A Dinner With Wine

"Wine makes a symphony of good food." Fernande Garvin, chef


The six of us lived in the same suburban town when we were raising our children. Our friendship was forged over summer swim meets at the local swim club and convivial dinners.

We've known each other a long time so we always have a lot to talk about. During dinner at T & G's the other night our talk turned to wine. One wine in particular--a 1982 Chateau Lafite Rothschild!

When P's father died, he and his wife, K, purchased his family home. With that home came not only P's mother, but his father's wine cellar as well.

P has always been generous in sharing his wines with friends. This particular evening there were eight of us around their table--our "Gourmet Group" to be exact--but more about that later. There was butterflied leg of lamb on the menu, so when P perused the cellar, he thought that a Bordeaux would complement the lamb perfectly. And perfect it was.

As soon as he opened the bottle of 1982 Lafite and poured the deep ruby-red wine into our glasses, we knew that this wine was special. There are no wine experts among us, but we knew.

We were privileged to drink two bottles that night, and enjoyed every drop. We laugh now to think that then the wine was worth almost 100 times what P's father had paid for it. And I'm not sure if P knows that the wine is worth four times that now.

He had one bottle left that he and K shared with his mother. They toasted his father without whom our memorable tasting would never have been possible.