glass used, the food we accompanied the wine with, and etc. Therefore, if you set the right mood, tell the right story, with the right person, then this wine can further enhances the magic that you have created for that one special Valentine’s Day.