(Myself between two of the red wines we tried tonight.)
A group of friends and I decided to go to dinner at Zeppolis and randomly select three wines to taste with our dinners. Sharing the "Taste of Italy" dish with my friend Josie, we began to compare the taste of these wines with meatballs, lasagna, chicken parmesan and bread.
(The Merlot, Cabernet Syrah, and Moscato)
The first wine was Josh Cellar's Merlot that I tried with the bread, lasagna, and chicken. The smell of this wine reminded me of sweet cherries and plum undertones. It was definitely going to be a hot wine with the spiciness I smelt. I first tried it by itself and was surprised at how much body this wine had. It was a full dry wine with a beautiful deep purple color and had a hint of black raspberries at the finish. Next I tried it with just plain bread and while it did not do much to change the hot flavor, the bread did bring out some of the sweeter more hidden flavors. Thirdly I tried it with the lasagna and as with the bread, the sweeter flavors were brought to the forefront and I tasted a distinct dried raisin flavor. Finally, I tried it with the chicken parmesan and the chicken brought out a harsh acidic bite and added a lot more spice than what I would have liked.
The second wine we tried was the Pere Et Fils Cabernet Syrah. The aroma of this wine had a slightly spicy but fruity feel that contradicted itself. By itself the Syrah had a huge acidic quality that hit your taste buds immediately. This gave the wine a oily feeling and left a soapy aftertaste in my mouth. I first tried it with bread as before, and the wine was once again softened by the bread but it transformed the soapy feeling into a bitter aftertaste I didn't enjoy. Next up was the lasagna and I found that this brought out the more warm undertones such as plum and sugar. The final thing I tasted this wine with was the meatballs. The meat brought out a nice new texture in the wine, making it smoother and creamier on the palate.
The last wine we ordered was the Butterfly Kiss Moscato Desert Wine and the reason we chose this wine was because we knew we had dry wines and wanted something more sweet. This wine's smell surprised me. It wasn't the floral or fruity smell I was expecting but a more rubbery and slightly chemical aroma came from the glass. By itself the wine had the expected sweetness that was layered with peach and honey. I first tasted it with the chicken and it was softened even further by the white meat and it balanced out the heavy fruit flavors. With the lasagna the wine became more acidic and I could very accurately taste the alcohol level in the wine. Finally with the meatball the wine became buttery and smooth. I really enjoyed this wine.
Overall the food and the wines were fantastic and it was great to start my experiences with drinking different wines with different meals and finding what I like.
(Our table - the boys tried to be cute...fail.)
