Valentine’s Promotions, Specials and Wine Recommendations

Amore 

For Valentine’s Day, it is Amore wine and chocolate. Our Blackberry Bliss and dark chocolate is the perfect combo for a Valentine surprise. If you like it on the lighter side, try Strawberry Seduction with white chocolate. If chocolate is not your thing, a bottle of Rapport (sweet and potent) and the hot tub are a perfect paring. For those who just want to celebrate, a bottle of Celebration (sparkling wine) will make for the perfect cork-popping celebration.

Big Creek

Big Creek has three great choices, depending on your particular tastes.  For a sweeter wine we have the ever popular Apple Raspberry, great with chocolate-covered cherries.  For the dry wine crowd we have just released our 2012 Frontenac, a deeply colored, full bodied red that can tame the richest chocolate around.  Our Vin di Pasqualina is a Rose' that sits gracefully between dry and sweet, great aroma, great taste, lighter body.

Blue Mountain

Wine lovers will enjoy a range of flavors this Valentine’s Day at Blue Mountain Vineyards. With its raspberry undertones, our Victoria’s Passion brings out the best in any chocolate dessert. For something drier you can try the award winning Merlot grown at our Leaser Vineyard. Sample these and other wines February 16 and 17 along with a delicious chocolate fondue. 

Clover Hill

Celebrate the Love in the Air with Wine and Chocolates at Clover Hill Winery

Saturday, February 16 from  noon – 5 p.m.

We will be pairing heavenly chocolates with our wines in celebration of Valentine’s Day. We have invited master chocolatier Moussey Mouse Chocolates to sample their artisan chocolates with premium Clover Hill wines. We will pair a Moussey Mouse Ravishing Raspberry Bonbon with Clover Hill’s big and bold Cabernet Sauvignon and a Luscious Lemon Bonbon, in the shape of a heart, with our sweet Vignoles. Moussey Moose Chocolates is a gourmet chocolatier right in our own back yard at 315 W. Broad, Quakertown (www.mousseymoosechocolates.com). They will be on-site with gift boxes of their chocolates.

We also have all four sparkling wines in stock - Brut, Cuvee, Blackberry Sparkler and Sparkling Pinot Noir.

 

Franklin Hill

Bring your sweetheart to Franklin Hill Vineyards on Valentine’s Day Weekend 2/16 and 17 for Passion, Desire and  a Kiss.  Buy a bottle of each and get 10% off all three (No substitutions). We will be featuring treats from our friends at Chocolates on Broadway, delicious dips from Robert Rothschild Farms, and The Broadway Pub in downtown Bangor will be creating a delicious pasta dish to enjoy with your Valentine.  Tours will be offered at noon and 2 p.m. and, as always, complimentary tastings will be available.

Galen Glen

Galen Glen toasts cupid February 9 and; 10 and February 16 and 17 for our annual St. Valentine's Affair.  Celebrate love with our decadent pairing of Barrel 29 and Sarah’s favorite Chocolate Lover's Indulgence drizzled with a Strawberry Barrel 29 Reduction.  Desiring a little more debauchery? We’ll offer our pairing to purchase. Barrel Twenty-Nine is reminiscent of the old world, a velvety cask aged Chambourcin dessert wine. The perfect ending to every evening, especially with chocolate.

Pinnacle Ridge

What could be more appropriate for a holiday of love than our Sweet Seduction paired with chocolate? Or how about a glass of our Blanc de Blanc sparkling wine?

Vynecrest

Valentine’s Day Wine and Chocolate in the Vyneskeller

Friday, February 15 from 7-9 p.m.

• Live Music

• Splash of Sparkling

• Pairing of 5 wines and 5 chocolates

• Gift of chocolate for the ladies

• $25 per couple

• Call 610-398-7525 to make reservations with credit card (table for 2 or 4)

• Raffle for a chocolate house

In addition, we have chocolates from Sweet Indulgence by Christina to pair with our Sparkling Chardonnay, First Blush, or Cherry DiVyne. Our Piano Bar will be playing romantic music all weekend from 1-5 p.m. in the Vyneskeller.

Sparkling wines and champagne 101

Our friends at Clover Hill Winery in Breinigsville recently sent out an e-newsletter to remind its loyal customers to pick up their sparkling wines for their New Year's Eve celebrations. It included an overview on sparkling wines and champagne that we thought we be of interest to the readers of our blog. So we are borrowing the information below from Clover Hill. Many thanks to Kari Skrip for sharing it with us!

Sparkling Wine Vs. Champagne

Many of you have probably wondered what is the difference between a sparkling wine and a Champagne. The difference lies in the geography. “Champagne” is a sparkling wine that is produced in the champagne region of France according to strict government regulations. That same carbonated beverage if produced in the USA is properly termed “Sparkling Wine” (it is often nicknamed by wine makers as a “Sparkler”). Somewhere along the way Americans started calling some of their sparkling wines “Champagne”, using the word Champagne in a generic sense. Sparkling wine is made in the USA and Champagne comes from the Champagne region of France.

What is Methode Champenoise?

All true Champagnes and most premium quality sparkling wines, (including Clover Hill Vineyards & Winery Sparkling Wine, of course), are made in the traditional method known as “Methode Champenoise”. According to Methode Champenoise, the wine goes through a second fermentation in the same bottle in which it is sold. With the secondary fermentation in the bottle, the wine becomes more complex, different flavors develop, and each bottle becomes slightly different than the others. Each bottle takes on a personality of its own. The end result is a light delicate wine that produces elegant columns of small tingly bubbles. There are other methods of producing sparkling wines but they are not quite the same, so look for the saying “Methode Champenoise” or “fermented in this bottle” on the label, or even better, just look for Clover Hill’s Sparkling Wine!

Sweet Vs. Dry

Sparkling wine labels can often be very confusing and not very user friendly. Usually American wine labels contain a variety of French terms on the label, for instance, Methode Champenoise, which was discussed earlier. Also the level of sweetness is defined using traditional French terms. These French terms are listed below from driest to sweetest.

Brut Natural – 0%-0.5% Sugar – Bone dry
Brut – 0.5% - 1.5% sugar - No perceivable sweetness
Extra Dry – 1.2%-2% sugar - Slight sweetness
Sec - 1.7%-3.5% sugar - Noticeable sweetness
Demi-Sec – 3.3%-5% sugar – Very sweet
Doux – 5.0% plus – Extremely sweet