With Valentine’s Day upon us, our favorite way to celebrate this love-filled day is with a special bottle of wine. This year, we decided to mix up our favorite holiday with two fun Ferrari-Carano experiences:
Use our recipe pairing guide below for a full Valentine’s (or Galentine’s!) Day meal, setting the table with fresh flowers, crisp linens, and pastel-colored tapered candles for a festive atmosphere.
You can also use our tasting mat for a fun tasting experience. To get started, grab a set of glasses and open the wines in our pairing guide below, pouring each into a separate glass and placing them on the outlined circles on your mat. As you move from left to right, take notes directly on the mat as you observe how each wine looks, smells, and tastes. Set out a bowl of simple palate cleansers such as water crackers or a country white loaf of bread, or try including your favorite snacks to create your own pairings! For more details on each of the wines, check out the fact sheets at the end of this post.
First Course:
Ferrari-Carano 2021 Fumé Blanc, Sonoma County
Ferrari-Carano 2019 Chardonnay, Sonoma County
An exquisite union nearly as old as time, the marriage of wine with cheese is hard to beat. For a simple first course that is sure to delight, pair our recipe for Garden Greens with Ricotta Salata and Fennel with our 2021 Fumé Blanc and our 2019 Chardonnay. To begin the tasting experience, note the aromas and flavors of each wine before taking a bite of this fresh salad. Notice the acidity of each. Follow this by sampling the wines alongside your appetizer. For the best tasting experience, we recommend serving your salad with a slice of buttered, crusty bread. A traditional baguette will make an excellent accompaniment, but don’t shy away from alternative loaves- a sesame crusted loaf with this salad and the Fumé Blanc are divine.
Second Course:
Ferrari-Carano 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma County
To begin your second course, serve our 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon from Alexander Valley. With the bottle already open at the start of your meal, the wine will have plenty of time to “breathe,” or oxygenate, allowing the fullness of the wine’s aromas to touch your senses.
Perhaps you are curious why the wine will already be open? The answer to this question lies in the recipe for your main course. Our recipe for Cherry and Cabernet Braised Short Ribs incorporates our Cabernet Sauvignon for a rich depth of flavor, requires little prep-time, and spends most of its cooking time slowly braising in a Dutch oven. As an added bonus – your kitchen will smell incredible. If you have managed to save any of the bread from your first course (we totally understand if you didn’t leave a crumb remaining), fully saturate its remnants with any remaining sauce from your short ribs – you won’t want to miss a single bite. Look for short ribs that still cling firmly to the bone for the best flavor.
Third Course:
Ferrari-Carano 2018 Merlot, Sonoma County
For your final course, a glass of our luscious 2018 Merlot. Note its aromas of plum, cherry, and pomegranate, and observe the soft tannins with each sip. What else do you notice?
For a sweet complementary pairing, you can’t go wrong with chocolate and pomegranate. We recommend serving our Merlot with a chocolate containing between 53% and 65% cacao for the optimal experience. For those of you hav a bit more of a sweet tooth and wish for a more substantial dessert, try biting into a chocolate tart while you sip. With an elegant and long finish, our Merlot plays off of the pomegranates and creaminess in this tart wonderfully.
Don’t wait to shop! Valentine’s Day is here. Let us know you celebrate with Ferrari-Carano with the hashtag #LifeIsDelicious
Ferrari-Carano 2021 Fumé Blanc, Sonoma County Fact Sheet
Ferrari-Carano 2019 Chardonnay, Sonoma County Fact Sheet
Ferrari-Carano 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma County Fact Sheet
Ferrari-Carano 2018 Merlot, Sonoma County Fact Sheet
