Valentine’s Day Wines Under $25 (for Self-Seduction)

Valentine’s Day Wines Under $25 (for Self-Seduction)

Valentine’s Day is here, and whether you will be with your loved one or plan to seduce yourself, you’ve got to have appropriate juice on hand. Your local wine store is sure to have these moderately-priced picks.
valentine's day wines
A visit to Williams-Sonoma’s San Francisco headquarters the other week involved the perfect exercise in finding moderately priced yet maximally alluring V-Day-ready bottles. In preparation for a presentation I was giving to WS staff, Williams Sonoma’s Director of Culinary Amanda Haas asked me to join her at local supermarket and select seven Valentines Day-worthy wines – all under $25 – in under 20 minutes. We were all pleased with how these Valentine’s Day wines turned out, and here they are for you:

Roederer Estate Brut NV ($19-$22) – A perennial overachiever, owned by the same parent company that makes Cristal.

St. Supéry Oak-Free Chardonnay 2015 ($20-$25) – A stunner with oysters, which are of course known to be a potent aphrodisiac. Medium bodied and lemony bright.

Landmark Vineyards Overlook Pinot Noir 2014 ($20-$25) –  I call Pinot the Juicy Berry Kiss and this version is no exception, with its strawberry-and-flowers perfume, medium body, and crisp acidity.

Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc + Viognier White Blend 2015 ($11-$15) – A sexy duality: smells sweet, tastes dry. A secret love of wine pros. Viognier puts you in the mood for romance.

Minuty M Rosé Cotes de Provence 2015 ($10-$15) – Gorgeous raspberry fruit with a lemony lift. And its bottle is curved like Sophia Lauren.

Campo Viejo Rioja Gran Reserva 2010 ($20-$25) – If a smooth, plummy Spanish red weren’t sexy enough, the gold fishnet adorning the bottle creates glamour and intrigue.

Prieuré d’ Arche Sauternes 2008 ($15-$20) – For drizzling on your pancakes, then on your lover.

For more on affordable wine alternatives and the best wines to bring to a date or party, check out my latest book, How to Drink Like a Billionaire.  Leave an Amazon review in the month of February (and notify alf@markoldman.com) and we will send you some Oldman schwag!

8 Gluttony-Enabling Thanksgiving Wines

If, like me, you are determined to engage in unadulterated, Al Rokerian (pre-stomach-band) gluttony this Thursday, you need wine that is bright and lively enough to the clear the way for each and every gravy-bathed spoonful of excess.  Here are eight recent discoveries, one for each major wine category, all overachievers in delivering high pleasure for the price.  Track them down at your local wine merchant and/or via Wine Searcher.

gluttony

BUBBLES:
Roederer Estate Brut Anderson Valley (California, $23)
vibrant with notes of baked apple and spice, and a fine bead

LIGHTER WHITE:
Arnaldo Caprai Grechetto Colli Martani Grecante 2012 (Italy, $19)
glowingly fresh, with a vein of grapefruit zest

MEDIUM-BODIED WHITE
Fox Run Finger Lakes “Lake Dana Vineyard” 2012 (New York, $38)
bursting with flowers and juicy green apple

RICHER WHITE
Truchard Roussanne 2012 (California, $25)
peachy, creamy, but clean and lip-smackingly crisp
order direct here

LIGHTER RED:
Bourgueil Cuvée Alouettes 2011 (France, $16)
light, bright, redolent with lilacs and buzzy with acidity

MEDIUM-BODIED RED:
La Cabotte Côtes du Rhône-Villages Massif d’Uchaux Garance 2011 (France, $20)
juicy, velvety, plummy, medium-to-full bodied

RICHER RED
Norton Malbec Reserva 2011 (Argentina, $20)
cassis, blackcurrants, and smoke on a lively frame

DESSERT
Vietti Moscato d’Asti Cascinetta 2011 (Italy, $14)
lightly sweet, with pears, orange blossoms, and a cleansing fizziness

Lovers Only: Diggler’s Valentine’s Day Wines

Mark Diggler, the Miami-based “Maestro of Vino (and Love),” reveals which wines will ring your lovers neck chains on Valentine’s Day.  Click here to learn about six wines that make pulses race.

lovers