In November of 2005, National Geographic published the conclusion to a fascinating project known as the Blue Zones. The magazine listed out, in a single edition, the keys to living a long and healthy life.

For several years, a team of National Geographic researchers traveled across the world. They stayed in country after country, visiting with culture after culture, searching for the healthiest people on Earth. They isolated five regions with the highest concentration of centenarians (age 100+) and supercentenarians (age 105+).

In these five regions, people enjoyed longer and healthier lives than anywhere else. They called them “Blue Zones” — Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Icaria, Greece; Nicoya, Costa Rica; and Loma Linda, California, in a community of Seventh-day Adventists.

The researchers also realized that among the Blue Zones, there’s a great deal of overlap in lifestyle and values that they believed defined the outcome of a healthy, long-lived life. People spend time outside, moving, walking, gardening, and exercising every day. Almost all of them drink a daily glass or two of wine. They focus on balanced lives without too much stress or work.

And when it came to common values across all five Blue Zones, two ideals stood out. Regardless of cultural background, the people who live the longest, healthiest lives prioritize family and community. They experience a deep and meaningful human connection every day.

Sometimes they gather for coffee or tea, catching up on the neighborhood news. Other times they dine together, cooking and laughing as they celebrate life. All their days — whether hard or easy — are always joyous, shared together as one community.

The Blue Zone cultures understand something too many of us have forgotten: there’s extraordinary value in spending time with people we love, solely for the sake of deep human connection. Even when life gets hectic — in fact, especially when it does — there is peace in the company of those you love. We all feel safer and more loved when someone holds us up when we need it, even sometimes just to listen.

Like the small communities in the Blue Zones, we believe it’s important to connect with the many people in our communities. Neighbors, coworkers, acquaintances — we’re all stronger when we get to know each other. This is especially important now, as most of us live in a fractured and polarized time where people seem more separated than ever before.

With that in mind, we’d love to share a practice we indulge in with love and celebration: the family dinner.

We invite the people in our lives — friends, family, neighbors, and acquaintances — to a festive dinner. We dedicate an entire evening to connecting with those around us.

Maybe the evening starts with charcuterie and wine. Glasses are laid out on a table, a few open bottles beside them. Everyone is eating from a large cutting board covered with fresh cheeses, toasted nuts, pâté, and cured meats. Camembert, pecans, foie gras, and prosciutto are artfully displayed next to one another.

As wine is poured, you drift into deeper conversation. One moment you’re catching up with a dear friend, and the next you’re getting to know your neighbor. Music plays in the background and a pleasant energized buzz of happiness and connection fills the air.

The food is being prepped and cooked by many hands. The action is in the kitchen, now transformed into a busy place with cooks operating amongst talking and drinking guests.

Finally, after an action-packed time of chopping and sizzling in a crowded kitchen, the food is plated in a buffet. We always eat community-style gathering around large plates of communal food. Each plate has its own personality, layered with flavors and bursting with a love of serving others. People mill around the food, taking some of this and that. In fact, many nights, we just eat right off the buffet together, standing around an island of food.

Nothing fancy; this is simple, rustic whole natural food, meant to be eaten with pure wine and dear friends in an intimate community with a spirit of sharing.

The wine we drink is just as important as the food we serve. Many bottles are opened to taste as we ponder the fun and interesting flavors. What do we taste? How is this different from the others? We enjoy a lovely collection of different styles: bubbles, whites, orange wines, rosés, light reds, and bolder reds.

The wines are alive and we often share stories about the farmers we know and how their spirit lives in the bottle. The wines are evolving from the time they are opened, so sometimes we revisit one we enjoyed. These ethereal Natural Wines have so much life and vibrancy in every glass.

The conversation flows with the wine, and after a couple of glasses, people share more deeply and laugh more heartily as they get comfortable and vulnerable. Stories come out, and everyone settles in to a deeper sharing. There’s no rush here. Everyone chats and listens, lost in the pleasure of lively, engaged conversation.

Megan, Ramzy, and Spencer; Dry Farm Wines Family

Often a new friendship is discovered, or an old friendship shows up with more openness. The two of you may discover that your spirits align in a surprising way. Maybe you make plans for something in the future — a Saturday morning hike or another dinner. These conversations and human connections, especially with the magic of Natural Wines, just blossom into life.

As the dinner is concluding, people start clearing each others’ plates from the table. This marks the start of a community cleaning. Everyone gathers back in the kitchen, washing dishes and glasses, tending to leftovers, drying platters, cleaning counters, and sweeping floors. Even the eager dogs help with cleaning the leftovers, too!

Cleaning together creates another special bond. It gives everyone a shared purpose, engaging in a messy, lively activity with a purposeful outcome.

As everyone finishes, we reminisce on the night of fun. We discuss our favorite dishes, and which wines we enjoyed the most. Some break off early, perhaps with children to care for, or a longer ride home to prepare for an early morning. Others will linger a bit, gathering outside by the firepit, or just at the end of the table, for a more intimate late evening discussion.

The end of the evening is a special time. Everyone says their goodbyes with deep hugs, filled with the joy of all the meaningful connections they experienced around an evening of food, pure wines, and celebration of love and shared spirits.

As the final guests leave, you are pleasantly tired, but filled with a deep satisfaction for being the host of something so special. You sit down with a final glass of wine. As you finish it, you take a moment to be grateful for your friends and loved ones, and for the opportunity to bring them together.

After all, the key to a long, healthy, and well-lived life, as we learned from the Blue Zones, is how much we love.

The Lost Art of The 4 Hour Dinner