Whether you’re sweet or sour toward celebrating Valentine’s Day, February 14th is an opportunity to celebrate our love of German wines! Enjoy the classic sweets and German wine pairings below with your significant other or Galentine’s gang, or simply treat yourself.
Sekt with Conversation Hearts
Tell your Valen-wine how you feel with the cute phrases on Conversation Hearts, followed by a cheers with bubbly from Germany (where sparkling wine is called Sekt). The lightly-flavored candies get a boost with these bubbles, especially a light-bodied, racy Riesling Sekt. The bonus? Just talking about Sekt offers even more V-Day puns to go with the ones printed on the hearts. Time to get Sekty!
Off-Dry Riesling with Sour Gummy Hearts
Any fruit-forward sour candy is a match made in heaven for off-dry Riesling. Kabinett and Spätlese styles of German Riesling express bursts of citrus and orchard fruit flavors, with a touch of residual sugar to balance the lively acidity. German Riesling is like biting into a crisp green apple – a refreshing, zippy sip between bites of mouth-puckering sugar-coated sour candies.
Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) with Chocolate-Covered Strawberries
Chocolate Covered Strawberries and German Pinot Noir create a pairing power couple. The Pinot’s red berry flavors will complement the strawberries, with enough oomph to stand up to delicious chocolate, but not too much tannin to overwhelm the dessert. The trick with chocolate and wine – too much tannin in your wine will make the pairing taste bitter. Pinot Noir from a cool climate like Germany is a simple solution to heavy, tannic reds from warmer regions.
Sweet Riesling with a Classic Box of Chocolates
Some rules are meant to be broken, especially when it comes to wine and food pairings! You might have heard that chocolate is challenging to pair with wine, or that white wine will not complement cacao. A dry white wine is likely going to clash with your favorite chocolate, but an aged white wine with the sugar content and rich complexity of a Riesling Auslese, Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA), or Eiswein (Ice Wine) can be a thrilling flavor experience with a mixed box of chocolates.
The beauty of Riesling is most evident in its noble sweet expressions. When Riesling grapes are left on the vine after the main harvest is completed in Germany, they develop natural sweetness and concentrated flavors that produce decadent dessert wines but retain enough acidity that keeps them from tasting cloying. Learn more about German ripeness levels here.
We hope you enjoy playing matchmaker with German wine pairings this Valentine’s Day! Tag us at @GermanWineUSA if you try any of our wine & candy combos: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
