On the coldest Memorial Day weekend in Northern California history, I went to an outdoor dinner in Nicasio at Devil’s Gulch Ranch. Outdoor dinners, particularly ones in the middle of a vineyard, are supposed to be warm and summery affairs. Skinny-strapped dresses, bare legs and shoulders, heels (but not spiky ones that might sink into vineyard soil and leave you stuck), a floppy hat and some movie star–size sunglasses, and maybe, if you’re feeling particularly cautious, a floaty, gauzey scarf for a cover-up. That’s what I had in mind (in addition to delicious food and a beautiful setting) when I bought the $200 tickets for the event. The reality was more like this.
It was freezing. In classic Norcal fashion, we showed up in sunshine and spent the first hour keeping an anxious eye on the fog bank looming on the horizon. Take a sip of wine, nibble on halibut ceviche, glance to the west, shiver, sip, repeat.