Fine wines to enjoy on St Valentine’s Day

WHAT is love? Well, to judge by the sea of gifts and cards welling up in the shops this weekend it’s pink, frothy and ephemeral — basically the Jedward of emotions.

But then to be fair, bubbly fun certainly is one aspect of affairs of the heart. And in terms of wine that means a coalition or collision of two biggest growth trends in wine here in Ireland: rosé and sparkling.

Most Champagne (along with its emulators across the wine world) is made from a blend of white (chardonnay) and red or black grapes (pinot noir and pinot meunier). So, apart from blends across that colour divide, there are three colour codes of sparkling wine.

Blanc de blancs is a white wine made from white grapes; blanc de noirs is a white made entirely from red grapes. And then, of course, there is the rosé.

(There is a fourth but relatively rarely visited strand to the tradition: Australian winemakers and consumers have developed quite a taste for an ancient but almost forgotten European tradition — namely sparkling red wine. It’s an acquired taste, sipping fizzy red from the fridge).

However, pink is but one colour in your palette — whether you’re talking love or wine. So today’s main focus is on a handful of excellent wines, none of which happen to be rosés but which instead showcase some companionable contrasts of flavour and texture.

I think all of today’s wines have plenty to say for themselves but the Masianco has a particularly interesting back story. Made by Masi, one of Italy’s most ancient wine families, it borrows from a pretty tradition but is in fact a recent innovation. A crisp and yet succulent blend of pinot grigio and verduzzo grapes, the wine is basically a white version of the venerable amarone tradition — the delicious Italian tradition of drying out grapes before fermentation, bequeathing the final wine with a delicious raisiny character not a million miles from Port.

However, acidity is at a premium in white wines — and in the case of the Masianco, the keynote coolness and freshness of the pinot grigio are maintained by vinifiying them immediately at harvest at low temperatures. The verduzzo grapes on the other hand are harvested almost a month later and then (similarly to the grapes for Amarone) are further ripened on racks for three weeks. After fermentation they undergo a natural “malolactic” fermentation which lends it a full, milky texture. Together with the firm, austere pinot grigio, it’s a fabulous balancing act. Rather like many couples.

Which brings us to the second theme of today’s wines. The word ‘bitter’ is almost always used in a pejorative sense and I think this is a great pity. Bitter is taken to be a turn-off. But turn to the kitchen and have a sniff and you’ll discover that actually bitter-inflected herbs and spices — coriander, celery, star anise, cloves — can be a fragrant, sensual turn-on. Similarly, the bitter and savoury elements in today’s wines are what make them a sensual treat to savour.