The Truth About What makes a Really Good Bottle of Wine

It’s the most romantic time of the year.  Everywhere loving couples are stocking up on boxes of chocolate and bottles of wine to demonstrate their desire for one another.  This most amourous day (which, by the way, happens to be Erin’s birthday), got us to thinking: what bottle would we bust out to impress the gents who send our hearts all a-flutter?

Courtney is married with young kids, so if she gets her way this Valentine’s Day, she’ll be asleep by 9:30 and not woken up for 12 hours.  Va-va-voom.

Erin is currently single, and will likely be toasting her solo self with tequila shots in some karaoke bar this February 14th, but thinking back to days when she was just one of two islands in the stream, she and her then0-better halves indulged in some very good vinos as their irises turned from round blue disks into thumping hearts, like a love-sick cartoon characters.

Erin likes to tell the story of her best date ever — a first date of all things.  It’s surprising because usually first dates are more awkward than awesome, but this one was probably helped along by the generous support of our good Italian pal, Nino Franco — a terrific Prosecco that can be found on many good wine lists in Toronto and occasionally in Vintages for somewhere around $20 (but considerably more in restaurants).  Light and refreshing, with flavours of melon, peach and pear, she brought this along for a summer afternoon date in the park (yes it was drinking illegally, and we are legally obliged to tell you that The Wine Sisters neither advises nor endorses the breaking of any laws, blah, blah, blah).  Anyway, Erin & her new found interest whittled away the afternoon, chatting on a blanket in High Park, drinking sparkling from plastic cups (so incognito), and munching on white cherries & Beemster cheese.  A fabulous day that ran well into the evening hours and has forever cemented Nino Franco as one of her favourite wines.

When telling this story to a friend of ours, who is also a sommelier, he had quite an opposite experience.  Looking to stoke the embers of his troubled marriage, he arranged for a nice dinner for he and his bride.  Included in the evening was a dig through his cellar for a nice bottle of Bordeaux he’d been saving.  We forget which bottle he said he indulged in, but it was some sort of first growth, worth a couple hundred bucks, and one he had on reserve for a very special occasion.

Anyway, he uncorked the wine and sat down to dinner to reaquaint himself with his wife.  Half way through the first glass, she told him she wanted a divorce.  He swears he’s never had a worse bottle in his life.

So many of you ask us about what wine you should buy, and we’re happy to offer you our thoughts, so absolutely keep asking, but we’re not so sure it’s the bottle of wine all on its own that’s the deciding factor in your enjoyment of it.  Likely the secret to a really good — or really bad — bottle of wine is not necessarily the calibre or price of the bottle, but the company your with.  So this Valentine’s Day, treat your better half — or your best friend, or your mom, or your brother — to a bottle you think looks interesting.  It will probably taste great, because if you enjoy the person your clinking glasses with, chances are you’re probably going to enjoy the wine, too.  But if you’re looking for a recommendation, try the Nino Franco Prosecco – it worked for Erin 😉