Dinner - Zeppoli's Italian Restaurant (Blind Tasting)

This past week, my friend Olivia and I attended the dinner and wine tasting offered weekly at Zeppoli's Italian Restaurant, a local gem here in Blacksburg.  I have always loved the classic Italian food when I have frequented Zeppoli's in the past with my family, so I knew we were in for a treat!

Photo curtesy of Hometown Freebies

So much food!

At a small fee of $12, the amount of food and wine provided was a steal (especially for a broke college student like myself).  This fee covered a large meal, complete with a cheese plate, appetizers, salad, and multiple pasta entree dishes along with nine different varietal wines to taste.  More specifically, the what I would call "family style" meal included the following dishes to taste with the wines:

• Cheese bread
• Brie and other cheeses with cranraisins and crackers
• House salad with tomatoes, carrots, and red onions with a balsamic dressing
• Fried shrimp dumplings and purses
• Pasta salad with tomatoes, kalamata olives, red onion, and feta cheese crumbles
• Meat-filled raviolis with a tomato sauce
• Rigatoni with sausage and a white cream sauce

The food was so awesome!  I always love Brie cheese, but pairing it with the cranraisins and the wine created a winning combination.  The balsamic dressing for the salad was quite good, and I thought the sourness added an distinct flavor that was not present in the other food items.  My other favorite was the pasta salad because I love all of the added ingredients, especially olives and feta!

Yum!

It also just so happened that this particular wine dinner was a blind tasting event, which was a ton of fun.  Initially, I was really nervous because we were handed a blank "test" where each participant was to fill in not only the variety, but also the year, alcohol percentage, price point, tasting notes, and score.  We sat with other students from the Geography of Wines class, so I was afraid I would look like a total amateur, but, as it turned out, no one really knew what they were tasting!  For a laugh, I went ahead and recorded what I thought each variety was along with the actual variety:

Variety according to me:	Wine:
Chardonnay	Sierra Cruz Sauvignon Blanc 2010
Sauvignon Blanc	Lison Pramaggiore Pinot Grigio
Pinot Grigio	Leese-Fitch Chardonnay California 2009
Moscato	Opera Prima Moscato
Pinot Noir	Kenwood Yulupa Pinot Noir 2010
Merlot	Poggio Vipere Chianti DOCG 2009
Chianti	Hope Merlot Hunter Valley 2009 Australia
Cabernet Sauvignon	Cholila Ranch Malbec Fatagonia Argentina 2010
Malbec	Chasing Lions Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 North Coast California

Even though I had no idea as to what I was tasting, at least I know white from red.  Most of the wines I really enjoyed...there, of course, were a few exceptions.  I didn't catch too many flavors from a lot of the wines simply from tasting so many, but I wanted to talk about a few wines that stuck out to me.

Lison Pramaggiore Pinot Grigio:

Lison Pramaggiore Pinot Grigio

Not to start off on a bad foot, but this wine was terrible.  I found this wine similar to what I would think throwing peanuts into a vat of acetone would smell/taste like.  It was just bad...  The official tasting notes described this wine as having "a pleasant fruity aroma, but with the passage of time tame a characteristic bouquet of hay, walnut, and toasted almonds."  This was the most distinct of the white wines; I did not find any of them as stellar as I found some of the reds.
Variety: Pinot Grigio

Kenwood Ylupa Pinot Noir 2010

Price: $7.99
Alcohol: 11.5%

Kenwood Yulupa Pinot Noir 2010:
I really enjoyed this wine!  I was also interested to hear from our host that this is a special blend only available in restaurants; Zeppoli's had actually received a shipment of this wine just in time for the tasting.  I tasted dark berry flavor similar to blackberries and cherry.  I also got the slightest hint of vanilla.  While I didn't find this wine very complex, it really complemented the ravioli's I ate with it, I thought.  The only real bummer about this wine was the heat I got in the back of the throat.  The official tasting notes provided by the host state that there are "fruity aromas of boysenberry, strawberry, and cherry...joined by notes of vanilla and spice smooth tannins with a hint of sweetness."  These notes also revealed that this was the first vintage of this Pinot noir.
Variety: 99% Pinor Noir, 1% Syrah
Price: $14.99
Alcohol: 13.5%

Poggio Vipere Chianti DOCG 2009:

Poggio Vipere Chianti DOCG 2009

This Chianti was actually my favorite wine of the tasting; I plan to go back and purchase a bottle all for myself :) I have never tasted a Chianti before, but now I will definitely make an effort to try others to see if I am a new fan of the variety.  The nose was not really apparent, but the wine was very spicy and possessed strong cherry flavors.  My review was aligned with the official tasting notes, which really excited me.  The best part about tasting this wine was from actually putting some of my knowledge from class into practice - I took a bite of Brie cheese and immediately sipped the wine.  This combination was amazing!  I am getting a wheel of Brie and a red wine ASAP to repeat this experience.
Variety: Chianti blend
Price: $11.99
Alcohol: 12.5%

Cholila Ranch Malbec
Fatagonia Argentina 2010

Cholila Ranch Malbec Fatagonia Argentina 2010:
This wine had one of the craziest nose's I have smelled this semester - it was a berry explosion.  This dark red wine was very heavy and meaty, with berry undertones and an undeniable smokiness.  I personally thought this was one of the most complex wines of the tasting.  While I really liked it, I thought that it was a bit heavy for me to drink casually.  I imagine that it would pair very nicely with a good steak.  Wine Advocate scored this wine 88 points and described it as, "spice box, plum, black cherry, and violets; supple, round, and easygoing."

Hey!  That's me!

Variety: Malbec
Price: $10.99
Alcohol: 13.9%

Overall, I thought this wine dinner was a great experience!  Olivia and I had a great time, and, while doing so, got to eat, drink, and make new friends.  I found our host to be very knowledgeable, fun, and engaging, which really added to the experience.  The planning and overall organization of the event was really impressive - the blind tasting sheets were fun, the food was hot and ready, and the wine was served in a timely manner.  I would highly recommend to other students and people living in Blacksburg to give this wine tasting a chance; I promise it won't disappoint!

Olivia and I enjoying the wine