4 Ways To Make Us Smile With Wine!

It’s difficult for all of us to think about luxuries and fun times at the moment and I fear that delicious food and tasty wine might take a back seat as more critical activities take over these next few days and weeks.

?BUT … if anything, the total horrendousness of what’s going on in Ukraine reminds me of why our product, wine, is such a joy, and it increasingly drives me to discover brilliant ways to?use it to brighten up our lives.

?So, here’s the thinking, with 4 top tips on how to use wine to get a group together to laugh, enjoy life and build friendship.?It’s of course about eating and drinking which inevitably incorporates the ‘dinner party’.??

If you’re anything like me, you’ll run a mile at the mention of a dinner party but I’ve grown to be a bit less fearful over the years.?In fact, no I haven’t, I’m just less fearful of the dinner parties when I’m in charge. In fact, forget that too; when Beth, my wife is in charge.?What I hate, and I’m pretty sure we all do (especially if you’re an?Aussie), is a formal, stuffy dinner talking about people’s children and how wonderful they all are – give me strength please ….

But there ARE fun ways to put food and wine on a table that make for a really fun evening and here are my top pointers:

1.????THE TABLE … give it a bit of décor.??Make it pretty.??With Spring looming, stick a few daffodils on the table & how about a yellow table cloth and a candle or two.?Have a look at Kate Haynes (@katehaynes) on Instagram if you fancy a bit of inspiration.?Kate is doing all our table, room and lighting designs for the incredible venues we are working in.

2.????THE FOOD …. avoid a plate/serving for each person. How about sharing plates?of?food that guests must pass round.??Beth cooked a slow smoked lamb with charred aubergine, tzatziki and a bulgar wheat salad on Friday – recipe from The Hidden Hut?https://www.hiddenhut.co.uk/?- completely delicious and served up with Lebanese flatbreads.?A bit messy but great fun to serve and eat.

3.????SEATING …. nothing too formal.?Avoid boys and girls on two different ends of the table but other than that, relax and don’t give it too much thought.?As long as good wine is flowing (coming to that next) and the food’s delicious then you’ll be fine.

4.????THE WINE OF COURSE …. this has to be fab, but it doesn’t need to be classic and fancy. In fact, I would always avoid classic and fancy. I go for fresh flavours and wines that sing with a diverse range of food.?Not too much oak on the white wines and not too much bottle age on the reds. Our wines for Friday went down a storm - the measure of which is that the guests drank plenty, talked and laughed lots and only mentioned how delicious the wine was when they wanted a top up. They were both from Waitrose and not silly money:

Albarinō d Fefinanes, one of the oldest estates in Galicia and the first to bottle their Albarinō in 1928.?It’s fresh, elegant and dangerously moreish and it’s one of the first wines I ever imported.

Chateau Maris Les Planels, from the ‘cru’ region of La Liviniere in the Languedoc made by a good friend of mine, Berty Eden.??It’s rich, hedonistic, spicy and finishes with a lovely lift. A bit like Berty actually????- I love it!

If you’ve read this far, thanks and I hope you don’t feel preached to.?Who am I to tell you how to entertain???I’m no expert but I do love it and I love sharing and developing ideas that work, so share yours back please. If you want to take anything way from this blog, my shout is get down to Cornwall and book in for a feast night at the Hidden Hut and while you’re waiting, grab those two wines and let us know what you think of them. Now more than ever, it is clear we should be grateful for the privilege that is peace! So lets enjoy it!

Thanks and keep smiling if you can,?

Tom