Last night I had the pleasure of reuniting with two of my friends from wine school, Catherine & Corwin. The original plan (well, of course the original plan included MANY possibilities but the wine-bar-savvy Corwin narrowed it down with surgical precision) was to visit a French wine bar called Le Bateau Ivre (named after a Rimbaud poem) known for a prolific by-the-glass menu of over 250 choices, but they were closed for a private function. The backup plan was delightful — Accademia di Vino, an Italian restaurant, enoteca and wine bar. The atmosphere, service, food and wine were all splendid and we had a great time catching up since last seeing each other a month ago, and what was particularly enjoyable was drinking and talking wine with people who speak the same language about it. So what did we drink? Hold on, I’ll tell you! 
We started with some Northern Italian cheeses and cold meats, paired with the Cataratto “Salina” C. Hauner Eolian Island Sicilia 2005 for Catherine, the Spumante Rosato Vanzini Brut Lombardia NV for Corwin, and the Prosecco De Faveri Rotonda Veneto 2006 for me. For dinner my friends shared a sausage and broccoli rabe (exemplary of Italy’s more bitter flavor profiles) pizza and I ordered the Bavette Cacio e Pepe with virgin olive oil, cracked black pepper and pecorino Romano, the latter of which was a pleasantly simple pasta dish that would have paired very well with my ‘06 Barbera D’Alba from Guidobono but the chemesthesis from the cracked black pepper brought out too much of the alcohol sensation in the wine. I wish I had jotted down the wines my friends had had (psst, if you guys are reading this, comment it below!) — they were delicious. I’d share tasting notes but the aromas of the fabulous food all around us made isolating my nose and palate for the wines very difficult. A restaurant is a wonderful place to enjoy wines with food and friends but not ideal for professional tasting analysis.
So dessert! My favorite part. We had the pleasure of meeting an old friend of Catherine’s who joined us for a snack. Corwin enjoyed the Semi Freddo Affogato with Kahlua poured over it and another wine I can’t recall, and I savored a honey panna cotta with cantelope balls paired perfectly with a Moscato d’Asti. I believe Catherine sipped a glass of the Spumante Rosato Vanzini Brut Lombardia NV but I could be wrong.
After hugs and farewells Corwin and I decided to go to a nearby cigar club called Club Macanudo, Corwin having just discovered that after wine, beer, tea, tequila, and coffee my other connoisseurship is cigars. Yes, I have my own humidor and accessories. The space in Club Macanudo is a warm, sophistocated, Old New York cigar lounge with leather seats, throw pillows and wood panel walls, where relaxed conversation floats about the air mingling with rich cigar smoke and music from a live bossa nova band. Far from being finished with wine pairings for the night, we both enjoyed glasses of port with our cigars (which I will find out brand names for), mine being the Taylor Fladgate 10 yr Tawny and my companion’s choice being a Dow’s ruby. Perfect. Think I have a new smoking buddy!
