You may think this is about me, but I haven’t made this milestone.  It was going to be a surprise party, but at the last minute, his wife thought the stress might be a shock, so she told him.  It was quite a successful surprise party, until that moment, considering how many people knew about it and never let it leak out.  We got at the restaurant before the designated time, as we were going to help one of the co-conspirators decorated the room.  They showed up at the designated time, but there was plenty of time for the decorations as the guest of honor was almost an hour late for his own party.

We thought it would be rude to start eating ahead of time, but we did order a bottle of wine for our table, but we were the only ones to celebrate in that manner.  We had a bottle of Bodega Abito Rosé Barranca, Argentina 2020. A winery that has decided that their emblem is an eye, to let the consumer realize that the wine is watching them.  Barrancas is a small wine region in the Maipu district of Mendoza in Argentina and they have probably the lowest altitude, and hence the warmer climate typically means that the wines are softer and riper.  The soil is alluvial and allows the vines to grow deep roots. This region actually began producing wines in the 1880’s, making it one of the earliest areas.  This wine is a blend of fifty-six percent Malbec, thirty-six percent Syrah and eight percent Cabernet Franc.  Twenty percent of the wine was aged in French Oak for months and I shall suppose that the balance was done in Stainless Steel.  The wine had a deep rose color with notes of red fruits.  On the palate, this wine was crisp and dry with tones of raspberry, strawberry and cherry with a short finish. The crowd finally showed up and my Bride ordered a Chicken Bibb Salad with Romaine, Sundried Cherries, Cinnamon Pecans with Grilled Chicken Breast with Raspberry Vinaigrette with a side of fresh fruit.  While I had the Key West Shrimp, sauteed Tiger Shrimp with Spinach, Roma Tomatoes and Shallots, flash flamed with Tequila and a hint of garlic (I asked for more than a hint).

You might be surprised to find out the wine ran out, before the food, and way before the desserts.  So, we had to get something festive for the occasion and we went with splits.  One of the splits was Famiglia Zonin Prosecco DOC NV. Casa Vinicola Zonin SPA is based in the Veneto region of Italy with wineries across Italy and the USA.  They were founded in 1821, and in the 1960’s began an expansion starting in Friuli and Chianti Classico and finally the Barboursville Vineyards in the State of Virginia.  There was not much to find about this particular wine, but it probably is marketed to food establishments.  It is Prosecco DOC, so it is Prosecco and probably made in the Charmat Methode.  It was just an easy-going wine with a nice golden color, medium size bubbles with a very soft nose and a slightly sweet finish.  I liked it, just the way it was, and I think that it would be too sweet in a Mimosa, and perfectly priced for the majority of restaurants.