It’s possibly the most hated holiday of the year. Valentine’s Day. That day when somehow true love boils down to chocolates, flowers, and reservations at overly expensive restaurants. Or, on the flip side, the day when you wish all you had to do to find true love was buy someone chocolates, flowers, and expensive meals.
Even those of us who have someone are pretty disgusted by this pseudo-celebration of love (and America’s love affair with spending money on useless crap). We would rather be attacked by a pack of rabid Chihuahuas in heat than be forced to join the dining masses out on Valentine’s Day, even in this completely romantic city.
But there is one bright side. We are confident enough in our relationship to skip all the saccharine cards and overly packaged sweets, and get right down to the good stuff. That’s right, we’ll be staying home and drinking champagne. And you should too.
Whether you’re snuggling with your one true love, someone you just met at a bar, or a couch cushion covered in cat hair, nothing can beat an evening in with the bubbly. We recently had the pleasure of spending a weekend down in Mountain View with a couple possibly as cute as the one in this apartment, our friends Katie and Mike. They gamely agreed to help us try out a new champagne for the sake of our blog and the further education of adorable (and homely, why not?) couples everywhere. The selection that evening was Taittinger Brut La Francaise ($45). As we hunkered down like a pair of love bugs in a wooly shag rug, we enjoyed the crisp, clean flavor of the wine, laced with bitter apple and a honey-like aftertaste. It had a pleasant carbonation that tickled our stupidly smiling mouths and left us refreshed. Our only regret was that we only had one bottle to share. But don’t worry, we won’t make that mistake come Valentine’s Day. So stock up, hunker down, and forget about candy hearts and mushy Facebook statuses.
Score: This one received a unanimous 4.
Recommended: Beats paying $10 for a glass of Korbel at a restaurant any day.
