Find perfect match for budget, Valentine

As Valentine's Day approaches, you might find yourself looking for that perfect gift.

What could make for a more romantic evening than snuggling up to your sweetheart with a box of chocolates and a bottle of wine?

The wine-tasting group tried wines in two price categories with Dove's dark chocolate to help you with your search. We chose dark chocolate because it generally pairs better with wine than does milk chocolate.

In looking for a wine to complement dark chocolate, we sought wines with a strong fruit component to complement the chocolate flavors and a big-bodied wine with enough tannins to stand up to dark chocolate's bitterness.

Another approach to pairing wine with sweets is to pick a wine that is at least as sweet or sweeter than the dessert. This is a pretty good rule to follow, but as a taster said, with wine, rules are made to be broken.

We tried several types of wine -- sparkling, still, dry and sweet -- looking for that perfect match.

For those of you who are budget-conscious, we tried five wines priced under $20. Here is what we found:

- 2002 Les Alcusses at $16.99. This was a red blend by Celler del Roure from Valencia, Spain. It included grapes native to Spain (primarily mando) and Bordeaux grapes including cabernet sauvignon and merlot. The wine offered buttered toast, smoke and briny aromas. When paired with chocolate, the wine took on a pronounced raspberry flavor and the chocolate tasted considerably sweeter.

- 2003 Vinum Cellars Pets Petite Sirah at $13.99. We immediately noticed dried licorice aromas as well as hints of menthol and salted butter. This wine enhanced the dusty, cocoa quality of the chocolate, but the wine was overpowered by the chocolate and lost all character. This one would be easy to find on the shelves because of the dog on the label.

- 2003 The Lucky Country Cabernet-Shiraz Blend at $17.99. This wine was a blend of 55 percent shiraz and 45 percent cabernet sauvignon from the Barossa Valley of Australia. Toasty oak and juicy cherry scents reminded one of our tasters of breakfast toast and jam. We also detected hints of roses. The wine brought out hazelnut flavors in the chocolate. After we swallowed the chocolate, we were left with the lingering flavors of the wine.

- 2002 Les Clos de Paulilles Banyuls Rimage at $17.99. This fortified dessert wine is from the Banyuls region of France. It was made from the Grenache grape and was similar to a port wine. This was the only dessert wine we tried in this category, and wow, did it make a difference. The wine itself smelled of chocolate and oranges. When we tried it with the chocolate, the textures of both the wine and chocolate became smooth and creamy. Flavors of chocolate and oranges intermingled pleasantly on the palate, and lingered on the long finish. This sumptuous pairing was the clear winner of our tasting.

- 2001 Gneiss Cabernet Sauvignon by Reynolds Family Winery at $19.99. In the nose we found cherry alcohol and off-putting fingernail polish odors. With the chocolate, it reminded us of chocolate-covered cherry cough drops. If your valentine has a cold, this wine might be a good choice.

Kate Sutherland was a co-writer of this column. Questions can be sent to Frank Sutherland, The Tennessean, 1100 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203 or e-mailed to fsutherland