A Simple Table Setting for A Wine Dinner in Asti

Just before everyone sat down for dinner Saturday night, I snuck in a few shots of the dining room in Asti, all aglow with candle light.

While not exactly my best table setting, its simplicity was appropriate for an evening with Mr. A's wine connoisseur group.

Simple white plates, French stripe napkins and a burlap runner with rosemary topiaries and confit pots formed the centerpiece.

And of course, candles.

We hosted four couples for the night, all who brought vintage wines from their cellar.

The theme was "Alexander Valley," since that is where Asti is located.

As we enjoyed a delicious meal of Burgundy tri-tip steak, heirloom tomatoes fresh from our garden with pecorino cheese and pinenuts, wild rice and broccoli rabe, I was thinking about how just 24 hours earlier, Mr. A and I were chasing a mouse around the room!

A door had been blown open from the strong wind several days earlier, so when we arrived the night before, we had creatures! A bird was flying around the kitchen! Then, the mouse. We even found a lizard! It was hysterical.

Actually, it was a disaster! After we got the critters out of the house, we discovered the refrigerator wasn't working. Apparently, the water line that feeds the ice maker had been leaking for weeks and took out the electricity on the wall behind the refrigerator. We had to throw everything away. Luckily, with an extension cord, we were able to plug it back in at another outlet.

By the time our guests arrived Saturday, everything was back to normal.

I am feeling pretty good about my tablescape right now!

I'm joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday.