OK, I admit it……….I’m a type A personality……..My children will acknowledge it, my step kids will echo the same and my wife…….well we don’t have to go there.  So it should come as no surprise that the demons have kicked in once again as my wife and I chart the course of my upcoming 60th  celebration.

From the beginning, my goal has been to share as much of my wine knowledge and enthusiasm with our guests as possible.   Translated, this means rolling out lots of wine from diverse regions around the globe.  And why not?  Good wine (and food) is meant to share with those you care about.  The title of this tasting menu extravaganza is appropriately coined “Wines Around the World.”  My vision is to pair the wines with the outstanding cuisine from Jax Kitchen (and soon to be added The Abby), run by Brian Metzger (www.jaxkitchen.com).

The plan is to start the guests off with a toast of California Sparkling wine paired with some crudités………..A nice hats off to the good ole USA.  Next up would be a trio of starter whites: White Burgundy, Viognier and a Hermitage Blanc to pair with preparations of scallops, lobster and mussels.  From there, we would dive into the “meat” of the tasting menu with five entrees comprised of lamb, pork (2 different styles and preparations), duck, and beef and wines to pair from both Northern (Syrah) and Southern (Chateauneuf-du-Pape) Rhone, Australia (Shiraz), Bordeaux and Spain (Ribera del Duero).  To close this gastronomic festival, I would highlight a couple of sweet dessert whites, perhaps a Sauternes, German Auslese Riesling or a late harvest Chenin Blanc and a Port to pair with a fruit based dessert and plate with a chocolate truffle, raisins and nuts.

While you might think that we were done, it’s never quite complete with a type A personality and true to form, I started to doubt the pairings and question whether they were the ideal match.  It got so that I awoke late one night from a dream mumbling something about the duck and wine.  At that point, I knew that I was going overboard.  Something had to give.

The next day, I decided that I needed one of my longer runs to air out the mind.  Along the way, an interesting conversation ensued between my mind and my heart.  Full disclosure here:  I often do my best thinking while on autopilot  running.  My heart was really emotional about rolling out all the trophy wines, allowing my guests to sample the best and me to drop a few golden nuggets of information about each.  It seemed to dance about the more it anticipated the event.  My mind, on the other hand, was having no part of this wild folly, fully ready to chime in with some words of wisdom.

“Listen Jim, I know that you’re excited about the event, but don’t you think you’ve gone just a little overboard?  You’re going to serve three starters with three separate wines.  That could be a meal in and of itself for some people.  You’re planning to follow this up with five hearty entrees with five big red wines.  And as the commercials exclaim on television  ‘but wait…….there’s more…..and…..there is!  Not one but two desserts will finish off the evening (and perhaps your guests as well).

Do you really think that your guests will make it past the ‘starter’ gate?  If so, you’d better have LOTS of Alka Seltzer and Tums available.  I understand that you want this event to be perfect, I really do.  But part of being an elegant and discriminating host is to pace the evening, not to numb your guests.   You certainly don’t want the crowd to feel pressured to eat and drink, even though there’s enough for twice the people.  The goal here is for everyone to enjoy themselves and that means everything from food to wine in moderation.  So, at the risk of offending, please oh please lighten it up and say good-bye to some dishes.  Why not slim down the starters to two, offer a break (the guests will still need it) and then follow it with three entrees and later, one dessert?  You’ll still have plenty of food and wine to go around.” 

By the time this debate between my head and heart was winding down, I was nearly finished with my run and had comfortably resolved the confusion.  Thankfully my head prevailed, reiterating a key rule for success in hosting a party…………..don’t overwhelm your guests!  Allow them the time to enjoy that wonderful symphony of aromas and flavors that marries the food to the wine.  A tasting menu is about quality not quantity.

Keep tuned for the wine and food pairings in segments such as Dinner Tonight and Best of the Best.  Maybe Brian will even reveal a few of his recipes on our Recipe Book section.

Tags: Hosting a Party