A Gemini Dinner at Scottsdale National

Wine dinners have been part of the Scottsdale National calendar since the 2018-2019 season. This one was nearly a year in the making.

When my sister Alicia’s Gemini birthday dinner landed on the same night as our GAJA Wine Dinner at Scottsdale National Golf Club, it made for a lovely evening of great wine, good food, and even better company.

The GAJA Wine Dinner

Wine dinners have been part of the Scottsdale National calendar since the 2018-2019 season, one per month from October through April, with a winery owner or wine maker at the club to share their wines and stories with our membership. This one was nearly a year in the making. Our Director of Food & Beverage, Shaun Adams, traveled to Piedmont last June, met Giovanni Gaja, and toured the winery and vineyards. That visit is where the idea was born, and we worked together to make May 1st happen.

Giovanni arrived with older vintages of GAJA’s Chardonnay and Barolo to pour alongside the current releases, giving our members a side-by-side look at how these wines develop over time. The Chardonnays were the 2023 and 2014, and the Sperss Barolo compared the 2019 and 2001. Two pairings stood out in particular: the Sauvignon Blanc with the squash blossom, and the Barbaresco with the Agnolotti pasta. We finished with an Italian cheese plate alongside both Barolos.

Chef Mel’s menu was a collaboration with Shaun, rooted in Piedmont and shaped by his own touch. Not strictly classic, but a wonderful representation of the region built to move with the wines from start to finish.

The Tablescape

For Alicia’s tablescape, Claire Hinsch, our VP of Events, did what she does best. Drawing inspiration from the GAJA label and Italian checkered floors, every detail on the table, from the invitation design outward, was intentional.

Place settings were kept in black and off-white: scalloped linen placemats and napkins, a black clay charger plate, and a logo’ed bread bag as the placecard, embroidered with each guest’s name and filled with focaccia. A fun detail that people noticed right away.

The centerpiece took a produce-forward, graphic approach. No matter where you looked, Claire had thought of something. Literal tiles laid on the table created a grid, then built within it. On the black tiles, stainless steel containers and petalless sunflowers sat alongside Italian dessert coupes filled with cherries, strawberries, blackberries, and champagne grapes, nodding to Piedmont’s fruits and the wine glass pyramid on the invite. On the white tiles, spring and summer Piedmont vegetables, stacked asparagus and woven pole bean pods, played off the geometry of the grid. The black, white, circular and square elements all working together made for a striking table.

Here’s to Alicia

Great wine, a great menu, a beautifully executed table, and my sister at the center of it all. Happy birthday, Alicia. Gemini season delivered.