Love may be blind, but what do the other senses have to say? Taste, feel, smell… Smell just happens to be the strongest sense going straight to the brain and it has the strongest connection to memories and emotions. For me, its just like smelling lilac - I will smell lilac and forever be taken back to early summer childhood days. Memories associated with smell can last a lifetime. Experiences that incorporate more than one sense can create stronger emotional connections and bonding experiences. Since this is the month for love and connections, let’s explore a more sensual and creative way to experience date nights. Let’s turn off our sense of sight and let the other senses play.
Grab a blindfold, two different bottles of wine - we suggest a red and a white, and at least 3 different types of chocolate. Out of site of your partner, pour a half glass of each of the wines into different glasses and plate the chocolates. Have your partner sit down somewhere comfortable but safe for wine glasses (stemless work best in this scenario - less chance of tipping over).
Once seated, blindfold them and then bring the wines and the chocolates over. It doesn’t matter which to taste first, this is just for fun. Have them - and help guide their hands to the plate or glass - smell first. What do they smell - fruitiness, sweetness, cocoa, espresso? Then they can go for texture. It is a smooth ganache, a rough and nutty bark, a velvety taste of pure dark chocolate? Or how about the wine? What does the wine feel like in the mouth? Do you feel it on the tip of your tongue, the back sides of your cheeks, does it feel linear, sharp, round? Have fun, there’s no wrong answer. And of course taste, the best part! How much detail can they use to describe the flavors? This doesn’t have to be a guess the flavor exercise - maybe unless you want to get competitive? A reward of each correct guess equals 5 minutes of a back or shoulder massage might be incentive enough! Next date, role reversal with different sensory objects.
When it comes to attraction, we shouldn't ignore our senses. Letting loose and showing your playful side just may spike that dopamine needed to keep that spark going.
It was inevitable, the Chocolat Bar and Olive and Vyne’s Wine Shop are now side by side in Eagle.