Anyone who knows me, will know that I love hosting a dinner party. I really enjoy having friends over to share a bottle a wine, eat some hearty home-cooked food and have a good old catch up. Let’s not forget to add laughter into the mix, and of course some great music playing in the background.

When I start planning a dinner party, firstly I look at my guests culinary needs, are they a veggie? What’s their favourite food? Is there a food that we’ve shared in the past that means something to us as friends? This is a great starting point.

When Campo Viejo recently got in touch and asked if I’d like to sample some of their wines and blog about them*, it didn’t take long for me to reply with a yes. Campo Viejo wines are a firm favourite with the husband and I, the red is one of our go-to wines and has been for some years.

I had just the friends in mind. Having holidayed in Spain with our prospective dinner guests, it seemed only apt to recreate a spanish themed menu. I always try to style my table in reflection to the food. I had such fun creating my table for the evening, I used a vintage table folded into four as a table runner.

I picked some nasturtiums from the garden and used them in Moroccan tea-glasses to dot around the table, I also placed some on the cutlery to create a pretty place setting. These flowers are edible, so you could use them in a salad.

 

I treated myself to some rustic tableware, such as this olive oil can and wooden serving board. I picked up a bay & rosemary scented candle for added ambience. I also weaved some wire star fairy lights down through the centre to add some extra sparkle.

 

We started with a bottle of Campo Viejo Cava in the garden, with it’s citrus and apple flavours it’s easy on the tongue. I had never tried this particular Cava before, but it now has a well deserved place on my wine rack.

It was a lovely evening, so we sat to catch up, opened the fizz and popped on some music, we found an album on Spotify themed around a Spanish dinner party. With the fab weather we had, we reminisced and were transported back to the our holiday to Spain.

Next, we moved into the kitchen and opened a bottle of Campo Viejo Red Rioja to enjoy whilst we ate our cold meats and salad. This red is deep yet fruity (cherries, black plums, ripe blackberries) and it’s very smooth and elegant. It’s always been a favourite of ours and can usually be found in our current wine collection.

I had decided on Paella for the main course, I find this the perfect sharing dish, plus it’s super easy to make. I treated myself to an authentic paella pan years ago from a Spanish supermarket in Notting Hill. I’ve tweaked my recipe over the years, but this paella recipe, was my starting point and is very easy.

 

We opened a bottle of Campo Viejo White Rioja to try with our paella, which none of us had ever tried. We were very impressed, it combines floral and white fruit aromas with an citrus edge. Another great discovery!

With the doors swung wide open and the evening drawing in, we sat, chatted, danced and enjoyed our Spanish evening to the full.

 

I hope you liked my little dinner party set-up, it was a huge success and I will be hosting another one again very soon!

Until next time,

Amy x

Photographed, written and compiled by Amy Davies Pereira of Little House In London. 

*Although this is a paid collaboration with Campo Viejo, all views and opinions are my own. I only work with bands a truly love and rate.

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