Taking A Shot of Love

It's that time of year again - time to take another shot of love … err at love. And hopefully the question you face tonight won't be whether or not you've got a date, but rather what drink you'll pour for your lover.

For some of you the answer may be quite simple. Perhaps your guy is a beer enthusiast (here the recommended gift is a Sam Adams Seasonal Mix Pack) or maybe your lady is into fruity drinks (Smirnoff Ice offers flavors as diverse as Arctic Berry, Green Apple Bite and Pomegranate). In this case buying that special person something to show your love is fairly easy.

But let's face it, on Valentine's Day, we're looking to make a more sophisticated and refined statement of love than Messieurs Adams or Smirnoff usually afford.

When many people think of romantic drinks, they think of wine. While the reasons for this may be many, there is one good theory why wine is closely associated with romance on Valentine's Day in particular.

One of the numerous legends as to how Valentine's Day began centers on a Roman physician by the name of Valentine. Legend has it that the good Doc famously used to make his medicines more palatable by mixing them with herbs, spices, honey and, most importantly, wine. When Valentine was converted to Christianity, the story goes, he was arrested and brought before Emperor Claudius II. The Emperor himself attempted to convert Valentine back to Roman Paganism, but resisting, Valentine in turn tried to convert the Emperor. He was punished by execution, but not before he fell in love with the daughter of one of his jailers while healing her blindness. The legend has it that just before he was put to death on Feb. 14, Valentine penned one last note to his love, signing it "from your Valentine."

Besides being a tad too cute and probably not very true, this little legend is important to drink enthusiasts who claim wine as the drink of the day.

So let's talk wine. What's the most romantic of all? Champagne is the classic answer and if you're looking for something to make the occasion a little more special then this may be the way to go.

Champagne is a sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region of North-eastern France. This bubbly libation is made using a mixture of four different varieties of grapes - chardonnay, pinot noir, pinot meunier and pinot gris. Usually the mixture is mainly composed of Chardonnay (a white grape) and Pinot Noir (a red grape). When the wine is bottled after the primary fermentation, which produces the alcohol in the wine, several grams of yeast and rock sugar are added to the bottle in a process known as "Méthode Champenoise." The extra yeast and sugar cause the wine to undergo a secondary fermentation in the bottle. And since the bottle is sealed, the carbon dioxide is trapped in the bottle and this mounting pressure carbonates the wine.

But just like most other libations, there are different types of champagne. The most common of these is Brut, which is fairly dry (meaning not sweet). If your love has a sweet tooth, you might consider Sec or Demi Sec, as these are sweeter varieties. Most fittingly, and perhaps most fun, is Champagne Rosé, or pink champagne. No I don't mean the cheapest of the cheap when it comes to champagne, but rather a type of champagne made a little different than normal. When grapes are pressed for Champagne Rosé, the skin of the pinot noir (red grapes) is left in contact with the juice instead of being immediately removed. This gives the champagne its characteristic pink color and fruity taste.

Now if you decide to pick up a bottle of the bubbly, you had better know how to serve it with style or you may simply miss the mark.

Champagne should be served cold, the colder the better (though not frozen) as this will limit the possibility of overflowing the bottle when opened. When the time comes to pop the cork, don't. The proper way to open a bottle of champagne is to grip the cork and twist the bottle (always the bottle). This should release the cork gently, "like an angel's kiss," giving off a soft hiss known as "le soupir amoureux" or "loving sigh." For real class, champagne should always be served in a long stemmed champagne flute. Most food-wine pairing guides advise serving fruit with Champagne, usually strawberries or another kind of berry.

But sometimes champagne can be a little too predictable. If you're looking to strike off the beaten path, wine consultant Doug Frost suggests a cream sherry.

Sherry is a fortified wine produced in the South of Spain in the Cádiz province. After fermentation is complete, the wine is fortified with brandy. In Spain it is customary to take a bowl of ice cream, make a small hole in the ice cream and fill it with the sherry.

"But, since it's Valentine's Day, I think you might consider adding to the romance of the evening," Frost said in a recent interview with Reuters. "I mean, there are other things that you can pour [sherry] over, too."

Maybe you'd rather stick with the classic box of dark chocolate rather than venture into fruit and ice cream? Then porto, another fortified wine might be the route to go.

Porto is a fortified wine from the Northern provinces of Portugal (if it's not made in Portugal it will be labeled Port). Unlike sherry, when making porto, the fermentation process is stopped early. This preserves the sugar in the wine, allowing for a sweeter taste, but also decreases the amount of alcohol. Then brandy is blended in, adding more flavor and alcohol to the porto. Laurie Daniel of Murcury News recommends a tawny port to accompany dark chocolate. Since Port is a sweet wine, you'll want to avoid serving overly sweet food since this could be overpowering to the palate.

Whether you go with one of these French, Spanish or Portuguese wines or something else entirely, don't forget to propose a toast to your significant other. This is the last little garnish on your show of love and often the most important. At the end of the day, the stuff you pour in his or her glass is just fancy juice. What's going to really matter is what you say. So go out there, take a shot of love and make a toast: "May we have those in our arms that we love in our hearts!"

Contact Timothy Bleasdale at Timothy.Bleasdale@UConn.edu.