It’s tricky but not impossible and well worth the effort for Valentine’s Day so here are a few tips.

Aim for similarity of flavours. For sweeter, more delicate chocolate with a low cocoa percentage, you need a sweeter wine. Dark chocolate can be matched with a fuller bodied wine so that the bitterness and intense flavours are adequately matched.

A tawny port, a light sweet Riesling or a sparkling wine all work very well with a white chocolate or milk chocolate.

For dark, bittersweet chocolates try a cabernet sauvignon as long as it isn’t oaky or perhaps a spicy shiraz.

Definitely Chocolate specialise in luxury, hand made chocolate gifts. I’m a dark chocolate fan so this is my choice:

It’s the romance collection of 40 premium dark chocolates.

If you’re stuck for gift ideas for Valentines Day, we’ve put together some great gift ideas all with a wine theme.

Other great online merchants for Valentine’s Day Wine Gifts include Edible Blooms for something a bit different and Little Luxury for beautifully presented gifts.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

However, Pinot Noir is the classic wine match with turkey and Christmas dinner in general. It’s bigger in flavour than white wine so complements richer food but it doesn’t have a lot of tannin compared with more powerful wines such as big Cabernet Sauvignons. The lighter style complements turkey extremely well.

Pinot Noir is best served slightly chilled so put it in the fridge half an hour before Christmas lunch.

There are some excellent Pinot Noir Deals around just in time for Christmas. Pinot Noir tends to be more expensive than other varieties because it’s difficult to make well and the yield is usually low. One of the cheapest deals around is the Delirium Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir 2010 available for $6.83 a bottle in a case order from Wine Market. Full retail price is $16.99 so it’s a bargain. We also recommend the Riversdale Estate Grown Tasmania Pinot Noir at $16.99 a bottle from Cellarmasters. It won four bronze medals and was awarded 4.5 stars at Winestate magazine Jul/Aug 2011 Regional tasting.

So which wines should you drink with hot or spicy food such as Indian or Thai?

With mild Indian curries try a crisp, fruity white such as a
sauvignon blanc.

Moderately hot Indian curries such as rogan josh are good with a soft, fruity red such as merlot.

Yoghurt based hot, spicy curries are best complemented by riesling.

With Thai curries white wine works better than red wine – a riesling or viognier is a good choice.

Peter Lehmann Layers Adelaide White 2009 is a great wine for pairing with spicy food and it’s on offer at a fantastic price at the moment as it’s a discontinued line. Grab a case for $110, down from $264. It’s a bargain especially given the quality. Peter Lehmann is a 5 star Halliday rated winery.

There is something very appealing about Christmas food and wine in cold climates however. Thoughts of mince pies, mulled wine, log fires not to mention roast turkey and all the trimmings. So, the concept of Christmas in July has gained in popularity with those in Australia who are reluctant to give up the opportunity for Christmas food and wine enjoyed at the time of year when the climate is more suitable.

Whether you call it Christmas in July, Yulefest or just like planning a special cold weather meal at this time of year, we’ve put together some wine pairing suggestions for you.

If you’re having a few people round, a glass of sparkling wine is always a great way of getting the party going. A sparkling red wine makes a great party drink and is great for kicking things off to a good start. Our pick for a Christmas in July sparkling red is the Sorby Adams Morticia Sparkling Shiraz Nv for $15.99 per bottle.

Now on to matching Christmas food with wine. Traditional roast turkey, duck or goose courses are rich and full of flavour. They are also accompanied by equally rich, flavoursome foods such as cranberry sauces and fruity stuffings. These type of foods can be matched with wines that are equally powerful and full of flavour. If you prefer red wine with a roast turkey dinner then a shiraz is a good choice. We recommend the Dandelion Vineyards Lionheart Of The Barossa 2009!

If you prefer a white wine then a chardonnay is a good choice to pair with turkey. Another wine variety that works well with the fruitiness of Christmas Dinner dishes is Viognier.

Finally we can’t talk about Christmas food and wine without mentioning mulled wine so here’s a link to our recipe for mulled wine. Try it with mince pies.

The book is called Ryn and Cordie’s wine rules after the two authors and contains lots of recipes, basic rules for wine and food matching and a food and wine matching chart. It attempts to demystify the art of matching wine with food in order to enhance the enjoyment of both and to avoid clashes.

The book is self published and available from the website.

1 bottle of medium to full bodied red wine – a cabernet sauvignon is good
1 cup water
2 Tbsp brown sugar or honey
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
1 sliced orange
1 sliced lemon
1 stick cinnamon
6-8 cloves
6-8 split cardomom pods

Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and heat to simmering point over a very low heat stirring occasionally. Don’t let it boil or the alcohol will evaporate. Keep it barely at simmering point for about 20 minutes. Serve it warm in warmed sturdy glasses or metal goblets.

You don’t want to spend too much money on wine that goes into a mulled wine recipe so check out this selection of cheap wine online.

We also pull together the best deals on cabernet sauvignon on a regular basis so if you want to buy online at discount prices browse our selection.

Here are our suggestions for selecting the perfect wines to complement Christmas food in Australia and get parties off to a sparkling start!

We’ll start with Sparkling wines, the obvious choice for Christmas party drinks. There are some great sparkling whites and reds for under $10 or you can opt for something special like the superb Croser 2005 at $47.95 a bottle.

Christmas in Australia often means cold meat and seafood platters eaten in a relaxed setting outdoors. The best wines to pair with Christmas seafood are crisp, dry white styles such as Sauvignon Blanc  or Chardonnay.

If you prefer a red with cold roast turkey then a good, easy drinking choice is a Merlot or a festive sparkling shiraz.

Better still let the experts do the work for you. We’ve found 3 super mixed cases of premium wines for Christmas.

In red wine, the astringency causes the dryness in the mouth, or the mouth puckering sensation, when drinking the wine. Astringency is more about feel or texture than it is about taste. The term “mouthfeel” is often used to describe the quality in a red wine. It can often be bitter and unpleasant.

The bitter, astringent characteristics in tannic red wines are softened when the wine is consumed with food. This is because of the behaviour of tannins. They bind to proteins and will bind to the proteins in food if present instead of just the tissues and saliva in the mouth. It gives a smoother taste to the wine.

Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz are generally tannic wines although it can depend on the wine itself. Pinot Noir is less tannic.

The classic pairing with tannic red wine is beef. Other meat dishes like roast lamb or pork which are fattier tend not to stand up to the tannins quite so well so it’s better to opt for a softer, less tannic to begin with such as Pinot Noir or maybe a dry white wine.

There are some general guidelines when pairing wine with cheese:

• Hard cheeses are generally paired with more tannic wines
• Soft creamy cheeses need some acidity
• Strong, pungent cheeses need strong wines to match them

Here are some pairings which work well:

• A mild and creamy brie with an unwooded chardonnay or a pinot noir. The creamy texture of brie coats the tongue and needs a wine with some acidity and concentrated aromas.
• A tangy goats cheese with a dry white wine such as sauvignon blanc.
• A pungent, salty, rich Roquefort cheese with a sweet wine like a sauterne or an off-dry riesling.
• A sharp cheddar with a shiraz or cabernet sauvignon
• A triple cream cheese with a sparkling wine
• The classic match – Port and stilton

The question of what wine goes with pizza is quite a common one. I’ve come across it a few times online so here’s a summary of points to consider. With all questions on wine and food pairings though it’s important to remember that each person’s taste is different so there are no hard and fast rules.

The traditional pizza with a topping of tomato sauce and cheese has evolved into a myriad of styles and toppings. This makes the question somewhat open ended. However it’s fair to say that pizzas are usually strong flavoured especially with the spicy and salty toppings that are often included in the form of pepperoni, anchovies, olives etc.

One of the premises behind good wine and food pairings is that the food shouldn’t overpower the wine and neither should the wine overpower the food. You want to be able to taste the characteristics of each. Therefore strong flavours in the food call for a big, robust wine to complement it.

Red wine is a traditional pairing with pizza and a merlot would be a good choice especially with a meaty topping such as pepperoni or sausage.

If you want a white wine it’s worth experimenting with a verdhelo. Verdhelos are lemony, zesty and acidic. They have a very clean, vibrant taste. Paired with pizza the acidity is more muted and toned down.

And for something different again a choice that is a favourite of mine, a sparkling red wine. Maybe not an obvious pairing with pizza but perfect to celebrate the end of the week.