It is that time of the year for high school graduations and I guess if you live long enough, you end up attending many assorted generations of these parties.  They are getting to be quite elaborate these days.  We just attended a party and I learned that some of the high schools have forums for the parents, where different vendors go and show what they can do.   From tent, tables and chair rentals to actual food preparations and catering.  One stop shopping, if one can find the proper accommodations and budget.

We pulled up to this party and they had a tent set up across the three lane wide parking spaces in front of their garage, as well as onto to their grass.  They also had tables set up in other parts of their yard, as well as in the house.  The food was catered by one of the companies that they encountered at the forum and they made an excellent selection.   The meal was a big barbeque with briskets, chicken, and pulled pork and all the sides.  They even offered several different sauces to add to the flavors.  There were several salads, and several vegetables and fresh baked rolls and corn bread.  The desserts were also great, there were cakes and chocolate covered everythings and one of the biggest collections of really fancy cupcakes, in fact, some of the cupcakes that people were raving about, where alas gone, by the time I went for dessert, but there were others that were equally impressive.  I was a happy camper, as I never know what to expect at these affairs.

I suggested to my Bride that we should take some wine, and she said that there would probably be drinks there.   There were coolers of beer, domestic and lights, and craft IPA types.  There was water and pop and juices and there was even Sangria.  There was boxed wine and I get that, not everyone gets into wine like we do.  There was a box of White Zinfandel and a box of Moscato, both by Franzia Brothers Winery.  Franzia began in 1906 and survived to this day.  They were one of the first to get into the box wine decanters in the late 1970’s and have made a good name for themselves and they definitely cater to a market segment and have created a good niche for their wines.  Unfortunately, my Bride and I are not partial to the two grape wines that were being offered, so I jumped into my car and went looking for a party store to find something that was chilled and with a screw cap closure, as I did not have a corkscrew and I thought it would be in poor taste to ask our hosts if they had one.  I found one of the most popular wines on the market, in fact it is the most popular wine sold in the United States from New Zealand.  Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc 2017 from the Marlborough region was just perfect for the moment.  The chilled crisp acidic citrus flavor paired well with the tang of the barbeque dishes.  Kim Crawford began in Auckland in 1996 and moved to a state of the art facility in Marlborough in 2000.  They were so successful that they were bought by Vincor in 2003 and then acquired by Constellation Brands in 2004.  It was a perfect afternoon.