Food and Wine at Zeppoli's Italian Restauraunt

   On Wednesday,  my wife and I went to a local Italian restaurant called Zeppoli's.  We ordered four different house red wines to try with our two appetizers and entree.  The wines were Merlot, Chianti, Malbec, and a Cabernet Sauvignon.  The two appetizers were an italian Pizza Bread and Fried calamari, and my entree was Chicken Parmesan.  Zepoli's did not have much information available on their house wines.  I asked the server for information and looked online, and was unable to find information on any of the four wines.

Above are the pictures of the house wines.  From Right to Left
they are the Cabernet, Malbec, Chianti and Merlot.

The Wines:

Cabernet Sauvignon:  This wine was one of the few wine that I could sense something on the nose.  It has a slight fruity component to it, like a lemon or lime.  I really enjoyed this finish on this wine as well.  It has a nice velvet texture to it on the finish, and the mid pallet has a slight mouth puckering sensation.  I thought that this wine was balanced well, and was my favorite wine.

Malbec:  The malbec had a little too much heat for my preference.  I did not enjoy the transition of this wine.  The begging middle and end of this wine did not flow very well at all, and I could not distinguish any specific aromas due to the small glasses, and full levels.

Chianti:  The chianti was the lightest of the wines and had the prettiest color as well.  There was a strong apple aroma on the nose, and as expected it had a a very good tannic component.  It wasn't overwhelming, and was very nice.  I liked this wine second best.

Merlot:  The merlot had a jammy aroma on the nose.  The start was over whelming, and I felt that it hindered the rest of the wine.  The finish however was very impressive.  It was extremely tasty and almost chewy.

Appetizers

Italian Pizza Bread:  This Italia pizza bread was delicious.  You could tell that it was homemade and extremely fresh.  This cheese, bread and sauce combination was perfect, and I could easily eat this instead of pizza.  

Description of the Wine with the Food:

Cabernet:  This wine was my favorite and thought it couldn't get any better with food.  Man, was I wrong!  This Cab and pizza bread combination was perfect.  The acidity of this wine cut through the cheese perfectly and mixed with a sauce.  This combination was perfect and will continue to try Cabernets with Pizza Bread and other pizza items.

Malbec:  The food helped to reduce this wines heat.  I felt that it went well with this food as well.  The pizza bread helped to reduce that tannic component of this wine, and the sauce went well with this wine.  However I felt the cheese and this merlot conflicted greatly.  

Chianti:  This wine was too fruity for the sauce.  I felt that for this thick of a sauce like marinara that I needed a heavier wine.  This was not my favorite combination.

Merlot:  This wine also went with the pizza bread very well.  The only problem that I encountered with this was that the wine was too strong.  It tried to over power the pizza bread too much.  The tannics of this wine did go well with the pizza, and when the mouth puckering sensation occured, the sauce was there to relax it away.  

 Calamari:  Now calamari is one of my favorite seafood appetizers.  This calamari was pretty well prepared.  There was still the squid ocean flavors and the breading was delicious.  

The Wines with the Food:

Cabernet:  This was my favorite wine and my favorite wine with the Pizza Bread. However to put it nicely the calamari and the Cabernet were gross.  Nothing went right in this combination.  I recommend that NO ONE order this combination.  

Malbec:  Spoiler Alert! I hated all the wines with the calamari.  I really wish I would have ordered a white wine to try with this.  The Malbec was no exception, and I felt that the various transitions this wine had by itself did not work well with this food.

chianti:  I feel like the Chianti worked the best with this food.  I'm not saying it was good, but worked the best.  Its light fruity flavors, sort of like a white wine worked okay.  

Merlot:  The Merlot was much like the Cab and Malbec.  This food combination I felt did not wok at all.  

Entree

Chicken Parmesan:  This was your typical Chicken Parm.  Very heavily breaded chicken, great spaghetti and a wonderful sauce.  A great meal by itself.

Cabernet:  This was my second favorite wine and food pairing.  I feel like the breading and the wine did not agree, and that is why it wasn't my favorite.  The spaghetti and chicken went well with this wine, but the breading was difficult.  

Chianti:  The Chianti was the least favorite of all the pairings.  I feel like the fruity aspects of this wine conflicted with the tastes.  One aspect of this wine was the tannic structure it offers, and I thought it was quite friendly to this entree.

Malbec:  The Malbec went the best with the chicken, breading and sauce.  It was okay with the noodles, but shined with the chicken.  I feel that the chicken helped the Malbec transition to the different levels, that the wine by its self struggled to do.  

Merlot:  This wine I thought was an average pairing.  It didn't stand out as being great or being terrible.  One good aspect of this was the finish.  The after taste this pairing left in my mouth was delicious.  I enjoyed it thoroughly.

This dinner was extremely fun.  I had a great time, and recommend that anybody try a food and wine  dinner.  The girl in the picture is 21.  I promise. (HAHA)

 

Primo Amore

Name: Primo Amore
Variety: Moscato
Country: Italy
Year: N/A
Price: 8.95 (USD)
My Rating: 10/10

Official 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 tasted that reveals its varietal characteristic."

My Review:  I loved this wine.  I am not a huge white wine fan, but fell in love with this wine almost instantly.  The nose had some lemony smell to it.  The color was almost a clear yellow.  All these signs say I shouldn't like this wine, but I encourage everyone to try this wine, and if you are a Moscato enthusiast, than you better go buy this wine RIGHT NOW!!!

Faraway Farms

Name: Faraway Farms
Variety: Shiraz
Country: South Africa
Year: 2008
Price: 5.95 (USD)
My Rating: 5/10

Official 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:  I did not care much for this wine at all.  I found the nose to be very earth and dirty.  Sort of an Old world nose, but the taste was like a battle royal in my mouth.  I couldn't pick out any specific taste but just generic berry.  I would not recommend this wine.

Tres Ojos

Name: Tres Ojos: Old Vines
Variety: Garnacha
Country: Spain
Vintage: 2009
Price: 6.95 (USD)
Rating: (7/10)

Official Rating: "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 didn't really see the bright ruby color, but instead say more of just a light purple.  I loved the finished tasted of this wine.  It left the inside of your mouth as if you just drank velvet.  Very smooth, but did not care for the taste too much.  Though the taste was just that of your average red.

Oak Vineyard

Name: Oak Vineyard
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: Napa and Sonoma
Country: United States
Year: 2010
Price: 5.95 (USD)
Rating: 7/10

Official 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 of minerality, like a lick of cold steel, and the overall taste is dry.  Really easy to like, with lots of complexity to warrant repeated sipping."

My Review:  I did not find this Chardonnay appealing.  I found it to be slightly above average.  However, with that being said, I do not enjoy very many Chardonnays.  Of all the Chardonnays I've had I liked this one the best.  There was a little heat towards the end of this wine.  This heat paired up with a buttery oaky finish.  The finish was the only section of this wine that I enjoyed.    I would recommend this only if you love complex Chardonnays.

Name: Obikwa
Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
Region:
Country: South Africa
Vintage: 2010
Price: 7.95 (USD)
My Ratting: 8/10

Official 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:  On the nose I was only able to recognize the pear.  After tasting it I got a hint of a granny smith apple.  I remember it being very smooth and going down easily.  Found this very good for a white, and would recommend it to anyone looking for just a tasty wine to drink.

Estrella

Name: Estrella
Variety: Merlot
Region: Napa Valley
Country: United States
Price: 5.95 (USD)
Recommended?: Yes


Official 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:  The official review says it all.  My untrained pallet could even start to detect the after taste of a vanilla plum.  I imagined paring this wine with a rare steak and a side of buttery asparagus.  I believe for this price, it is a great wine.  There was a high level of tannins that came on strong at the end, but a 6-10.

Doural

Name: Doural
Variety: Blended Red
Country: Portugal
Price: 8.95 (USD)
Recommended?:  Sure, why not?

Official Review:  "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 was one of the few blended red wines that I didn't want to throw out.  I found it to be very simple.  However simple things aren't always bad as you may find out with this wine.  A 7-10.

Oxford Landing

Name: Oxford Landing Estates
Variety: Viognier
Price: 7.95 (USD)
Country: Australia
Recommended?: OH YEAH!!!!!

Official Review:  " Bright and lively, this white is appealing for its lychee and sweet spice character, which comes together smoothly against a silky texture."

Personal Review:  I thoroughly enjoyed this wine.  I found the flavors to run together perfectly from section to section.  I tasted a little pear, which my followers know I am not a fan, but was still able to battle through.  I would recommend this wine to anybody looking for a spicy white.  An 8-10.

Tierra De Luna

Name: Tierra De Luna
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: Mendoza
Country: Argentina
Vintage: 2009
Price: 7.95 (USD)
Recommended?: NOPE!

Official 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:  I found this wine to have a strong taste of pears, and the only pear that I enjoy is an apple.  Which isn't a pear at all.  I did not enjoy this wine, and found its heat and lack of dimension to be upsetting. A 3-10.

Sparkling Simonet

The Sparkling Simonet

   Official Review:  This Simonet, Blac De Blancs, which can be found for only $7.95 is from France.  "On the nose, there is some bread-yeast and some toast"  It was difficult to pick the toast up on the nose, but after a swig or two it started to become apparent.  This sparkling wine is said to be great with mimosas or for your everyday bubbly use.
    I am not a huge fan of these sparkling wines, but enjoyed this one very well.  There was very little heat, but a bit too much of tartaric acid for my preference.    I would personally score this bubbly a 6 out of 10.


Name: Simonet
Region: Elabore
Country: France
Price: 7.95 (USD)
Vintage: N/A
Recommended?: Ehhhh.....Maybe

Opera Prima Moscato

Opera Prima

This sparkling Moscato is from Spain and is a great value at $5.95.  The review states it has flavors of honeyew, lime and lychee.

This was my first taste of sparkling wine that was not Champagne. Its impressions on me were very good.  I loved the taste of lime and other citrus fruits.  This wine would go well with any fruity dessert such as cheese cake or parfait.

Le Lapin Multiplicity

This was one of the first truly blended wines I have tasted.  This one was from  Paso Robles,  California.  I could smell a hint of blackberry and pine needles.  The price for this bottle was $ 6.95 and the review is as follows.  "The nose is black cherry, blackberry, a little plum and some spice, with a touch of forest floor. The palate is full of fruit and spice, with flavors of black cherry and a slight cranberry note.  Nice firm tannins and a medium finish."

I enjoyed this line very much, and will continue to try blended red wines.

Blended Multiplicity

Marques De Moral Crianza Tempanillo 2007

Marques De Moral 2007

This Crianza Tempanillo is from Valdepenas, Spain, and was scored a very respectable 87 by Stephen Tanzer.  His review reads " Medium red. Aromas of redcurrant and cherry, plus a hint of dried rose. Fleshy and smooth, with moderate depth to its slighly bitter red fruit flavors.  Finishes with decent breadth and grip, with the red currant element joined by a hint of white pepper."

This wine, for me, was very difficult to taste.  I could detect, on the nose or pallet any dried rose.  However I could start to taste a little bit of the cherry.  I didn't enjoy this wine as much and the Coldstream Hills, and this one is priced the same as the Coldstream at $7.95.

Coldstream Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2009

Coldstream Hills Sauvignon Blanc

This Sauvignon Blanc is from the Yarra Valley in Austraila.  It is priced at $7.95.  The critics review says that this wine is predominately fermented in a stainless steel tank at cool temperatures, and a small portion is fermented in older french oak.  The wine is then blended and bottled.  On the nose it is said to have gooseberry with underlying passionfruit and lychee.

To mean this wine was very enjoyable.  The heat was a tad to high, but the beautiful taste and its smoothness made up for it very well.  The review also says that it has a zesty lemon acidity and length.

Royal Chenin Blanc 2009

The Royal Chenin Blanc

The Royal Chenin Blanc is from the Swartland Regions of South Africa.  The Wine is said to have a "deceptive punch...of apples, pears, and quince." However my untrained pallet could only detect the slightest amount of apples, most likely green.  The Washington Post goes on saying " it pairs well with salads and other light fare, but do not drink it cold."  I did not taste this wine with any food, but its clean crisp and refreshing nature, I imagine would go well with a salad or fruit cup.  It was a light golden color.  It is priced very reasonably at $4.95.



Source: Washington Post (June 2010)