Beyond the Bottle, Culinary & Wine

Dear Reader: A Love Letter About Valentine’s Day and Wine

by Amy LaBelle

Jan 07, 2026

Valentine’s Day has a way of making people overthink things. The dinner. The gift. The wine.

From a winemaker’s perspective, the best Valentine’s Day moments are rarely about getting everything exactly right. They are about slowing down, sharing something you enjoy, and spending time with the people who matter most.

Wine has always played a role in that. It encourages us to pause and enjoy the moment we are in.
That mindset changes how we think about wine in the first place.

Wine Is Meant to Be Enjoyed, Not Studied

Before we dive into specific recommendations, it is important to understand why certain wines work beautifully with holiday foods. The key lies in balancing complementary flavors and textures.

Wine is often talked about in technical terms, but enjoying wine does not require expertise. You do not need to know the grape, the region, or the perfect pairing.

What matters most is how the wine fits the moment; Does it feel comfortable to drink? Does it invite conversation? Does it help the evening slow down?
If the answer is yes, the wine is doing its job.

If the answer is yes, the wine is doing its job.
When wine feels natural and easy to enjoy, it creates space for connection rather than distraction.

There Are No Valentine’s Day Rules

Once you let go of the idea that wine needs to be mastered, the rules tend to fall away.

Valentine’s Day wine advice often comes with expectations about what you should drink. In reality, there is no single right choice.

Some people are cooking. Some are ordering takeout. Some are opening a bottle just to share a glass and unwind. All of those are valid ways to enjoy wine.

If you are unsure where to start, wines that feel fresh, balanced, and approachable tend to be easier to enjoy than wines built purely for intensity.
Focusing on how you want the evening to feel is often more helpful than following tradition.

Wine Does Not Have to Be Paired to Be Enjoyed

That same sense of freedom applies to how wine shows up during the evening.

Wine is often discussed alongside food, but not every Valentine’s Day includes a full meal. Sometimes wine stands on its own.

A glass of wine can be part of a conversation, a quiet moment, or the end of a long day. It does not need a carefully planned menu to be meaningful.

Choosing a wine you enjoy is more important than choosing a wine that follows a pairing chart.
When wine is made thoughtfully, it tends to feel comfortable with or without food.

Dessert Wines, Chocolate, and Valentine’s Day

One area where people feel the most pressure on Valentine’s Day is dessert, especially when chocolate is involved.

Chocolate and wine are closely associated with Valentine’s Day, but there is more than one way to approach the pairing.

A helpful starting point is understanding sweetness. When a wine is noticeably less sweet than a dessert, it can taste thin or bitter by comparison. That is why dessert wines often work beautifully with sweets and why they are traditionally enjoyed at the end of the evening.

That said, richness and intensity matter just as much as sweetness.

With deeply rich, dark chocolate desserts, bold red wines can be an excellent match. The bitterness of dark chocolate and the structure of a fuller wine can complement each other, creating a pairing that feels indulgent rather than clashing.

The key is balance. Lighter desserts often benefit from sweeter wines. Rich, intense chocolate desserts can handle wines with depth and structure, even if those wines are dry.

Knowing that both approaches can work removes pressure and allows you to choose what feels right.

Sparkling Wine Is About Mood

If dessert sits on one end of the spectrum, sparkling wine often lives on the other.

Sparkling wine is often associated with celebration, but it does not need a reason to be opened.

Bubbles bring energy to an evening and help keep things feeling light and relaxed. Sparkling wines can be made in different ways, including fermentation or carbonation, and each style can serve a purpose.

What matters most is how the wine feels in the glass and how it fits your night.
Sparkling wine works best when it supports the mood you want to create.

Wine as a thoughtful gesture

Of course, wine is not always shared across a table.

Not every Valentine’s Day includes a dinner reservation. Sometimes wine is the gift itself.

A thoughtfully chosen bottle can be a simple and meaningful gesture. It shows care without needing explanation. When wine is given as a gift, approachability often matters more than complexity.

The intention behind the bottle is what makes it memorable.

Why Wine on Valentine’s Day?

All of this leads to a simple question: Why wine?

Wine has a particular quality that makes it well suited to Valentine’s Day. It asks you to sit down. It asks you to linger.

Beer is casual. Cocktails are energizing. Wine slows things down in a way that fits an evening meant for connection. Pouring a glass, letting it breathe, noticing how it tastes as the night unfolds, these small rituals create space for conversation and presence.

Valentine’s Day can feel rushed or transactional if you let it. Wine, when chosen thoughtfully and enjoyed without pressure, becomes a way to resist that. It turns the evening into something you savor rather than something you check off a list.

That is what makes it worth opening a bottle.

For the anxious reader: a few starting points

If all of this still feels like a lot, that’s okay.

If you have never bought wine before or feel uncertain about where to begin, here are a few guideposts that tend to work.

If your partner dislikes dry wine, look for wines labeled demi-sec, off-dry, or semi-sweet. These have a touch of sweetness that makes them approachable without being cloying.

If you are unsure what they like at all, sparkling wine or rosé are safe bets. They feel celebratory without being heavy, and most people enjoy them even if wine is not usually their thing.

If you are buying wine as a gift and want it to feel thoughtful, choose something with a story or a beautiful label. The gesture matters more than the vintage.

And if you are still uncertain, ask someone at the wine shop. Describing the evening you are planning is more helpful than trying to name a grape variety you are not sure about.

Slowing Down Is the Point

At the heart of all of this is one simple idea: Great wine takes time to make, and it rewards being enjoyed the same way.

Valentine’s Day is a reminder that one bottle enjoyed slowly often creates a stronger memory than several bottles opened without attention. Wine has a way of encouraging us to slow down, if we let it.

a litte inspiration for Your valentine’s Day:

With that mindset in place, here are a few wines that reflect how we think about Valentine’s Day at LaBelle Winery:

At LaBelle Winery, we make wines with these moments in mind. We use minimal intervention methods because we believe wine should be as clean and transparent as possible.
That approach allows the wine to feel more natural and easier to enjoy, without unnecessary additions getting in the way. No rules, just ideas.

Here are a few that tend to feel especially fitting for Valentine’s Day (think of them as starting points, not instructions):

Rosé in All Its Forms:

Easygoing, expressive, and versatile. Rosé works whether you are sharing a meal, giving a bottle as a gift, or simply enjoying a glass together.

Sparkling Wines for Energy and Ease

Light, lively, and mood-setting. A natural choice for starting the evening or keeping things relaxed.

Easygoing Wines to Share

Approachable wines that feel comfortable whether wine is the focus of the evening or simply part of it.

Dessert and Chocolate Pairings

Two paths, both worth enjoying: For lighter or sweeter desserts, wines with natural sweetness tend to shine. For rich, dark chocolate desserts, wines with depth and structure can be just as satisfying.

In the end, what matters most is what is in your glass and who you are sharing it with.

Closing

When you strip everything else away, Valentine’s Day is about connection.

Wine does not need to be perfect to be enjoyed. It simply needs to fit the moment.

When wine is made thoughtfully and enjoyed without pressure, it becomes part of the memory rather than the focus of it. And that is what makes Valentine’s Day feel meaningful in the first place.

With Love,


– Amy LaBelle

About beyond the bottle:

Beyond the Bottle is about transparency, education, and a shared appreciation for thoughtful, intentional winemaking. We invite you to follow along—and discover what truly makes a wine worth drinking. NH Wine, World Class Quality.

Read our previous Beyond the bottle blog posts:

Choosing Holiday Wines: The Ultimate Winemaker’s Guide to Entertaining and Gifting

 

The Temperature Control Truth in Winemaking

 

Wine Additives You Don’t Need

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