With Valentine’s Day around the corner, finding somewhere to take your special someone might be a little tricky as reservations at your favorite local eateries fill up fast. Following are three restaurants I recommend for a memorable night out along with a wine and food pairing for each location to help make your Valentine’s Day a special one.

Cerulean Shiraz

Cerulean (Village at Winona, Winona Lake)

With the recent release of their new menu, seating will be at a premium for Valentine’s Day. If you manage to get in, order the Mollydooker Boxer Shiraz, a wine filled with berry flavors and chocolate layers as well as notes of licorice and spice. Pair it with the Smoked Gunthorp Pork which consists of sautéed shiitake mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and arugula followed by a sage biscuit baked to order and topped with house smoked Gunthorp Farms pork from Lagrange. The dish is then topped off with a locally sourced fresh egg served sunny side up.

The sauce served at the bottom of the dish is a maple gastric, a sweet maple flavor with a touch of vinegar. The dish pairs well with the Mollydooker Boxer due to the richness of both the wine and the food components. The sweeter fruit notes of the wine balance with the maple gastric and sage biscuit while the deeper notes of chocolate, coffee and oak bring out the organic richness of the vegetables and pork.

Boathouse Meritage

Boathouse (Village at Winona, Winona Lake)

For your wine choice at this Village of Winona mainstay, select the Sterling Vintner’s Collection Meritage, a Bordeaux-inspired blend which combines Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec into a friendly, fruit-forward wine with captivating complexity. Aromas of fresh cherries and summer plums greet the senses, followed by a rich descent into dark red fruit and cedar spice on the palate.

Flavors maintain their juicy texture, joined by supple tannins and hints of oak spices. The Boathouse Pasta Diablo, which consists of shrimp, scallops, clams and linguine tossed in a spicy Cajun marinara sauce, works very well with the Sterling Meritage, as they both seek to complement each other and not compete or seek to overpower the other.

One Ten Mahoney Pinot Meatball Pair

110 Craft Meatery (110 N. Buffalo St, Warsaw)  

Warsaw’s newest sensation doesn’t normally take reservations but they’re making an exception for Valentine’s Day so take advantage of it. They will be featuring a preset tasting menu that evening which will allow you the opportunity to sample many of their dishes. Details can be found on their Facebook.

Once seated, order the Mahoney Pinot Noir. To put it succinctly, it’s one of the best under $40 Pinots I’ve tasted and pairs perfectly with the appetizer on the tasting menu, the Tomato Cream Meatball plate. Consisting of a base of sirloin meatballs and goat cheese topped with a healthy helping of marinara and a side of toast, the richness of the dish is enhanced by the complexity of the wine and is an ideal combo to start your evening off right.

For those of you preparing Valentine’s Day dinners at home, don’t forget to check out their Meat Market which features locally sourced steaks, chicken and other meat products for a memorable evening at home with the family.