Algarve Restaurants

By Caroline Silverstone

It’s that time of the year again! February is the month of love and the perfect time to spoil your favorite wine enthusiast. Even if you think that they have everything that they could possibly need, there are sure to be items that they would still love to have or that could top off their collection of wine items. There are also several gifts that can be used to complement their already wide assortment of wine belongings and to really show your love for them and their love for wine.

Everybody needs a vacation and even if it is just one night away, it will be greatly appreciated. Plan a romantic Valentine’s Day getaway by visiting a Wine Country Bed and Breakfast. Even if you are nowhere near Napa Valley, there are small wineries popping up in various states across the country. From Washington and Oregon to Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and states in New England, you will be able to find a winery and bed and breakfast near your home. Bed and Breakfasts are great, as you get to lounge as long as you want and you don’t even have to cook. Plan a romantic dinner with just the two of you and a nice bottle of wine. Many are all-inclusive and start at $100 a night.

If you can go a little further from home and you really want to make an impression on your wine enthusiast, there are several packages that offer wine tours in the popular wine countries. Packages can be purchased that will allow you to travel to France or Italy and enjoy vineyard tours, sightseeing and good wine from those countries.

Wine Lover’s Chocolate Tins are the absolute best for a chocolate and wine lover. These tins are excellent ways of pairing your chocolates and your wines. In fact, each tin is matched with the varietal that complements it the best. Not only does your valentine get some great chocolate, but you know exactly which wine to pair it with.

Wine club memberships are excellent for those who enjoy the opportunity to try a variety of different wines and to get them at great prices. The level of the membership will dictate the price of the package, but these are definitely the gift that keeps on giving. You can determine how many months you want to purchase and there are clubs depending on the type of wine your wine lover loves. There are red clubs, white clubs, international and dessert clubs. You are sure to find a club that fits their needs. While you are getting monthly wines, you might consider adding in a chocolate of the month club as well. These offer gourmet chocolates that will be excellent for pairing with a variety of wines that are coming in from the wine club.

Wine country gift baskets offer an assortment of cheeses, chocolates and wines to match. They are fully assembled, very impressive and perfect gifts for the wine lover.

Wine lovers love getting anything wine and these gifts will show that you know their taste and that you love what they love.

By John Maier

Once again Valentines Day is here and even though it may not be official holiday it is a very important day for the women in our life. So while we have some time lets plan ahead for the big even and make it a great day for that special someone.

There are many different ways to celebrate this special day from the simple method just buying flowers and maybe some candy to the much more involved level of not buy the above items but also other items like jewelry. It will very depending on how you feel about this holiday after we all don’t celebrate it. But below are some good ideas that you can try this year and that will help make this day special.

Lets start off with a simple plan for Valentines day start off by buy some flowers usually a Roses are nice but you cant mix them with other flowers as well along with a nice vase if you don’t already have one. The next step is to get some candy and wine because in this step we are going to do some pairing of wine food. When pairing wines with chocolate, your best bet is to match lighter, more elegant flavored chocolates with lighter bodied wines and likewise, the stronger the chocolate, the more full-bodied the wine should be. A good example is a bittersweet chocolate tends to pair well with an intense in your face California Zinfandel now a more subtle white chocolate ends to be mellower flavor, making it an ideal candidate for a Sherry. This could make a very interesting and unique Valentines Day. Of course you might not need the chocolate candies at all depending on what your mate likes a good wine can be by itself can be nice way to celebrate.

Another good idea plan is to go with more then just the flowers and candy plus but you add a romantic dinner with wine. Something about a candle light dinner with that special someone and if by chance you have children find a baby sitter after all it is pretty hard to set a romantic setting with your children playing with there food. If you feel like making the dinner yourself then go for it you can find lots of great recipes on our website listed below as well as others. Now if you don’t feel like cooking then order out from a good restaurant which I would recommend you do ahead of time well before that evening.

Another good idea plan would to plan a get away possible to nice bed and breakfast in Wine country. Not only is this a great way to spend time together for this holiday but it can also be a great way to celebrate other special events. There is nothing like getting away from it all and relaxing in the country and enjoy local wine food matching. Of course this idea you need to plan ahead for the event and make sure that you get your get your plane tickets and reservations at the bed and breakfast and I would suggest calling at least 4 to 6 months head of time depending on where you plan on going.

Hopefully these Valentines Day ideas will help you this year or at least give you some new idea’s for that special day. Of course with any special day remember to have fun and enjoy each others company and maybe dance the night away with each other. The most important thing to remember as you celebrate trying new wine food matching is to have fun and enjoy yourself with your family and enjoy the food, wine and conversation.

John Maier is an experience wine and food and part time cook. His wine experience comes from being raised in a small American town that had multiple wineries and with a Europe style and has traveled the world. For more information go to: http://www.wine-food-matching.com