Inaugural Dinner Club!

On a beautiful spring evening this past weekend, five neighborhood couples came together for our inaugural "Dinner Club" meal.  In our neighborhood, we are never short of ideas on how to spend time together.   I have to say the neighborhood where the Stay At Home Winos reside is filled with amazingly wonderful people who love to get together for any occasion or none at all!  This evening proved this point to be true.

Our new Dinner Club, while still in its infancy, generally will work this way:  each couple will take their turn, that couple will prepare and serve the entire meal for their guests, and the guests are responsible for bringing two to three bottles of wine to share.  We hope to enjoy this evening every other month.  Our first hosts were Kim and Craig, and they did not disappoint.  In fact, they set the bar so high, I am not sure how the rest of it will compare!

Kim sent the menu out in advance so the rest of the couples had the opportunity to choose the wines that would go best with that meal.  The menu was to be salad, chicken marsala, orzo with asparagus and strawberry shortcake for dessert.  It was unanimous that Pinot Noir would be everyone's wine of choice to enjoy with the chicken marsala.

Upon entering Kim and Craig's beautiful home, delicious aromas wafted through the air.  I knew at that point, we were in for a treat!  The following wines were waiting to be opened:

Shea Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2009

                                                      Boneshaker Lodi Zinfandel 2011

Sequana Pinot Noir

                                               Alexana Revanan Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010

Trisaetum Trisae Pinot Noir

                                                                      Crios Torrontes

Castle Rock Pinot Noir

We started the evening with delicious appetizers, including prosciutto and salami wrapped cheese and pesto garlic bread.  The appetizers were amazing and the conversation was lively as always!  We then moved to the salad and, finally, the main course-chicken marsala and orzo with asparagus.  The dinner was delicious and Pinot Noir was definitely the right choice.  It was the perfect combination of great friends, great food and great wine.  There was a lot of laughter, as there always is when we get together.

What a blessing to have such wonderful and fun people living in the same neighborhood, and they love wine!  The entire evening was fabulous and I know everyone is looking forward to our next "Dinner Club" in June!

Cheers!
Mary Jo

Wine Word of the Week

Vouvray - A white wine made with the Chenin Blanc grape in the Loire Valley of France. This wine can be dry, semi-sweet, or sweet.