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On 11^th February, three days early, my wife Angela and I presented Valentine Wine to the Central London Wine Society (CLWS), which meets on Wednesdays. These were the wines:

1. Pasqua ‘Romeo & Juliet’,Passione e Sentimento, Prosecco NV
2. Jean Valentin Champagne NV
3. La Valentina, Spelt, Trebbiano d’Abruzzo 2022
4. Sanct Valentin Chardonnay, St. Michael-Eppan, Alto Adige 2023
5. Romance Rosé, Ch. de Berne, Côtes de Provence 2024
6. Esprit de Séduction, Dom. Pascal Berthier, Saint-Amour 2022
7. Château Valentin, Côtes de Blaye 2018
8. Beso de Sirena, Bodegas Tarón, Rioja

I found and chose these wines by online search for “Valentine wine”, principally using Wine Searcher. France, Italy and Spain provided nearly all the results, reflecting their Catholic but not necessarily Latinate, origins. Romance, after all, was at the outset any writing in the vernacular, as opposed to Latin.

With Twelfth Night at the back of my mind, I would say of these wines “Some are born romantic, some have romance thrust upon them.” Jean Valentin, Cantina La Valentina, Saint-Amour and Château Valentin derive their connection to the ill-fated Santo Valentina by virtue of the name of their domaine or commune; the other makers decided to make the association because it reflected the style of the wine.

CLWS tasters score each wine on a scale from 1 to 7, 1 being faulty, 2 acceptable, 3 fair, 4 good, 5 very good, 6 excellent and 7 outstanding (seven is heaven). Tasters generally mark fairly but conservatively, probably the only thing we have in common with Jancis Robinson MW apart from a love of wine. Wine of the night on this occasion was the Champagne (5.4) and among the still wines, Sanct Valentin Chardonnay (4.8) followed by one of the reds, Château Valentin (4.6).

Why did St. Michael-Eppan choose the name Sanct Valentin for their very tasty Chardonnay? I wrote and asked them that, and Magherita in Marketing replied that it refers to the old manor Ansitz Sanct Valentin – reflecting the Austrian history of this region. So this wine – and therefore all three top scoring wines – have a very old association with the Valentine name via the family or terroir, rather than as a marketing element. Some are born romantic.

But all the wines were well made and even the most modest – the Prosecco and the Provence Rosé – were true to their origins.

The last wine, Beso de Sirena (Mermaid’s Kiss) is an unusual semi-dulce Viura. It is made with a long, cool maceration (a technique called brisado in Spain, for 12 hours in this case), then a cool 11°C fermentation cut short by a plunge to 4°C when a little sugar remains. I asked the tasters to estimate the residual sugar. Dr. Bernard Lamb, biologist, President of the Queen’s English Society, brewer, infuseur and winemaker, was very close with 20 g/L – it is in fact 18 g/L. I wonder whether this wine is similar to what most Rioja was like up to the 18th century, when whites are said to have outnumbered reds, and stuck fermentations would have been common. Regardless, its nutty, maderised style was reminiscent of aged Viña Tondonia Blanco apart from the touch of sweetness.

I wanted to end the evening with a flourish, matching this wine with gourmandise of some sort, but observing the rule that it had to be even less sweet than the wine. My first thought was lime and chili chocolate, but the only examples I could find had a hundred times as much chili as I was after. I settled for macarons, and well done Waitrose for offering them at a sensible price not found elsewhere.

Along the way Angela and I told the story of Santo Valentina, who (according to legend) performed marriage rites for young couples in defiance of the edict of Emperor Claudius II (The Cruel). Claudius wanted the men to serve in his legions instead. Valentino was arrested and put to a grisly death for his actions, but not before sending a farewell note to his jailer’s daughter signed “Dal tuo Valentina”. We drank to his memory and bravery, and to the memory of that fine actress and belle d’amour, Brigitte Bardot. We also made time for Chaucer and Shakespeare in their references to Valentina. Quite a night, and only wine can do this.

Happy Saint Valentine’s Day everyone!