So what if your Valentine doesn't drink wine?

From the bottles that are lined up on the supermarket shelves you’d think the whole world was going to be drinking champagne tomorrow. But you know and I know that it just doesn’t hit the spot for many people who would frankly much prefer a beer or a soft drink. So what are the romantic alternatives?

For a beerlover . . .
If it’s sparkle you’re after there are a couple of candidates - Deus, the Dom Perignon of the beer world (right down to the shape of the bottle which is extraordinarily similar to DP . . . ) and the more modestly priced Kasteel Cru which is made using champagne yeast.

Fruit beers also come into their own on Valentine’s Day and will please beer drinkers and non-beer drinkers alike. Belgium has the best - look out for Liefmans Frambozen (raspberry) and Kriek (cherry), both good with cheesecake and lighter chocolate desserts, especially if served with berry fruits.

You can also, as I mentioned yesterday - Wine (and other drinks) to match Valentine's Favourites - buy passionfruit beer which also tastes great with creamy desserts. Floris from Belgium is the best example I’ve tasted (though far too sweet and sticky for hard core hopheads!)

Apple of my eye . . .
Crisp refreshing apple-based drinks also provide a good alternative to champagne. Sparkling cider or perry (pear-based cider) can be opened with a ceremonious pop or, if your beloved doesn’t drink. simply buy her/him a bottle of sparkling apple juice or prettily floral sparkling elderflower ‘champagne’

Think pink . . .
No need to feel out of it because you don’t drink ros. Just look how many pink drinks there are on the shelf and in the chill counter nowadays. Cranberry juice, pomegranate juice, strawberry, raspberry, cherry, pink grapefruit, pink lemonade. . . My favourites are pomegranate juice which you can substitute for a dry ros or light red and cherry juice (try and find one of the French artisanal juices which are really delicious)

If you want a substitute for a sweet wine to drink with a chocolate dessert make up a berry-flavoured cordial at 3 or 4 times the usual strength (i.e. with a lot less water than usual) and serve it really cold

Be my honey . . .
The perfect Valentine’s drink, if truth be told, is mead, an ancient sweet ‘wine’ or, more accurately but less romantically, an alcoholic fermented drink brewed from honey. Although it can be dry it’s most often sweet and can be flavoured with herbs and flowers. For Valentine’s Day I recommend the sweet kind served with strawberries and cream. Lurgashall in Sussex is one of the best known English producers and Redstone Meadery in Boulder, whose meads I sampled in Denver in September at the Great American Beer Festival, a good American producer.

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