A couple of nights ago, we heard that the previous owner/chef of our neighborhood restaurant was back in town and cooking at a different restaurant in the city.  My wife and I decided we should go and say hello. Neither one of us felt like cooking, either, and the ‘new’ restaurant is also a BYOB, all of which made the decision your basic ‘no brainer’.

Since it was an Italian restaurant, I decided on a bottle of 1999 Barbaresco that needed to be consumed.  For the occasion, I figured we also needed a little bubbly (OK, I do not know of ANY occasion that would not be better with a little bubbly–take note: I expect champagne to be served at my funeral–we need not get into all the reasons right now, however). Given it was a weeknight, I opted for one of the few half bottles of champagne I had left.  There was a time that I thought the half bottle was a great idea, but I wear big-boy alcoholic pants now and the half bottles seem to go unnoticed down in the cellar.

Now, I have mentioned before that I am not an Italian wine aficionado, but I can struggle through.  Champagne, however, is my wheel house.  I grabbed one of my half bottles of Mumm Carte Classique (not my favorite by any means, but it is still good) and threw it in the fridge to prepare it for its pending sacrifice.  I also pulled the Barbaresco and stood it upright as to allow any sediment to trickle down.  Then I headed out for a quick bike ride.

I got home and after a quick shower, we hopped in the car (major downer–the neighborhood restaurant is but a three minute walk away). We made it downtown rather easily, but it seemed like it took hours trying to park. We finally got into the restaurant and met up with our old friend. I say ‘friend’ even though we really do not know him all that well, but he always took great care of us when we were at his former place and he was quite simply fantastic to our boys.  He looked great and seemed to be straightening things out.

We sat down and I ‘popped’ the ‘bubbly’. I used the quotes there because, well, there was neither a ‘pop’ when I pulled the cork, or any bubbles once I poured a glass.  Ugh.  Double ugh.  There is little worse in my book than getting all charged up for a glass of champagne only to be faced with, well, crap.  Had we been back in the neighborhood, I would have considered running back home, but alas…  We still had the Barbaresco.  I popped and poured that one.  Took a whiff.  Ruh roh.  While maybe not technically ‘bad’ there was certainly an overabundance of stewed fruit going on which made me think that this wine had been left in the heat at some point. The meal was good, but not as good as when our friend was calling the shots at his own place (he is not the head chef at this new gig).  All in all, I was a little bummed.  Had we not seen our friend (which really was good), I would have contemplated something drastic–like going to get a beer somewhere.

After a little Capogiro gelato (quite the Italian theme that night), we headed home.  Once there, with my thirst for sparkling not yet quenched, I ran to the cellar and pulled a bottle of ‘old reliable’: Argyle Brut from the Willamette Valley in Oregon.  Now, those purists out there can say what they want about Argyle: they are a pretty big outfit, which I tend to eschew, and it certainly isn’t champagne, but I do think they make some excellent sparkling wine and some really good pinot noir. I also have a guy out there that gets me the wine at a ridiculously low price. But now,  I just needed a glass. After an interminable 30 minutes in the freezer: ‘POP’.  ‘FIZZ’.  Ahhhhhh.  Ok, now I can go to bed.

As a postscript, the following night, my lovely wife was not feeling well, so I sent her to bed.  After I got the boys fed, in their jammies, and off to bed, I made a little tomato and tuna salad.  I grabbed what was left of the Argyle from the night before and watched a baseball game on TV all by myself.  Who needs Father’s Day this weekend?

2006 Argyle Brut: Retail ~$25. I paid a lot less. This had a little age on it and was my last 2006 (I have some 2008 ready to go), but it was still bright and cheery.  Tons of green apple and a hint of baked bread. My ‘house’ sparkling wine.  Very Good. 87 points.