Wisteria Family Dinner
The best moments in life are the ephemeral times in which we come together and experience that which will never happen again. Time slows down, awakening our senses to the exact time and place as we capture the essence and connect with the spirit. Each season in life brings us these moments which stop us in our tracks and holds us there in between the hands of time. When the wisteria blooms, we stop, gaze and breathe in the sweet air. Add a family dinner to this perfect setting and we have the recipe for a memorable night with inspirational conversation over great food, wine and company. These are moments when stories are made.
My grandfather was a Virginia farmer who knew little of the world beyond his borders. In the early 1980’s, he took his first trip abroad on a business trip to Japan to see construction equipment. It was his first experience with Japanese food, specifically sushi, and he lost weight with the unfamiliar diet. He always loved veggies and would order a meat and three and would often hold the meat. He could eat rolls with butter and sorghum faster than my grandmother could make them. What struck him was the people who were kind and curious. He told me a story about being in a park when it was tea time. All of the women stopped sweeping and pulled out their tea pots and told him that this moment would never happen again. In Japan, tea time was sacred and this family meal was a shared ephemeral moment.
Each day is a gift. Each moment can hold beauty and reflection. Life is not about the end game. It is about the road traveled, the journey and the moments in between.
A family meal could be defined as a group meal. It could be with family members, friends or even strangers. It is often the term used by chefs when they cook the meal for staff before service. In all cases, it is a large table of people who experience a meal together and share the moment. The family meal evolves around the food, the drink, the people, and most of all the conversation that brings it all comes together.
In life, we must follow our dreams. We have our jobs and our responsibilities which keep us going along the path which we seemed destined to be on. Occasionally, we might have an epiphany which awakens our mind to an idea or goal which is new. We are constantly evolving towards ourselves and reaching for our dreams.
Hosting family styled dinners at Chisholm Vineyards is a dream of ours. We enjoy entertaining our guests by creating comfortable spaces, providing local wine, and sharing our stories and hearing theirs. It is only natural that we would want to create dinners in which we could bring people together where they would find joy and open themselves to an experience which is unscripted. It is an adventure to put yourself into a situation that is unknown. The outcome can be a positive force, like my grandfather’s trip, propelling you into the unknown, learning to to view the world through an alternate lens and see the beauty of it all.
We celebrate Spring, the most ephemeral season of all. Spring is full of rebirth, blossoming, growth, energy, and countless shades of green. The wisteria is about to bloom and we are waiting, with baited breathe for its arrival. With the sweet, sweet blossoms comes the reminder that life is bittersweet, fleeting and so fine. We will savor each and every drop. Our wisteria dinner will capture a moment in time and create a story for all that participate.
