Valentine's Vintages: Organic, Biodynamic and LIVE wines

Drinking wine is a sensuous experience, and paired with the right food, a fine red or white will light up with the subtle flavors of the earth that birthed its grapes while enhancing the tastes of your dishes. But like the well-prepared meals it accompanies, fine wine is about more than eating—it's to be savored during dinnertime conversation with our loved ones on Valentine's Day or any other. And in the dark of winter, fine wines will taste of the summer rain on the grapes, the sunlight that fell on the vines and the warm minerals in the soil. Scott Pactor, owner of Appellation Wines, a Manhattan store specializing in organic and biodynamic varietals, advises wine bibbers to seek out "products with a sense of place that use minimal or no inputs and let the vineyards speak for themselves." Biodynamic and organic vintages are particularly adept at bringing out this sense of place. Below are labels to look for.