Who remembers Eydie Gormé and her love and husband of decades, Steve Lawrence?  I actually do. If you don’t know who she is, you must take a moment to listen to this 1964 recording of her singing Sabor a Mí  (The Taste of Me) with the Trio Los Panchos.  It will make you start dancing – and hey, maybe start you thinking about Valentine’s Day.

Sabor a Mí is also the name of this beautifully balanced red wine made of 53% whole cluster Syrah, 27% Malbec, 18% whole cluster Merlot, and 2% Petit Verdot that have “…spent 18 months together in neutral oak so as not to overpower the fruit, and were bottled unfined and unfiltered,” according to winemaker, Rajen Toor.

Deep garnet with aromas of blackberry with salinity, oak, green grass and spice, the palate is dry with more blackberry, cassis, and dark purple plum, salal, nutmeg, all spice, and a sparkly minerality.

Because the grapes were mostly whole cluster fermented, the juicy, vibrant fruit has been retained.  Toor notes, “All the fruit was purchased from Desert Hills’ Eagles Nest and Sage Brush Vineyards, located on Black Sage Road in Oliver, BC.”  While Ursa Major is not an entirely organic winery yet, in 2-3 years, they’ll be certified.  “At the moment we are doing everything we can to help that transition along, including organic compost, no chemical or synthetic sprays, utilizing cover crops, and weeding only by hand.”

To make it even more compelling, the bottles have beautiful artwork by Kristen Gardner, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to South Okanagan Women in Need, a non-profit organization in nearby Penticton.

Now, I don’t celebrate the Hallmark holiday known as Valentine’s.  I dislike being told what to do, and I think everyone should love their special ones all the time – not just with flowers on one particular day.

But, if your sweetheart expects a gift, buy a bottle of this, put on Eydie Gormé’s Sabor a Mí, and dance a little bossa nova around the room.  As the lyrics and the wine go,

“Many more than a thousand years will pass, many more
And I don’t know if love exists in the eternity
But there, just like here
In your mouth you will carry
My flavour.”

You can’t get much more romantic than that.