Romantic REDS

By Liz Biggs

Are you looking for that special bottle of red wine to complement your Valentine’s Day dinner? The East Hill Bottle Shop, located on the corner of 12th Avenue and Cross Street, has just what you need.

Locally owned and operated by the proprietors of The Bottle Shop Downtown and The Wine Bar on Palafox, The East Hill Bottle Shop offers more than 1,000 wine selections, 50 craft beers and plenty of free parking.

Open for over a year now, the East Hill Bottle Shop is a popular place on Wednesday nights.

For $10, you can taste wines from around the world from 5 to 7 p.m. Wine specialist Todd Vucovich shares his vast knowledge of the wines he pours, educating customers on the countries, regions and grapes they come from.

Participants receive $5 off purchases.

For Valentine’s Day, Vucovich recommends these romantic reds, all under $20!

Georges Duboeuf Pinot Noir, $16.99 Georges Duboeuf, famous for his Beaujolais wines in central France, produces this outstanding value pinot noir from grapes grown near the southern coast of France. This tastes more like an Oregon pinot noir than French with its sweet cherry and strawberry fruit, nice acidity and soft tannins. The homerun food pairing is salmon (grilled, baked or poached) but also is a great match with duck, pork tenderloin and grilled chicken.

Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, $16.99

Montepulciano is the premier grape in the Abruzzo region in Italy. Lunaria has taken this a step further with this certified biodynamic and organic wine. It’s the proverbial velvet glove in your mouth with its black cherry, cocoa, raspberry and tobacco. It pairs well with bold meats such as brisket, lamb, roasted pork shoulder, cured meats or even a meat lover’s pizza.

Gran Passione Rosso, $15.99

Gran Passione or Great Passion: what better wine to enjoy on Valentine’s Day. Made in the Veneto region surrounding Venice, Italy, this wine is produced allowing a portion of the grapes to dry in the sun before fermentation, which results in a full-bodied red wine with a soft mouthfeel. Excellent food pairings include roasted red meats, game, stews and hard cheeses.

The Symington family has been producing wine in the Douro Valley in Portugal for five generations. While famous for its port, a fortified dessert wine, Portugal also produces some of the best value dry red wines in the world such as this one. This is full-bodied, showing dark red and black fruit such as plum and black cherry, but has enough acidity to keep it fresh. It pairs well with grilled meats and aged cheeses.

D’Aqui Dolce, $18.99

No Valentine’s Day would be complete without chocolate. A great pairing with chocolate or any chocolate dessert, this sweet sparkling red wine from northwest Italy hits new heights with chocolate covered strawberries. It’s also a great addition to cocktails including a different spin on the classic Old Fashioned. See rosaregale.com/cocktails/regale-fashioned for the recipe.