“There’s a built-in romance to wine,” Padma Lakshmi, sanctioned bombshell, chef and TV persona eloquently surmises, and she is on the money! Wine and love just seem to go together, and that’s why so many couples will inevitably reach for a bottle of wine to get into the mood for romance. Why is this, you might ask? The courting ritual revolves around good food and drink, as getting to know each other over a meal can prove to be a relatively social yet casual date.
Yet the emphatic pop of the cork when a shade of wine is set free can immediately transform the mood into a more amorous one, thus the liquid invariably slips into a date mix.
A recent online study had a survey on 500 women, asking them what token they would most appreciate from their sweethearts on Valentine’s Day. Of this, a massive 60 per cent claimed that wine ticked their box, rather than chocolates.
The notion of flowers, however, probed a resounding yes, as they are welcome any time of year. Maybe, it’s because the bouquet compliments the wine’s bouquet? Or the aroma from a cluster of red roses offsets the wine’s floral scents? Or we are just reading too far into it… Regardless, all you men out there, take note.
So again you ask, why? Why wine? Apparently, majority of women feel that wine is firstly more adult and romantic than chocolate. Secondly, your lady is not going to inch open the front door, grab the bottle of wine you’ve gifted her and then chug it alone. She wants to share it whilst spending time with the man she adores. In contrast, I could definitely finish a box of chocolates on my own … AND in a matter of seconds, so I completely understand the lack of allure to the cocoa bean’s descendants.
On the topic of wine influencing one’s wiles, a 17 AD Roman poet named Publius Ovidius Naso (or simply, Ovid) mused that, “It warms the blood, adds lustre to the eyes… wine and love have ever been allies.” Though he was probably suitably sloshed whilst writing this, Ovid was correct, as there is now scientific evidence to warrant his rhymes. One proof is that some wines mimic the pheromones secreted between members of the opposite sex to signal sexual attraction (Note: pheromones are chemical messengers that respond to odour stimuli to conjure a mood or mindset). One wine that certainly advocates these aphrodisiac qualities is Chardonnay. It produces common signs of carnal concern, including neck blushing and pupil dilation. Scientific rationale aside, I reckon wine is a love serum as after consuming a glass or two, my sense of judgment slips, and both people and opportunities seem more attractive!
So there you have it, remember that wine and flowers are a MUST to celebrate love… additionally, chocolate is optional. However, I’m not suggesting that a simple bottle of wine can be the glue in one’s relationship, but it can certainly add some oomph or even show how thoughtful you are. But do take heed of William Shakespeare’s advice and resist overindulging in the syrup, as the maestro declared: “Ah, wine… it provokes the desire, but it takes away the performance.”
The writer is the MD of Myra Vineyards.
