Wednesday, February 11th, 2009

The Day I Engaged Gina C.

What in the world would one drink on such a momentous occasion? With all the other planning, should the bottle even be considered? I'd hate for her to think that any amount of energy or brain power went to anything other than her on this day, especially to an inanimate obsession of mine that already distracts too much of my attention that should be devoted to her.

But alas, I'm conflicted; we'll want to celebrate, won't we? We can't celebrate with sparkling water. I should chill something with bubbles just in case. I won't open it unless she asks me to. I'm doing this for her.

So now, what do we chill? The most expensive bottle in the store will do just fine. Incidentally (or perhaps not so), it's also one of my favorite Grower-Champagne's each year, in years they make it that is.

Jean Milan, "Terres de Noel", Blanc de Blancs, Grand Cru, 2002

Popped the question, popped the cork, it couldn't have been more appropriate. It paired perfectly with the vegetable/jambalaya, spicy, soupy dish. It played a role, but was completely in the background and didn't conflict with any of the circumstances of the evening. It will go down as being a wine that we always think fondly of, and stock heavily for special occasions.

2 days later Gina asked, "What kind of Champagne did we drink on Wednesday? That was pretty good." I responded, "That one that comes in the fancy wrapper." "Oh yeah. That's a pretty bottle" she noted. That's all the validation I needed.