Cabernet Day with The Noble Rot and Underground Eats

Two years ago, we heralded the return of  private apartment concerts with the likes of Philip Glass and Misha Piatigorsky, which were not unlike modern-day salons of a bygone Paris. So when one of our favorite wine  connoisseurs, The Noble Rot aka Jonathan Cristaldi of L Train Luncheon and Dine Titanic  fame, told us of a secret wine tasting for #CabernetDay to be held in an undisclosed location on the Upper East, we were obviously in.

The Noble Rot, showing the guests how to swirl a wine glass

With cabernets from Domaine Chandon in Napa the Lenz Winery on Long Island’s North Fork, Kunde Estate  and Owen Roe in Oregon, and food pairings provided by Cathy Erway, author of the book The Art of Eating In and the blog Not Eating Out in New York, the group of 25-30 attendees were more than satisfied. Cristaldi interspersed the evening with tips on wine drinking and the cabernet sauvignons themselves.

Cabernet-soaked cantelope

Asian buns, Taiwanese-style

The apartment featured original vintage French posters, including an oversized one for fois gras. But despite the throwback to an earlier era, #CabernetDay was nothing if ultra modern, featuring its own hashtag, a live broadcast with Toutsuite and conversation with Napa Valley, use of the AG Wines app, twitter handles on the walls, and encouragement to Instagram.

One of the highlights was a ’93 Cabernet Sauvignon from Lenz Winery

From left, Mikaela Flynn of Underground Eats, The Noble Rot, and Harris Damashek of Underground Eats

The event was also co-sponsored by Underground Eats, one of Untapped Cities’ partners and our favorite source for whacky culinary events.  Here at Untapped New York, we’re really looking forward to more of these types of events. In a city where there are just too many events to choose from, the opportunity for an intimate gathering with top-notch food, drink, and entertainment (and to check out some of the incredible apartments in this city) easily trumps many of the other options out there.

See more about The Noble Rot, get in touch with the author @untappedmich.