The Fastest Way to Earn a Seat at the Table Is to Host One

AI continues to dominate the conversation. 

Every conference seems to have an AI keynote. Zoom meetings fill our calendars. LinkedIn feeds are overflowing with new tools, prompts, and predictions about what work will look like tomorrow.

But over the past several weeks, something struck me.

Every truly memorable experience I've been part of happened for the exact opposite reason.

Not because of technology.

People intentionally gathered around a table (or in a room).

Earlier this summer, I had the privilege of serving as Event Sommelier for a five-course, ten-wine dinner benefiting SCI Social Capital Inc. Watching conversations deepen course by course reinforced something simple: thoughtfully paired wine doesn't distract from a cause, it amplifies it. 

A few weeks later, the inaugural Private Directors Association® New England Salon Series brought board directors together for a Judgment of Paris-inspired dinner at Metro Bistrot. The evening wasn't about proving France versus California. It became a reminder that challenging assumptions often leads to the most interesting conversations, both in wine and in the boardroom.

We carried that same spirit into our Wines of the World Cup, where every pour sparked a discussion that had little to do with tasting notes and everything to do with travel, culture, memories, and connection. Who would have thought: a sparkling wine, Champagne-style, from Sussex, England?

At Third Space Kitchen, complete strangers became teammates while preparing a Spanish feast. By the end of the evening, they weren't simply sharing paella and Vouvray (sorry, Albariño). They were sharing stories.

Outside the corporate world, I recently curated wines for a gathering supporting a Massachusetts Senate hopeful. Different audience. Different purpose. Same outcome. Great bites and thoughtfully selected wines created space for authentic conversations that likely wouldn't have happened otherwise.

One of the experiences I'm most excited about was helping launch AttentionShift OS alongside The ROI Lie. In a world increasingly focused on productivity and AI, the evening's biggest takeaway came not from a slide deck, but from people slowing down, sharing side-by-side pours of Old World and New World Pinot Noir, and giving one another their full attention. 

Planning our upcoming GHROW executive event for CHROs has reinforced that same lesson. If experience is any guide, attendees will remember the conversations before the program starts, during the tasting, and long after the formal agenda ends.

Even my recent time at Dry Creek Vineyard wasn't really about tasting wine. It was about meeting the people behind the wines, hearing their stories, and understanding that every memorable bottle begins long before it's poured into a glass.

In a world increasingly optimized for efficiency, some experiences simply refuse to be digitized.

You can't automate trust.

You can't Zoom a toast (well, it at least certainly got old post-2020/2021).

 You can't replace the conversation that begins with...

"You have to try this wine."

Technology continues to change how we work. 

Hospitality continues to shape how we connect.

That's why wine still matters. 

Not because it's wine.

Because it gives us one more reason to gather around a table.

 Let's uncork this month's edition.