This Valentine's Day, ignore the boxes of waxy, stale chocolate at the supermarket. Give up on forcing rhymes into a bad love poem. Never mind the refrigerated roses from the florist, their heads already on the verge of drooping.
Instead, uncork a bottle of port for a romantic te^te-a-te^te. Like the greatest passions, port is intense, complex and long-lived. A mere sip evokes drama in the glass and lingers on the tongue. So go ahead: Light the candles (and put on a Barry White CD if you must) -- you're ready for a memorable celebration.
During the '90s wine boom, high-rollers spent wildly on vintage ports. The buying frenzy was fueled when Wine Spectator magazine awarded three 1994 vintage ports (Fonseca, Taylor's and Quinta do Noval) perfect 100-point scores. Perfect scores are so seldom given that they are virtually historical events. Despite the deserved attention given vintage ports, they are rare -- representing a scant 2 percent of total port sales. Yet a diverse array of other styles of port exists, and many offer excellent value.