Whether you\u2019re spending this Saturday dining in or out, snuggling up on the couch with a loved one, a roommate or a pet, feeling sweet or bitter, you\u2019re probably going to pour yourself a glass of wine.<\/p>\n
A nice glass of wine has become a staple of every romantic, candlelit dinner as well as every quintessential girl\u2019s night or quiet night in with a book or Diane Keaton movie. Forget the box of chocolates, cosmopolitans or pints of ice cream usually associated with the aforementioned evenings. We want wine.<\/p>\n
And so, as Valentine\u2019s Day approaches, it doesn\u2019t matter if you dread or welcome the holiday, as long as you\u2019ve got a nice bottle of wine to keep you and whoever you\u2019re with company.<\/p>\n
Each year, business journals predict the booming sales of wine for the week leading up to Valentine\u2019s Day (usually at least 1.6 million bottles of sparkling wine alone). Why? Because wine is the ultimate mood setter, romantic or otherwise. What\u2019s more bright eyed and optimistic than bubbly? More relaxing than a savory pinot noire? More intense than a dry but sensuous malbec or merlot?<\/p>\n
But this year\u2019s Valentine\u2019s Day is special. Not because Saturday is a more indulgence-friendly day of the week or because it\u2019s scheduled to snow chocolate truffles (although, if the latter were true, we\u2019d recommend pairing that with a light cabernet or tawny port). This year\u2019s Valentine\u2019s Day is special because this year <\/em>is special. According to the Silicon Valley Bank, 2015 is on track to be a \u201cbreakout year\u201d for the U.S. wine industry. Wineries are blossoming everywhere, but the demand is befitting of the supply. Skolnik’s cost and environmentally efficient stainless steel wine barrels are enabling the creation of smaller indie wineries and new experimental blends, winning over the craft\/small-batch loving millennial. And, according to SVB, loyal wine drinkers have officially recovered from the recession and are open and ready for more expensive wines.<\/p>\n Yes, it seems that 2015 is a ripe year for splurging. With love or loneliness in the air this coming Valentine\u2019s weekend, splurge we will.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Whether you\u2019re spending this Saturday dining in or out, snuggling up on the couch with a loved one, a roommate or a pet, feeling sweet or bitter, you\u2019re probably going to pour yourself a glass of wine. A nice glass of wine has become a staple of every romantic, candlelit dinner as well as every […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[1],"tags":[26,18,27,28,5,7,29,30,31,32,33],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n