The Drinks for the Ones You Love

My name is Andrew Meyrowitz, and I am the Beverage Director at The Wine Harvest in the Kentlands, and . This is my family’s business and over the past decade I have worked to educate our customers on new and unique wine and beer related products for their maximum enjoyment.

Every month I will be posting ideas on Patch’s site that focus on topical drinks for every season and occasion. For the month of February, I am focusing on the Valentine’s Day holiday and a few wines and beers that will help make you a hit for the holiday.

Chocolate is always a popular Valentine’s Day gift. This year, why not give some to your Valentine in his or her drink! Chocolate Bocks and Stouts are dark colored beers that can have many different flavors. Samuel Adams recently released a new Chocolate Chili Bock called the Vixen. The Vixen is made with cocoa nibs, cinnamon and chilies accompanied by a good balance of malts. This beer debuted this year, replacing the Chocolate Bock that had historically been made every two years. The Vixen pairs well with chocolate or fresh strawberries, and you will certainly have a great experience.

A second chocolate beer would be the Brooklyn Breweries Black Chocolate Stout. This beer is an Imperial Stout with chocolate. Having a rich heavy nose, as well as a powerful taste of roasted malts and a touch of hops, this beer is the dark chocolate of beers! One way I like to ‘spice up’ this beer is to serve it in the form of a float with vanilla ice cream. The addition of the ice cream allows the flavors to soften and sweeten up so that all the flavors open up. Floats aren’t just for kids anymore!

Wines are a romantic way to celebrate Valentine’s Day, too. From a bubbly, to a rich red that pairs with chocolate, or even a sweet chocolate infused wine. Over the past few years, chocolate infused wines have hit the market and have really excited many people because they are inexpensive and they are sweet and easy to drink. Chocolate wine like Cocoa Vino, is a wine made in a few varieties including traditional chocolate, mint, and cherry royale.

This year, when The Wine Harvest started to carry these products, I had the opportunity to experiment with them. Through my mixing and matching, I have found that serving these Cocoa Vino products over crushed ice, and topped with whipped cream is an exciting way to have this product.

A second wine for the Valentine’s Day holiday is an Argentine take on an Italian wine. This wine is made as collaboration by Renacer of Argentina, and Allegrini of Italy, in Argentina. The wine is called Enamore and is a take on an Amarone, a wine made in Veneto, Italy where grapes are picked and left in a cool dry place for many months creating a more concentrated raison-like fruit to make wine out of. Enamore is Spanish and can be translated to “to fall in love”. The extremely concentrated flavors of ripe berries, chocolate and spices come together very well, and pair well with dark chocolate covered red fruit, as well as a large roast. Lastly, I would pair this wine with figs and walnuts accompanied by some Parmigiano-Reggiano.