Long before I was on the scene, there was an Annual Ladies’ Party that my Bride has hosted and I am sure that if I ask, she could produce the first year and all the pertinent information.  In fact, it has been going on for so long, one of the participants plans a trip up from Florida, to coincide with this event that has always occurred on the First Friday of December.  We had a Herculean endeavor to get the house ready for this party, as after this past Thanksgiving, all the furniture had to be moved out, so that we could have the new flooring installed and then we had move as much stuff back to have a functioning living and dining room for the event. 

She is even fortunate, that there are some younger participants to replace some of the older participants through various means of attrition.  She keeps a log of everyone there, and if they were there last year, she puts them on the spot, as she reads what there last year goals were, and if they were attained.  They are also assigned a number when they enter, which later on will coincide with the annual Christmas gift selection.  The numbers are random, so the first to arrive, may not be the first to make a selection.  I know all about this, by osmosis, as nowadays, I conveniently go upstairs and hide in my office, which is probably the safest place to be.

The one benefit is that I usually get to start the food portion of the evening going and after I fill a couple of plates, I disappear to enjoy my reward.  The women bring beverages, appetizers, food and desserts.  There were several cheeses, crackers, vegetables and fruit to start off the evening.  There was a tossed salad, Armenian Pilaf, Sauteed Lamb and Mushrooms and Hummus.  There was also a huge assortment of cakes and pies, because I did make a sneaky return to take advantage of the desserts.  The ladies had the industrial size magnum of Mezzacorona Forte Alto Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie DOC 2020.   Mezzacorona is a group of co-operative wineries and brands, established in 1904 in Trentino.  The winery is known as the “Citadella del Vino” and they recently built a state-of-the-art facility to better serve their fifteen-hundred growers.  Mezzacorona claims to produce more Pino Grigio and Chardonnay than any other Italian winery.  With the wine being produced by so many small vineyards, the fruit is hand harvested to this day.  There is no production information, but I sure that I may surmise that the fruit is aged in Stainless Steel for a short period.  I say this, because the wine is green and flinty, crisp with a light floral nose and a soft finish.  A perfect wine for food and lots of talking and merriment.  I know that my Bride is already thinking about the next party.