An Evening of Class at Kabinett Wine Bar

*Picture by Steve Wilson of the SCAS (not associated with Seoul Steves)

Since the opening of the Kabinett Wine Bar, a lot of things have been going on with it. First, we sealed the deal on our exclusive wine of the month club, then we sweetened the pot by securing a 5% discount at the Kabinett Warehouse Sale. Finally, last Saturday was the Seoul Cigar Aficionado Society monthly smoker and the Steves were there.

The Kabinett Wine Bar was opened in conjunction with Pieroth Wines, a German-based boutique wine company that has taken Korea by storm.

Kabinett bills itself as Itaewon’s first real wine bar, but it also marks the first time the international company has made a foray into opening an establishment.

The interior of Kabinett is a mixture of rustic and contemporary. One thing unique, is that the space is open and not crammed together like most other watering holes in Korea.

The actual wine tasting took place in a private room away from the rest of the bar and was led by an employee of Kabinett. A generous dinner of chicken and shrimp kebabs was served over rice and sauted veggies.

As people started to enjoy their cigars, it was explained that only big, bold, red wines were on the agenda for the evening, as any of the subtle tastes would be completely lost in the tastes of the cigar.

The disadvantage of not having any white wines on the docket was that, for me, there’s not enough contrast to keep your taste buds on their toes. In the case of my very poorly-trained palate, I need as much help as I can get. But that’s just something for me to remember for the future.

After dinner and the tasting, the group went out into the main room for Vince’s presentation on the month’s cigar.

From here on out it was all about socializing over good wine and good cigars. Towards the end of the evening, it was announced that several important events were going on for SCAS members. Some were leaving Korea, and one couple was celebrating their anniversary, so Pieroth provided some cake and champagne for the occasion.

As the crowd and the cloud slowly dissipated, the conversation died down and the Steves headed out onto the street. The cold air chilled us to the bone, but after an evening of fine food, wine, tobacco and, most of all, great people, we hardly noticed.

More pics can be found on the web album of the Seoul Cigar Aficionado Society.

Don’t forget to order your Christmas Combo from our new Wine of the Month Club, and to print out your coupon for the Kabinett Warehouse Sale on December 1st and 8th.