Saint-Amour: the ultimate Valentine’s wine
Valentine’s Day, what are you supposed to do with it? But if you really can’t avoid it (or don’t want to), at least do it with a great bottle of wine. The red Saint-Amour from France’s Beaujolais is a bit of an obvious choice, but still tasty enough to get away with it.
Saint-Amour is one of the ten villages with a Cru designation in the Beaujolais region. Cru means something like the best soil composition, which is why they make the finest wines there. So besides a catchy Valentine’s label, there’s also something good in the bottle.
No, this is not ordinary swill
Les Crus du Beaujolais are made from the gamay grape. It is light in colour, has low tannins and relatively little alcohol. The perfect basis for a soft and fruity wine. They also use it for the better-known Beaujolais Nouveau or Beaujolais Primeur: that often unambitious red swill. But despite the similarity in both name and grape, these wines have little in common. The Crus, by contrast, are made with great care, time and attention, and taste seductive and distinctive.
The ultimate love gift
The northernmost Cru is the romantic wine village of Saint-Amour. With the same soil of granite, clay and pebbles as in southern Burgundy, Saint-Amours are just as refined and elegant as their chic neighbours to the north. They are simply made from gamay instead of pinot noir, and are therefore a little lighter and more frivolous. All in all, the perfect love gift.
Perfect match
If you also give it with the heart-shaped, Normandy white-mould cheese Neufchâtel, you’ll turn Valentine’s Day into a completely romantic affair. It may not be the very best combination gastronomically speaking, but who cares at a moment like that? Or are you going all the way with a romantic dinner? Serve the wine lightly chilled and start with a charcuterie board. Then grilled chicken, or even better: fish. This red wine goes perfectly with grilled salmon, tuna or pan-fried plaice.
It goes without saying that a Saint-Amour should not be given anonymously. Love is all very well, but not getting to enjoy any of this divine liquid yourself would truly be a sin.
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