All romantics that truly love to eat must have a special place in their hearts for chocolate. And I mean real chocolates that contain an abundance of phenylethylamine, the same chemical that is released in the brain when people fall in love, and serotonin, a feel-good stimulant that produces a feeling oftern referred to as love-buzz. On Valentine’s day, savor a selection of quality chocolates with a romantic sweet wine. Mellow-flavored, slightly sweet chocolates beg for a relatively low-alcohol, lightly sparkling wine such as Moscato d’Asti from Piedmont Italy. The delicate bubbles gently rise in unison with emotions while the incredible honey and sweet fruit aromas and flavors from the Muscat grape heighten romantic senses. Two Moscato d’Asti producers I highly recommend are Michele Chiarlo and Prunotto. If you are experiencing hardcore dark chocolates with over 70 percent cocoa content, then a big, slightly sweet red wine such as Amarone makes a wonderful companion. The special process of making Amarone red wines from sun-dried grapes results in a super rich, concentrated and heady wine that tastes somewhat sweet. This makes the wine an ideal partner for high-cocoa content dark chocolates as the ripe fruit of the wine adds flavor dimensions to the chocolate and the sweet tannins of the wine cleanse your mouth making it desirous of another lovely bite of chocolate. It’s also nice to know that Amarone wines come from the same region in Italy as the world’s most famous lovers Romeo and Juliet.
