Last night was the first Grand Opening Party for Silver Oak's new Oakville Winery. We celebrated with an all-hands-on-deck party for winery principals and other VIP guests. The night was beautiful despite the wind and chill. I wish I had remembered a camera to take pictures of the winery. It was all decked out in harvest colors of orange, brown, red and yellow. The lawn was scattered with bistro tables covered in silk tableclothes, upholstered benches for relaxing and propane heaters to ward off the chill. There was a flamenco troop to entertain at the top of the hour and a string quartet to set the mood throughout the night.
I was lucky enough to be assigned the responsibility of serving champange on the red carpet to our guests as they arrived. Everyone seemed to appreciate the grand effort that was put in to the Gala and the special effect of walking down a red carpet flanked with champagne. I only dropped one tray and that was in the very beginning of the night before too many guests arrived. By 7pm, I was an expert at holding a tray one-handed and passing out flutes with the other.
After my dinner break, I volunteered myself to pass out our party favors. Guests seemed impressed with our attention to every detail when I handed them baby Oak trees and Bouchon chocolates. At least one in three guests had to ask if the seedling was a Silver Oak but I believe it was actually a Valley Oak. My understanding is that Silver Oaks do exist, but they are native to Hawaii, not California. It was fun to talk with guests about there impression of the new facility and I only heard very positive comments. It was also nice to have a job that happened to be right next to a heater.
While I was working, Jason was home with the kids. They did just fine without me and even baked home-made pretzels.
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