At the onset of spring break, Priya and I drove out to Montauk, for a few days of eternal horizons, crashing waves, and wine.

Last night, still a little fuzzy from Thursday’s vertical tasting of Gundlach Bundschu with Snooth, I met Caitlin at Sorella, an Italian wine bar on Allen Street, just south of Delancey.  With a ceiling comprised of what looks like wine barrel slats, Sorella is a narrow spot with dim lights, a trickling crowd, and a mix that included The Raconteurs for music.

Near the end of the night, after Suzanne and Kelleigh had left, I swirled the contents of my glass and inhaled a gulp of fresh lilac.  Lilac? I said to Cathy, I don’t remember sensing that!  And because I’d forgotten which of the five Carmeneres I was drinking, we sniffed through the bottles and soon found that the scent was coming from Portal del Alto Gran Reserva, 2005, the exact same wine that Cathy had earlier poured from her glass.  How could that be?

On line at the Javits Center 30 minutes before the New York Wine Expo began, Suzanne and Daniel ensured us a six o’clock start.  Joined by Cathy, and later Jenn and Matt, Imbibe had a crew of six seeking an educational debacle–a night offering over six hundred wines.  My aim was to map an agenda, which was never realized.  It was impossible.  With the exception of a few small sections–Portugal and Argentina, and a table of Chateauneuf-du-Pape–there was no strategy behind the floor plan.  So instead we wandered.