Surprising wine pairings to try this Valentine's Day

telegraph.co.uk:

reach for sparkling wine.Being in the trade, it turns out, does not dampen anyone's enthusiasm for a bottle of fizz. When I asked a bunch of female chefs and sommeliers, winemakers, wine buyers and wine tastemakers what bottles they uncork on a date night at home, Champagne came up a fair few times.'One of my favourites is the Platine Premier Cru from Nicolas Maillart in Champagne [£43.95, Lea & Sandeman],' says Collette O'Leary, head winemaker at Henners Vineyard in Herstmonceux, Sussex (in the interests of variety, I banned winemakers from recommending their own wines). 'If I'm feeling lazy it's delicious with fish and chips from the chippy, but it's classy and versatile enough to match with something more celebratory like Coquilles Saint-Jacques.'Other date-night Champagne advocates include Anna Dolgushina, sommelier and co-founder of Firebird, Soho.

She adores the wines of grower Olivier Horiot, who works in Côte des Bar. 'His "Soléra" cuvée [£72, bubbleshoplondon.com] is a blend of seven grape varieties, made using the solera method [a system of fractional blending where the barrel from which the wine is drawn for bottling is never fully drained], like winemakers do with sherry.

In the glass we have gunpowder, roasted sunflower seeds and salted butter with pungent salinity on the palate.'Dawn Davies, the super-palate and influential head buyer of Speciality Drinks and The Whisky Exchange, suggests the high-low combination of Charles Heidsieck Champagne Brut Réserve NV (£49.99, Valvona & Crolla; £49, Fenwick; £53.75, The Whisky Exchange) with pizza: 'Any excuse to drink Champagne and everyone loves both of them.' But away from the bubbles, she has an intriguing combination for fresh oyster addicts: 'Talisker 10 Year.