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Texas wines for valentines
Texas Texas produces some exceptional, high-quality wines that make excellent Valentine's Day gifts, said Gene Estes, president of the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association. They also pair well with foods and flowers, according to other wine and viticulture experts. "The state's wine industry has grown significantly, and Texans are now consuming Texas wines at a greater pace than those in many other states," Estes said. "That's because Texans are proud of their home-state products, and because the quality and variety of Texas wines has increased significantly, particularly in the past 10 years." For Valentine's Day, Texas not only produces some excellent wines for gifting, but many wineries throughout the state provide musical entertainment, wine tastings, wine-and-food pairings and other romantic activities for couples, he added. While more recently many of the "rules" of wine and food pairings have been loosened, there are still some well-established guidelines, said Mike Sipowicz, state enology specialist for the Texas AgriLife Extension Service. "If you're planning on cooking a Valentine's Day meal or going to a restaurant that serves Texas wines, there are some pairings that complement each other well," he said. "Cabernets, malbecs and merlots are good choices for pairing with a juicy steak, venison, lamb or veal. "Syrahs and tempranillos pair well with grilled lamb chops and barbecued pork, and also with beef. Grilled or barbecued chicken and turkey, however, pair better with a white zinfandel or blush wine, while chardonnay is almost always a safe bet with chicken, turkey or pasta dishes. Rieslings and chenin blancs typically go well with seafood and spicy dishes." For pairings with another favorite Valentine's Day food--chocolate--Sipowicz has additional suggestions. "Texas obviously makes some really good cabernets and merlots, but malbecs are gaining ground, and orange muscat is also becoming a very popular product for many Texas wineries," he said. "Bitter and semi-sweet dark chocolates go very well with these wines, as well as zinfandels, port and sherry. Rieslings and gewúrztraminers go well with white chocolate but also pair nicely with vanilla, caramel and honey, as well as many fresh fruits." There is valid scientific evidence behind many established wine and food pairings, said B. Greg Cobb, Ph.D., a Texas AgriLife Research plant scientist at Texas A&M University's Department of Horticultural Sciences in College Station. "A good rule of thumb is to pair bold foods with bold wines," Cobb said. "Tannins found in red wine interact with proteins and tend to enhance the flavor of high-protein meats and cheeses, while reducing the perception of fat. And recent research has shown that there is an association with iron, which is higher in red wines, and the strong 'fishy' aftertaste that often occurs when reds and fish are paired. That's why fish is typically paired with white wines." Cobb added that pairing hot, spicy foods, like Thai or Mexican, with a sweet white will help cut the "hotness" and enhance the flavor. "Sweet, spicy dishes tend to make wines taste acidic, so lighter reds or whites are better," he said. Wine and horticulture experts at the Texas Department of Agriculture have taken pairings a step further by suggesting what Texas wines pair well with plants or cut flowers, especially Texas-grown flowers. The pairings were made as part of the department's Two Texas Treasures initiative of the department's GO TEXAN marketing program. "We're inviting people to share the beauty of Texas-grown flowers with the taste of Texas wines," said Bobby Champion Jr., state coordinator for wine marketing with the Texas Department of Agriculture. "Connecting wines with horticulture is as natural as a food pairing; it's just a matter of finding similar characteristics that give each a distinctive personality. Many characteristics that appeal to people in a particular flower also exist in a certain wine." Two Texas Treasures pairings with some popular Valentine's Day flowers include red roses with cabernet sauvignon, yellow roses with sangiovese and chrysanthemums with chardonnay. Other pairings include wines matched with azaleas, larkspur, hydrangea, amaryllis, sunflowers, Gerbera daisies, snapdragons, even cactus. For more, go to www.gotexanwine.org and click on "How to Pair Wine and Flowers."
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