Nobody does February like we Canadians.

In a month so often blanketed by heavy snow, frigid temperatures, treacherous roads, ice storms, school closings, cancelled flights, freezing rain, and frozen pipes, life can certainly be difficult at times.  We all need diversions some days.

So what’s there to celebrate?  Well, St. Valentine’s Day for one!  We can grasp on to this ray of sunshine and wring it for all it’s worth.  Some celebrate with special foods and meals, some with gifts, and some with events.  Are you wanting to make your loved ones feel special this month?  We can help.

In February, we love to talk about our five delicious Dessert Wines.  In my humble opinion, Dessert Wines are the perfect Valentine’s gift.  Why?  Because of their versatility.

They can be enjoyed on their own after a special meal.  As we like to call them around here… “the perfect ending to a perfect meal.”  But they can also be mixed into a favourite cocktail, a martini, or into lemonades, sparkling wine or soda.  And don’t forget desserts! They can be used to add marvelous flavour to a variety of sweet endings.  Bring some tastes of summer into your February celebrations!

To assist you in that endeavor, here are five ways to enjoy a dessert wine with your loved one(s) this Valentine’s Day:

• Honour tradition with a Canadian Kir Royale.  Mix one part Black Currant Dessert Wine into two parts of Canadian Champagne for the traditional celebratory drink.  Cheers!

• Mix up a yummy martini.  Mix one part Wild Black Cherry Dessert Wine with one part vodka and one part cranberry juice.  Shake it up!

• Indulge your inner chocolate.  Purchase some chocolate one-ounce cups, and fill them with Raspberry Dessert Wine.  Ooh la la!

• Spritzer it up.  Mix one part Saskatoon Berry Dessert Wine with two parts soda and serve over ice.  Yummy!

• Take it straight.  Pour Strawberry Dessert Wine into a small wine glass and serve it up beside some creamy cheesecake drizzled with milk chocolate.  Oh my!

Of course if you want to make your accompanying dessert or appetizer from scratch, visit our website (www.fieldstonefruitwines.com) and click on the recipes tab.  You’ll find Strawberry-Cheese Pate, Saskatoon Brownies, Black Currant Sorbet, Raspberry-Chocolate Mousse, Saskatoon Berry Crème … among many others!  You can indulge your loved ones with their favourite summer flavours in many forms.  Who says we can’t have summer in February?

And the perfect Valentine’s gift?  A dessert wine, of course!  Simple, elegant, less than $25, and something special…

And for those of you who love events, don’t miss visiting us this month at one of our five year-round locations:  Calgary Farmers Market South, Calgary Farmers Market West, Crossroads Market, Gasoline Alley Market (Red Deer) or Bountiful Market (Edmonton).  Valentine’s Day celebrations promise to be majorly fun, and will include great family entertainment and lots of music.  Be sure and check out the market websites for specific times and events.  And of course, if you are cooking a Valentine’s dinner at your house, you will be amazed at the vast selection of ingredients, as well as the vast array of gifts for everyone.  All our vendors are more than happy to help you with ideas and suggestions, so come on by.

And finally, if you’ve picked up that Raspberry Dessert Wine for Valentine’s celebrations, and you have managed to save ½ cup of it, here is a wonderful way to use up the bottle. For any chocoholics out there, this recipe should satisfy all those choco-cravings.  It looks beautiful, it tastes wonderful, and it’s the perfect Valentine’s Dessert.

Field Stone Raspberry Cream Trifle

1 baked chocolate cake, 2 layer size
2 cups (or desired amount) fresh raspberries
1 chocolate pudding and pie filling, 6 serving size
3 cups milk
1/2 cup Field Stone Raspberry Dessert Wine
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 tsp vanilla

Cut cake into chunks.  Cook pudding with milk according to package directions. Cool to room temperature. Hasten cooling by placing pan in cold water, stirring often.

Whip cream and vanilla until stiff. Make layers of cake chunks, a generous sprinkle of Dessert Wine, the raspberries and pudding in glass trifle bowl, using as many layers as needed according to size of bowl. Make the last layer pudding. Spread whipped cream over top. Chill. Garnish with raspberries and…Enjoy!

And that’s it for this month!

Happy Dessert Wine Day, everyone… oops,  mean Valentines…