Living in NYC, we do not have an outdoor grill or an expansive garden so we appreciate it all the more when friends invite us over for an outdoor meal cooked on the grill. 
Recently, we had lunch in a beautiful garden and my friend made one of my favorite meals.
While guests assembled, we started with sweet cantaloupe wrapped with prosciutto, and bread sticks wrapped with mortadella and finocchiona salame. With this we had
Champagne Marguet Grand Cru “Shaman 15 Rose ” Dosage 0 g/liter. Bottled May 2015 made from 67% Pinot Noir and 33% Chardonnay. The soil is chalk. The wine is fermented spontaneously. Fermentation and aging in new oak. The wine is unfined, no added sulphites and no temperature control. The wine is filtered. The winery is Organic/Biodynamic. Horses plough the soil. This is a full-bodied, complex Champagne with hints of yellow fruit and brioche.
Next was Michele’s smoked salmon dip with potato chips.
With the main course, we had grilled zucchini sprinkled with herbs
and a simple salad of cherry tomatoes from a local New Jersey farm with herbs and olive oil.
Pigato 2008 Le Russeghine Riviera Ligure Di Pontente Az. Ag. Bruna made from 100% Pigato. The vineyard is at 230 meters with a southeast exposure. The soil is iron-rich red clay and the vines are 25 to 60 years old. The training system is guyot. Harvest takes place by hand in the second half of September. The grapes are soft pressed and the must is allowed to settle, and the fermentation begins and is capped of at 18C. Aging is stainless steel and large oak barrels (20 to 25% for at least 8 months on the lees and then in bottle until it is ready for release. The wine has hints of peach, citron and a touch of grapefruit. There is a note of almonds and citrus fruit in the aftertaste.
Cote-Rotie “Ampodium” 2017 Rene Rostaing made from 100% Syrah a blend of 13 sections of different vineyards but not from the best parcels. About 40% or more of the grapes are destemmed. Wild yeast fermentation takes place. The wine is aged in a mix of 225 liter and 500 liter oak barrels, 15/25% new. The wine is bottled without fining or filtering This is an elegant wine with hints of blackberries, blueberries and spice, floral notes and a touch of licorice.
Cote-Rotie “Cote Blonde” 2009 made from 95% Syrah and 5% Viognier. The mineral laden soil has deposits of silex and mica on steep hills. The vines are 50 years and older. The grapes partially destemmed (35 /50%) and co-fermented. The rest are whole bunch fermented in stainless steel vats. Only 10% of new oak is used. This is a very impressive full bodied wine with hints of black cherry, raspberries, licorice, a touch of herbs and a hint of smoke
Our main course was rosemary marinated lamb skewers with bacon and bread. This photo is of the skewers ready to grill. The recipe is from Marcella Hazan.
On the grill
Ready to serve. The bread toasts and absorbs the smoky flavors of the grilled lamb juices and bacon. 
After the meats, we had an assortment of aged cheeses from Bobalink, a New Jersey farm.