How the Classy Kids Recline

Our time living like squatters in our own apartment is finally over (for the most part) – we purchased a new couch! No more meals on the floor, no more camping mat in place of actual seating space. Admittedly, the mat improved our posture, but seemed incongruous with the 42" flat screen TV staring down upon us from the other end of the room. So we ventured out to the Marina yesterday to attempt to buy a piece of furniture without any haggles, headaches, or blatant salesmanship.

And we actually succeeded. This was probably the easiest furniture buying experience anyone could hope to have. After doing our research, we heard of a tiny place with great furniture, good prices, and friendly owners who aren’t desperate to sell you something you don’t need. Sounded too good to be true, but we had to see for ourselves, seeing as our furniture situation was getting desperate. All the rumors turned out to be true, though, and it took us all of ten minutes to walk into the store, fall in love with a couch on the spot, and have the owner offer to drop it off at our apartment that same night. Yes, less than 4 hours later we were the proud owners of an actual couch, which fits perfectly in our tiny apartment and is pretty sexy to boot (designed by the store owner himself).

To celebrate this massive achievement, and our ability to actually recline on cushions while drinking, we decided to stop by a wine shop we had seen on our way to the furniture store and see what kind of champagne they had to offer. Coincidently, we met another extremely friendly, slightly goofy salesperson who found out what we were looking for and immediately steered us to a section of west coast, sparkling wines he thought were worth our while. He seemed like a trust-worthy fellow, especially since he forgave us for mentioning how nice it was outside while he was inside stacking boxes, oops, so we went with one of his suggestions and hurried home to wait for the arrival of our swanky new couch.

The couch arrived a few minutes early (another win for that furniture store, Craig, you are the best), and once in our apartment, it looked even better than in the store. We had high hopes that our sparkling wine would prove equally as satisfying. Settling onto our comfy seats above the floor, we carefully popped open our bottle of Argyle 2005 Brut ($25). This sparkling wine hails from the forested land of Oregon – who knew? – and is a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes. Despite the hatred most Oregonians have for Californians and their general indifference to the rest of the west coast, the experience was pleasant from the start. It has a lovely, deep yellow color in the glass, with a subtle scent reminiscent of really good grape juice. If grape juice could make you giggly. The first sip is the perfect amount of sweet without going over into the land of dessert wines. Once in your mouth, the taste is crisp, perfectly carbonated, and full of flavor. Most of the notes are apple and citrus, but there is a hint of cinnamon underneath. Probably the most complex west coast sparkling wine we’ve tasted, without seeming so. It has a ridiculously smooth after taste that leaves your mouth feeling refreshed. This isn’t a French champagne, to be sure, but for a vineyard from Oregon, this wine is truly impressive [take that how you will, Oregonians]. Today, the salesmen didn’t lie.

Score: A unanimous 4.

Recommended: Yes, one because you have to taste it to believe it’s from Oregon and under $30, and two because it’s just so easy to drink.