Dinner- Zeppoli's (Italy)

I went to Zeppoli's Italian Restaurant on Wednesday to have dinner. We order 2 appetizers and 2 entrées to taste 4 different wines that we ordered. Our appetizers were Italian Pizza Bread and Fried Calamari. My entrée meal was Fettuccine Alfredo with Shrimp. The wines that we ordered were the House Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chianti, and Malbec. We were able to get pictures and info on some of the House wines but not all, Zeppoli's also didn't have much info on their house wines on their website.

From Left to Right: Merlot, Chanti, Malbec, and Cabernet Sauvignon

The House Wines:

Malbec: This wine was my favorite for the wines alone. There was some slight hotness with an earthy after-taste. There was not a large tannin component to this wine which had a light start, strong mid, and then a light finish. I couldn't pick up a lot of aroma from this wine. It was hard to swirl and smell in the smaller wine glasses.

Chanti: I've never had a Chanti but had heard a lot about them so I was excited to try it. This wine was the lightest in color and had a fruity aroma possibly apple? In taste this wine was more tannic and bitter, it was hotter in the throat but still smooth.

Merlot: This Merlot had barely any nose but I did pick up a slight toast smell. It had a very strong start but smoothed out nicely. So far it had the highest tannin component so far with a taste that sticks with you. Merlot was my second favorite behind the House Malbec.

Cabernet Sauvignon: Fruity, cherry aroma. This wine had a very light start, but its mid had a high mouth puckery sensation. So a high tartaric component. I could really taste the acid in this wine and it had a very high tannic ending.

Appetizers:


Italian Pizza Bread: Freshly made from scratch Italian bread topped with marinara sauce and mozzarella. I enjoyed this bread, really good bread with cheese and sauce on top can't really go wrong with this combination.

Description of Wine with the Food:

• Malbec: This food pairing reduced the wine's hotness but Malbec's earthy after-taste didn't go well with this food. The tannin component became non-existent.
• Chanti: This wine was too fruity for the cheese, it really brought out the fruit/appleish taste in the wine and got rid of the bitter and hot component. The explosion of fruit surprised me and was interesting but not my cup of tea.
• Merlot: This wine really brought out the cheese flavor in the pizza bread. The tannin component was greatly reduced but still there. I felt this wine would have made a great pairing with this pizza bread if its after-taste wasn't so strong, this strong after-taste ruined the nice blend that was occurring. 
• Cabernet Sauvignon: This wine was not my favorite wine when standing alone but it was my favorite when being eaten with this pizza bread. Everything blended extremely well together that brought out the best components in both wine and food.

Fried Calamari: Lightly breaded calamari, flash fried and served with marinara sauce. To start with this wasn't the best calamari so my tasting notes for this could be a bit skewed.

Description of Wine with the Food:

• Malbec: To start this was a nice blend but left a little too much of the wine after-taste for me.
• Chanti: When had with the marinara sauce this was a good food pairing. There was no specific overpowering wine or calamari taste so these two blended nicely.
• Merlot: I did not like drinking this wine with the calamari, just brought out the bad tastes in each of these
• Cabernet Sauvignon: There was an initial blend between the wine and food but then the wines bitterness was overpowering with an earthy/dirt after-taste that wasn't pleasant.

Entrée:

Fettuccine Alfredo with Shrimp: Egg fettuccine tossed with creamy alfredo sauce topped with freshly ground pepper and shrimp. This was a nice heavy cream dish I just wish there was more shrimp.

Description of Wine with the Food:

• Malbec: This went well with just the cream sauce and noodles but when I added the shrimp to the mix I just didn't like it.
• Chanti: The heavy alfredo sauce really cancelled out everything in this wine but the fruit. It was very pleasant and I can see why Chanti was a classic pasta wine over the years.
• Merlot: This was not a good food pairing! So bad, I really didn't like this! This pairing just brought out all of the bad tastes of the wine. Didn't even try this for a second time.
• Cabernet Sauvignon: This was initially a good blend but then a strong after-taste of wine bursts through the food and made the food seem bitter and "hot".

This was really a great time. I've never done a wine dinner before and was really happy I did this. I recommend anybody to do this cause it really gives you a good feel of how much a wine can change with what you are eating. A wine you hated alone could be fantastic to you if paired with the right food. Will happily do this another time!

Tasting-"Primo Amore"

Name: Primo Amore Moscato
Variety: Moscato
Region: Puglia
Country: Italy
Year: Unkown
Price: $8.95


Vintage Cellar Review: Straw-yellow with golden reflections and a delicate mousse. Fruity and very inviting, with intense scents of peaches and exotic fruit. Fresh and pleasantly sweet with a taste that reveals its varietal characteristic.


My Review: In the aroma I smelled lemon and a bit of a grass earthier smell. I felt this wine was very smooth, refreshing, and enjoyable. Really liked this wine and recommend it to anyone on a hot summer day.

Tasting-"Faraway Farms"

Name: Faraway Farms Shiraz
Variety: Shiraz
Region: Unknown
Country: South Africa
Year: 2008
Price: $5.95


Vintage Cellar Review: Fresh, modern style, with lots of plum pudding, sweet chocolate, mocha, blackberry and boysenberry flavors supported by round, sweet tannins and toast.


My Review: This wine's aroma was not that strong, but I got earthy smells from it. It was smooth with a touch of tannins that I felt was a good balance.

Tasting-"Tres Ojos Old Vines"

Name: Tres Ojos Old Vines
Variety: Garnacha
Region: Calatayud
Country: Spain
Year: 2009
Price: $6.95


Vintage Cellar Review: Bright ruby color. Primary dark berry aromas are simple but offer very good purity and focus. Juicy blackberry and bitter cherry flavors are youthfully tangy, with good back-end acidity adding snap. The clean, brisk finish leaves behind notes of sweet dark berry preserves and cracked pepper.


My Review: I wish my nose was better at picking up different scents because all I got was berry and pepper for the aroma, but you can see from the above description its a lot more than just "berry". You can really feel the tannins in this wine alluding to its young age and I could really taste the hotness of the alcohol. Personally I like my wines to be a bit smoother than this one but if you like a wine with a bit of bite this one would work for you. Also a comment on the "old vines" labeled on this bottle: there is no set age to be an old vine, I've been told it could be anything between 20-100 years so don't think much into a bottle labeled "old vines" there's too wide a range of old for it to really mean anything.

Tasting-"Oak Vineyard"

Name: Oak Vineyard Chardonnay
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: Napa and Sonoma, California
Country: United States
Year: 2010
Price: $5.95


Vintage Cellar Review: Quite an interesting Chardonnay, in an era when so many are too sweet and extracted. There's plenty of orange and apricot fruit flavor, but also a brilliant streak minerality, like a like of cold steel, and the overall taste is dry. Really easy to like, with lots of complexity to warrant repeated sipping.


My Review: This wine was just in the "okay" area for me. Not horrible but not great either. I caught a hint of pear in the aroma and when first tasting this wine doesn't taste like much. Its only after a few seconds that you get hit with the acidity, which I found to be a little too overpowering. In the after-taste the acidity continues but I also got the addition of the hotness from the alcohol.

Tasting-"Obikwa"

Name: Obikwa Sauvignon Blanc
Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
Region: Unknown
Country: South Africa
Year: 2010
Price: $7.95


Vintage Cellar Review: Obikwa Sauvignon Blanc is the ideal summer wine and smacks of crisp tropical fruit with a smattering of gooseberries and fig. If you're planning a night out with mates-don't forget to bring along a bottle of this yummy potion.


My Review: I really liked this wine. I can see why its described as a summer wine. This wine was crisp and refreshing without being over the top sweet. I smelled some floral smells in the aroma and this wine had a pleasant acidity to it. It didn't have a lot of after-taste which I enjoyed. Really recommend this wine!! It was a pleasure to drink!

Tasting-"Estrella"

Name: Estrella
Variety: Merlot
Region: California
Country: United States
Year: 2009
Price: $5.95


Vintage Cellar Review: This ruby colored Merlot has raspberry jam aromas with a subtle hint of spice. Layers of vanilla, plum and fig are revealed that linger ever so slightly on the palate.


My Review: You could really smell the raspberries in this wine. It was initially very smooth but that changed with the high tannin finish.

Tasting-"Doural"

Name: Doural
Variety: Blended Red
Region: Unknown
Country: Portugal
Year: 2009
Price: $8.95


Vintage Cellar Review: This Portuguese tinto(red) blend exhibits a deep red color with violet hues. The nose is vibrant and fruity. The palate offers notes of spice, cherry, and dark berry supported by good structure. Pairs well with red or game meat, cheeses and fish.


My Review: This wine had an extremely strong bouquet. Didn't even need to put my nose in the glass in order to get a good sniff of this one. There was some slight spice, berry, hotness, and tannic to this wine.

Tasting-"Oxford Landing"

Name: Oxford Landing
Variety: Viognier
Region: South Australia
Country: Australia
Year: 2009
Price: $7.95


Wine Spectator Review: 88 points, Bright and lively, this white is appealing for its pear, lychee and sweet spice character, which comes together smoothly against a silky texture.


My Review: I did not like this wine at all! Just had a very bad taste for me and I didn't even want to finish my glass. But for anyone that could enjoy this it was very smooth.

Tasting-"Tierra de Luna"

Name: Tierra de Luna
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: Torrontes
Country: Argentina
Year: 2009
Price: $7.95


Vintage Cellar Review: Fresh and crisp, with floral aromas and flavors of quince and pear, this wine is a versatile companion to informal meals, and is excellent as an aperitif.


My Review: The aroma of this wine was some flowers, pears, and other fruity smells. This wine didn't have much to it for me, slightly hot and little to no after taste.