Snuggle with Bubbles

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.

Everyone's a Cylon

Huge nerdy confession to make…we are currently watching Battlestar Galactica on DVD. Ahhh, we said it! While Josh came to terms with his love of this dramatic SyFy series long ago, I held out as long as I could. But while spending a week in rural Virginia over the holidays, we became desperate for any means of entertainment besides watching the cat sleep on his back. BSG was offered, and having few alternatives, I accepted. And like the spread of a nasty cold in a kindergarten class, we were soon both sucked into the world of humans vs. robots.

We have our favorite characters (Tom Zarek, Bill Adama, Lee Adama before he got fat), and our favorite villains (like that sexy Number 6). And it has that awful Lost-like story arc that ends every episode on a cliffhanger. Excruciating! It’s like prime time drama coated in crack, you almost hate yourself for wanting more. And yeah, I have to admit, I really hope they find Earth.

It has also made me suspicious that in the end, everyone on the show is actually a Cylon. Heck, maybe everyone we know is actually a carefully integrated robot. How would we discover the truth? They bleed, people, they bleed!

But if the humans did find Earth, I’d be waiting to pop open a bottle and celebrate the end of a fascinating show, and the return of my regularly scheduled life. We’ve been practicing our celebrations with regular champagne tastings during marathon BSG-watching nights. Like our recently discovered Monthys Pére et Fils Brut Reserve ($30). In between nail biting scenes of robot domination, we soothed ourselves with sips of this pale yellow, very dry champagne. It retained the classic yeasty, almost sourdough taste of most real champagnes from sip to sip. Its strong, smooth aftertaste was a comforting assurance that this was the real deal, and not some fake robot champagne waiting for the right moment to turn on its evil programming and nuke the whole town. It didn’t knock our socks off, but it was completely enjoyable, letting us get lost in the plight of a far-off version of mankind. Maybe those Cylons just need a drink. Hey, no one could nuke a bottle of champagne.

Score: She gives it a 4, he gives it a 3.5

Recommended: If you’re up for trying something new, and you’re running from demon robots, this is sure to ease your mind.

Getting the Band Back Together

While it has been lovely out this weekend in San Francisco, the winter months have brought more and more days where it just seems too (relatively) cold to do much of anything outdoors. We may venture out for work and groceries, but we’re always happy to throw off our hats and handwarmers and warm our toes in our snug little apartment.

But lest you think this hampers our ability to get down, we have one thing to say: Rock Band 3. Yes, that’s right, we’re getting the band back together, just in time for a wintry global tour! And all from the warmth of our own swanky blue couch. To be fair, only Josh was in the band before, but he was nice enough to buy me a keyboard so I wouldn’t miss out on the epic sets about to blast through our television.

I used to think only children played with toy instruments. Then I tried playing “Rehab” by Amy Winehouse on Easy mode, and stopped feeling quite so smug about my own musical abilities. A palsied grandmother might have an easier time hitting all the notes. There is much band practice in our future, which means I may have graduated to a “medium” skill level by the time that darned groundhog decides winter isn’t going to end.

We’ll post a picture of the band (Iron Rhino), soon, but for now having an imaginary band has reminded us that we can still party like real rock stars. With champagne!

Or champagne and pizza to be exact. This is easily becoming our favorite celebratory meal, both for its ease and fabulous tastiness. Featured in the photo is a classic around our apartment, the pesto pizza with fake grilled chicken and mozzarella. Paired with this was another champagne gifted to us, the Saint-Hilaire Blanqutte de Limoux Brut 2006 ($12). This very pale, very bubbly champagne was so carbonated it was audibly noisy in the glass, like the roar of the crowd from backstage. It did have a mild yeasty taste that melded into sour notes once consumed. It was tart and tangy, and seemed to waffle between dry and wet in our mouths. Its top-of-the-mouth floral flavor built in our mouths the more we drank, leaving us less satisfied each time. While this champagne's flavor was bold enough to fill our palates, it wasn’t tasty enough to pair with our robustly delicious pizza, or our recently developed rock band egos.

Score: She gave it a 2, he was in a kinder mood and gave it a 3.

Recommended: Leave this one for the roadies, folks.

The Six Months of Christmas

One enjoyable thing about having friends and family scattered across the country is that come Christmas-time, presents start appearing on our doorstep at random intervals, some without previous notice. It has seemed more like Hannukah at our apartment, with many days of presents instead of one day-to-end-all-days of gift-giving. And we have thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated each and every special arrival.

One of the more exciting presents to show up on our doorstep, especially when it comes to this blog, was a Styrofoam encased pair of champagnes, courtesy of the future hubby’s parents. They actually purchased a “champagne of the month” type deal for us, wherein we will receive not one but two champagnes each month via airmail for the next six months. A Christmas present that lasts until June! We couldn’t be happier.

While we wanted to wait until Christmas to try our enticing new bubblies, we quickly realized we did not possess that kind of restraint. You should see what happens to freshly baked cookies. We consumed both bottles in the span of one weekend, but were sure to savor every duty-free drop. And while we enjoyed both bottles because we didn’t have to bemoan the possibility of paying too much for them, we were sure to remain as objective as possible while writing reviews, in case some of you out there are not lucky enough to receive some fizzy libations as gifts this season.

The first of our December pair that we tasted was the Pol Clément Rosé Sec ($13). This blushingly pink wine was extremely fizzy out of the bottle, just bursting to fill our glasses and tickle our noses. As per its name, it has a lovely pinkish-amber hue that made it hard to drink; we didn’t want to tear our eyes away. It had a very full flavor that was not as sweet as expected, but certainly not dry. The top notes were light and flowery, with a verdant aftertaste that blended with a nectary finish. While the harmony of the flavors wasn’t quite perfect, this wine didn’t offend. And it was just playful enough to disappear before we knew it.

And before we forget, Merry Christmas! Break out the bubbly, spread the joy!

Score: This was a three all around, with some slight reservations.

Recommended: Considering the price, you could certainly do worse.

Welcome to the Big Time

(Full disclosure: this actually happened back in September. Since I'm writing the review, it's not getting posted until now. Yes, I know.)

Special occasions call for special champagne. It's as simple as that. And when the special occasion happens to be a 1-year anniversary....well, that needs a really special champagne. I mean really special.

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin La Grande Dame Brut 1998 ($180). Yes, a champagne that was born back when I was still in high school. I mean, think about it for a second: this champagne waited 12 years for us. Think of how far this bottle of champagne has travelled in those 12 years! And after all that, after everything this bottle of fizzy grape juice has gone through....it ends up with us on our 1-year anniversary. Isn't that amazing? What are the chances?

Before the actual review, I have to mention the dinner that accompanied our special champagne. The missus made Fettucine Alfredo - with homemade sauce. Watching all the butter, cream, and cheese going into this stuff actually made me feel a little bad about eating it. I mean, geez....it's basically liquid fat. But OH MY GOD IT IS SO GOOD. I can't even describe it. Easily the best pasta dish I've ever had. No exaggeration - it was really that good. And yes....I totally ate more than I should have.

But now on to the star of the show.

I think we mentioned on here before that when a champagne is really good, there's not much you can actually say about it. Well, we pushed ourselves! Trust me, it wasn't easy....because this champagne isn't just good, it's amazing.

The smell is wonderful - delicate, slightly sweet, very clean. It smells meek, light. Then you drink it, and realize it's the exact opposite! Big flavors. Gigantic, bold flavors. It's so rich, you almost start to feel like it's thicker than regular champagne. It coats your mouth. It's like caramel, fruity with a dark sweetness. It kind of has a musk about it, but in a really good way. Not like a musk ox. Then you swallow - which is actually a little difficult. I'm serious, the longer you keep in in your mouth, the better it gets! But once you finally get around to swallowing, you realize it has that perfect "dry but not too dry" finish. Know what I mean? It's just right. And the flavors linger long afterwards....it's amazing. It sounds overly dramatic, but drinking this champagne is really an experience.

Score: a unanimous 5. There's no question about it. When you drink this, you're drinking champagne for real.

Recommended? Without a doubt. Yes, it's expensive - but it's worth every single cent. I can't stress that enough. If you've got a special occasion coming up, seek out a bottle of this stuff. It's like liquid heaven.

Hunting the Albino Alligator

One nice thing living in the Washington, D.C. area did provide was a broad range of museums within which to totally nerd-out for free. The Smithsonians are owned by the American people, and we are indeed members of the American people, so our tickets were already paid for (through taxes, which might mean technically we paid the entrance fee far, far in advance, but let’s not get technical). Moving out to San Francisco, we were suddenly faced with the decision to either pay $30 to get our nerd fix, or save that money for true necessities, like champagne.

But every once in a while, the museums of San Francisco take pity on the middle class geeks of this fair city and offer something for free. A short time ago, we took advantage of just such an offer, and were able to spend our entire afternoon joyously giving our natural history muscles a workout at the California Academy of Sciences, for free! While we loved numerous exhibits throughout the museum, like the mammoth catfish that could easily swallow a five-year-old child, or the adorable poison dart frogs who look just like candy (tricky little devils), our favorite part of the visit this time around was Claude, the albino alligator. The mystery, the majesty, the creepy way he never moved while we were looking at him and yet was always in a different position when we stopped by ten minutes later. We are already planning new ways to sneak up on him in action when the next free weekend comes around six months from now. It may involve ski masks.

And since this weekend outing was free, we had money in our pockets for the essentials, like another bottle of sparkling wine, ripe for a review. This time we chose the j Cuvée 20 ($27). We already spoke favorably of the j Rosé, and were hopeful that the rest of the varieties would not disappoint. This wine certainly did not. It was very crisp, bubbly, and bright. It had a clean, light, almost peachy aroma. With delicate undertones to every sip, it was fun to drink and had a very light bitterness that actually balanced the complex flavors of the wine. It was impressively balanced and nuanced for a California wine. But we must admit, it was no albino alligator.

Score: A unanimous 4.

Recommended: Yep, it’s a little pleasure in a bottle.

Just Get Me Through to Morning

It might be a little too early to celebrate anything right now on this election evening. Ballots are still being counted, bruises are still bursting their way to the surface of many a battered soul (politics makes us alliterative). There have been a few turn of events that have actually made us smile, a lot that made us queasy, and a few that just made us scratch our heads – like that witch-lady, did she really think she was going to win? If you have to run an ad on television declaring you’re not a witch, we’re pretty sure you’re really a witch.

But no matter who wins or loses, or what ridiculous propositions pass that will give more money to the bajillionaires down in their beach homes in Malibu, there are still a few things to tip a glass to tonight. First, we will no longer have to see Meg Whitman’s smug little face talking about how she’s all about the California dream. If she was auctioning her “truthiness” (thank you, G.W.) she’d get negative bids. But most importantly, no more political ads! We can finally turn on the television for a lively game of Jeopardy without being inundated with bad lighting, annoying voice-overs, and things we “can’t afford.” Geez, it’s a recession, you don’t have to tell us what we can’t afford.

Although, that Yes on 21 ad didn’t bother us too much, what with those cute little foxes and all.

So if you’re ready to sip some bubbly in celebration of commercial breaks returning to little geckos and pizza salesman, try a bottle of Drusian Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore ($15). A wine from Italy? Yes! Because who isn’t tired of America right now? And prosecco is easier on the wallet then French champagnes, so you can save your money for all the whiskey you’ll need once you realize the state the country is in after the elections. But back to the prosecco. This one smelled strongly floral and fruity right out of the bottle, with a refreshing amount of carbonation to give it just the right amount of kick. It had a sweetness that fills your entire mouth and lasts long after you’ve drunk it down. It did retain some mildly bitter apple undertones with a light dryness, but these didn’t detract from its easy drinkability. It mostly made us think of this past summer, a time when anything was still possible and hope was still alive. Eh, maybe we’ll just move to Italy they don’t have any crazy politics, right?

Score: It was a unanimous 3, but in a good way.

Recommended: Yes, this is a solid prosecco that is sure to keep its promises.