We firmly believe entertaining is an occasion, not a particular time. With life as busy as it is, it’s not always easy to schedule catch-ups with your girlfriends in the evening time. That’s why a weekend morning is as good a time as any to catch up on life, love and all the other good stuff. After all, our wines always enjoy good company no matter what the time.
Brunch is the meeting point of breakfast and lunch. It has been referred to as the mealtime version of a bob haircut, not quite breakfast and not quite lunch! If you’re lucky, you can make it the mealtime version of the LOB and run it into the late afternoon! Brunch is a great time for entertaining because it’s flexible. You can enjoy it in the hustle and bustle of a great cafe or restaurant or in the comfort of your home where you can invite friends for a relaxed and leisurely mid-day meal—and, of course, a glass of wine or two.
One of the best ways to kick off a brunch in our books is of course with bubbles. Bubbles just has a way of making any time seem like celebration time. Of course, if you kick off brunch early, then you could consider starting with a Mimosa. The Mimosa is that fabulous combination of sparkling wine and orange juice. Traditionally it is made with Champagne, but ours is a Méthode Traditionnelle, so it’s pretty darn close. Here’s a selection of a couple of great wine packs sure to suit any brunch gathering.
Brunch can start as early as 10 AM, but don’t push it. It’s the weekend so every gal does need time to ease into things on weekends don’t you agree? We think that somewhere between 11 AM and noon is a civilised time to start, allowing guests to linger into mid to late afternoon depending on how long you want your guests to stay! Saturday is fine, but Sunday is our favourite day for brunch as it is often a welcome distraction to the work week ahead.
Brunch should always feel bright and breezy, so throw open the doors (if it’s not arctic outside) embrace your view, or sit in the garden if the summer is in full swing. If you don’t have an outdoor area, then brighten the indoors with fresh flowers, or if it’s a particularly gloomy and a miserable day out, candles can make a big difference and lighten the mood.
Summer is the perfect season for brunch entertaining. You can get creative with colourful tablecloths, flowers and napkins.
The best thing about brunch is that preparing it doesn’t have to take hours or prep. A selection of finger foods is always great as adds to the casual feel and means that you can do all of the prep work in advance and ensure that you as the hostess, get to enjoy the time with your girls, rather than being stuck in the kitchen. There is certainly nothing as delicious as a tapas style bruschetta board filled with all kinds of tasty treats.
However, one of our favourite recipes for brunch has to be the classic French Toast. This recipe from Food TV is extra delicious with the serving of fresh berries. Delicious any time of the year.
For the French toast:
- 500ml milk Three 7-cm cinnamon sticks broken up into pieces
- Six large eggs Pinch freshly grated nutmeg ¾ tsp sugar
- One baguette (French bread) about 30cm long
- 45g unsalted butter Icing sugar
For the Mixed berries:
- 240ml water 280g strawberries rinsed tops trimmed halved or quartered if large
- 280g raspberries 280g blueberries rinsed 2 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- One vanilla pod split lengthwise and seeds scraped out with a knife and reserved
- Grated zest of ½ orange Grated zest of ½ lemon 2 tbsp sugar
Whatever you decide to prepare or how you choose to entertain, the most important thing is to make the time, for yourself and your girlfriends, because let’s be honest, there is no therapy like it!
