In This Email:
Roses are red... 
Great Wines and Gifts 
Wine and Romance 
Wine Team Picks 
In the Cork Boards: Red Wine and Headaches 


Roses are red...

...chocolates are sweet. And when it comes to Valentine's Day, bubbly 
can't be beat. Et voila: come February 14, we recommend Champagne & 
Truffles, the most romantically indulgent couple since Scott 
and Zelda. 

On the other hand, if hearts and roses make you think red, Merlot & 
Chocolate will surpass the most beautifully bittersweet ecstasy 
you're capable of conjuring. 

After that (and a glance at the selections offered below), you and 
your love dove are on your own. Swirl, sniff, sip, taste, savor, 
relax, and enjoy. 

To learn more about each item listed below, simply click on its name.
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Great Wines and Gifts

Heart Stopper, $18.00
This hand-cut, valentine-shaped stopper is a wonderful gift for a 
wine lover. No invitation to cardiac arrest, it nevertheless shows 
your affection for saving wine. Arrives boxed. 

Toujours Provence, $49.00
Few places are as seductive as Provence but if you have to stay home, 
this lovely, lavender-scented collection of treats will transport you 
in spirit to the south of France. It includes a bottle of Cotes du 
Ventoux, olives with Provencal herbs, French sausages, Dijon mustard, 
toasts, sweets, and a rustic market basket. 

Addicted to Love, $29.00
This wonderfully suggestive love kit includes a luscious Cabernet 
Sauvignon, an Aromatherapy candle called "Seduce," a container of 
Chocoholics body frosting, and a paintbrush. As the wine's label 
recommends: Light the flame, swirl the wine, spread the sweetness, 
and taste the love. 

Champagne and Truffles, $49.00
If Champagne is the most luxurious wine and chocolate is the most 
sensual sweet ... well, you do the V-Day math. In the realm of 
hedonistic indulgence, this pairing of exotic Vosges Haut Chocolat 
truffles with a rich Medot Brut Champagne is off the charts. 

Two to Tango, $24.00
You can sip a grande latte by yourself, go to work, or fry an egg by 
yourself. You can answer all your email on your own. There are a lot 
of things you can do alone. But a solo tango? Ay caramba, NEVER! So 
put the moves on your dance partner with this ripe and sultry tasting 
trip to South America. 

White Hot Love, $35.00
When it's freezing in the Northern Hemisphere, it's steamy Down 
Under -- so we've put together a pair of white wines to stoke the 
February flames: a stylish Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, full 
of fruit and finesse, and a crisp, satisfying Aussie Chardonnay. 

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Wine and Romance

Everybody seems to agree that wine and romance go hand in hand, so we 
asked our Wine Team - a seasoned group of experts boasting 150 years 
of collective experience - exactly why and how love and wine are 
linked. Here are their professional observations. 

Lee Codding:
Wine is made with care and passion, which can't help but transmit 
itself to the drinker. It's only natural for wine to have a central 
place in romance, because love is an essential ingredient in 
its production. 

Peter Granoff:
Candy may be dandy and liquor quicker, but nothing extends a romantic 
moment like a fine wine. 

Maire Murphy:
When we describe wine, we describe its body, texture, taste, and 
experience. That, in itself, is romantic. 

Diana Jacklich:
Ever wonder why wine language is rife with such adjectives as sexy, 
seductive, smooth, velvety, and lush? Because wine is one of the last 
legal sybaritic pursuits. 

Carolyn Dempsey:
Wine evokes sensory pleasure and sustenance, which lift the spirit 
and return us to what really matters. Whether it's the nourishment of 
breaking bread and sharing stories, or simply the nurturing nature of 
wine itself (which eases the mind and soothes the soul), it's about 
taking time to savor the beautiful. 

Maire Murphy:
There exist some dessert wines that must be sipped only from a 
woman's navel. If that isn't romantic, what is? 

Julian Davies:
Of course, no woman in her right mind would drop her laundry without 
half a bottle of '47 Cheval Blanc down her.... 

Peter Granoff:
Wine lovers are wrong when they say that great wine is like sex. 
Great wine is sex. The delicacy and tenderness involved in opening a 
fine old bottle of wine is a kind of foreplay, and great wine, like 
the act of love, engages us on many levels: sensory, emotional, 
and intellectual. 

Diana Jacklich:
"The soft extractive note of an aged cork being withdrawn has the 
true sound of a man opening his heart" (William Samuel Benwell). 

Jeff Prather:
Wine makes us giddy with youthful energy; it makes us feel warm and 
fuzzy; it causes us to say silly things and mean them; it reduces our 
inhibitions; it's a sensual magnifier; it's a powerful muse; it makes 
everything taste better. Oh, did I say wine? Well then, wine must be 
bottled love. 

Peter Granoff:
Romance engages all the senses -- as does a fluted glass of 
Champagne, especially when savored by candlelight. It's a sensory 
treat in all respects: It sparkles like the eyes of your beloved, 
offers the same delight to the nose as the object of your affection, 
and when you bring it to your lips.... 

Taking Peter's cue, Tim Gaiser provides further dining advice:
If Champagne is our most romantic wine, there's no better occasion 
than Valentine's Day for a Champagne dinner. It enables you to (1) 
serve everything at the same time and (2) not do any cooking 
whatsoever. Just pick up a bottle or two of your favorite bubbly, 
plus an assortment of caviar, cheeses, pates, fresh shellfish, smoked 
trout/salmon/scallops, chocolates, and any other finger food that 
strikes your fancy. Invite that special someone to the table, open 
the first bottle, and simply let nature, romance, intimate 
conversation, true love, and amateur wrestling take their course. 

For ideas on which wine to have in your corner, check out wine.com's 
full selection of Champagne and sparkling wine.

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Wine Team Picks: Peter Marks on Super Bowl Wines

If you're hosting a big bash on Super Sunday, check out our Super 
Sixer. But if you're just looking for a bottle to bring to a party, 
here are five great possibilities. There's something bubbly (the 
Cremant de Limoux), something familiar (Chard), something unusual (a 
South African blend), something old (the old-vines Zin), and 
something new (the '99 Rhone). 

1997 Dom. J. Laurens Cremant de Limoux Clos des Demoiselles Tete de 
Cuvee, France, $15.00
1997 Beaucanon Chardonnay Reserve, Napa Valley, California, $12.00
1999 Le Riche Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon, Stellenbosch, 
South Africa, $16.00
1998 Dry Creek Zinfandel Old Vines, Sonoma County, 
California, $18.00
1999 Andre Brunel Cotes du Rhone Cuvee Sommelongue, Southern Rhone, 
France, $9.95

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In the Cork Boards: Red Wine and Headaches

Does wine make your head hurt? It does for MJBNYC. "Whenever I drink 
California wine ... a migrane is triggered and I wind up in severe 
pain," he wrote recently on the wine.com Cork Boards. "Does anyone 
know what is present -- or not -- in CA wine that initiates my bad 
reaction?" Cork Boarders have already presented a variety of 
theories. Click here to join the discussion. 

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