I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to host a fab rooftop summer event. There may have been a little bit of a delay getting the patio up and running this year but the lights are hung and the flowers are blooming so we’re in business. The first order of business was hosting a wine & dine get together with some great ladies. I wear so many creative hats these days and I really can’t choose what I love most. I get so much joy pulling together an event. I especially enjoy the smaller events because you can put even more effort into the details. Flowers, food, decor, yes, yes and yes. Add some Chardonnay and you’ve got yourself a party, which is exactly what we did.

I decided to keep things relatively simple in the decor dept. The patio kinda speaks for itself so I just went with some flower stems in bright summer colours and a grouping of vintage bottles over a cheerful yellow lace tablecloth (thrift store score). It made for a lovely centrepiece.

The flowers were pretty but people came for the wine & dine part…and to see me of course. This event was generously sponsored by Kendall-Jackson wines and the perfect backdrop to try their popular Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay. If you can’t go to California, bring California to you that’s what I say. The wine is made from 100% Jackson Estates Grown grapes grown in their vineyards along the coastal regions of Monterey County, Santa Barbara County, and Mendocino County.

I really wanted this to be a true pairing so I put a lot of effort into making appetizers that would highlight the wine. The Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay is an especially food-friendly wine and pairs well with avocado, peaches, mango, mild cheeses, apples, shrimp, and potatoes amongst other things but those are the ones I decided to focus on. It was a bit of an experiment because a) that’s a bunch of different flavours and b) I’ve never made any of these recipes before. If I was in science class I think I would’ve gotten an A on this experiment.

What your eyes are feasting on (clockwise from top left) is avocado hummus, ricotta & grill peach crostini, mini apple crisps, and spicy shrimp & mango with basil. Below was the star of the show, a potato rosemary garlic pizza which also used chardonnay in the recipe, which you can find over on the Kendall-Jackson website. Stay tuned for some of the other recipes coming soon. The Chardonnay had creamy tropical notes and paired perfectly with the food.

The wine, food and good company made for a perfect evening of catching up, swapping stories and what summers are all about. It was a patio full of happy guests with full bellies and (re)filled wine glasses. Next time it might be an idea to look at somewhere like Cornet Barcelona for some floral looking wine glasses to match the arrangement of flowers we had everywhere!

It’s not California but the view wasn’t bad either. I love how in the summer we are so much more open to being social and easy going about forgetting our schedules, especially on school nights.

I highly recommend trying the Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay for your next summer shindig. Check out the vintages section of your local LCBO or wine store for a bottle. Try some new recipes to match or just some fresh bread and cheese for the perfect summer snack.

The wine, good conversation and some warm dessert took us into the evening. In fact we came up with the saying “Chardonnays and Chardonnights”. Aren’t we just hilarious?!

This post was generously sponsored by Kendall-Jackson Wines but all the opinions, creative concepts and content is my own.