I'll be chatting with the hosts of the CBC radio drive-home shows from coast to coast this Thursday and Friday about wines for Valentine's Day. But we're going to depart from the usual natter about which wines are most seductive or how to pair them with chocolate.

We'll go straight to the heart of the matter: how do you liquor up your lover on February 14? More specifically, we'll talk about why wines are getting more alcoholic these days and how does that affect their taste and ours? Is this just a cultural trend of winemakers responding to the market? Is it led by the rising popularity of warm climate wines such as Argentina and Australia? Is is this the liquid equivalent of pouring ketchup on everything you eat?

Are we starting to see a backlash in the market and the search for lighter wines, whether they're lower in alcohol or lighter styles such as rose and some styles of white wine?

I'll post a schedule once the interviews are set. In the meantime, post here or e-mail me your thoughts on the alcohol levels in wine.

Cheers,

Natalie