A Toast to Arnie Huberman

Regular readers and close friends may remember my post last July mourning the passing of Arnie Huberman.  David encouraged me to take some bottles of Arnie’s wine home and make sure they were enjoyed.

Tonight, my wife and I opened a 1996 Billecart-Salmon Champagne that I had been holding from the bottles in Arnie’s collection.  1996 was a great year for Champagnes.  Some say it was the vintage of the century.  While the bottle should be a good one, we were still a bit nervous to open it, hoping it was still as good as was expected.

Well, it’s a great bottle.  The color is a bit darker, which is expected in an aged Champagne.  Small bubbles, and some yeasty notes.  Also, some fond memories of Arnie.

It still seems not quite possible that he’s gone, but these are the realities we come to face as the years go by.  1996 is a somewhat appropriate year for the Champagne.  David and I saw our friendship truly blossom in college, through the early to mid-90s.  It was after graduation from college in 1995 that I really got to know Arnie.

Fast forward 10 years, and Arnie is playing with my dog Serena on the floor.  She greeted him with boisterous barking and wouldn’t come near him for the first 20 minutes.  But Arnie persevered, and ended up rolling around on the floor with her.  I’m still not sure which one of them enjoyed it more.

Michelle and I raise our glasses in memory of Arnie tonight, with more smiles than tears.