Sunday, February 12, 2023

Wine Dinner at Zeppoli's

    My parents came to town February 11, so of course that Saturday night I had to take them to a dinner so that my friends and I could boast so far what we had learned in this class.  I also dragged my graduated roommate out.  In all, we had six people at dinner at Zeppoli's to learn everything we could.

    When we arrived we told our waitress, Morgan, that we were in Geography of Wine and she was very excited to help.  We prefaced that really only my dad likes red wine, so preferably we would like 2 bottles of white wine and one bottle of red.  Hannah S., Gabby, and I had bites of each other meals and sips of the wine that were paired together to try three different pairings.

    My friend, Hannah S., in the class was ordering pasta primavera, so Morgan recommended a white wine, either Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio.  We decided to "pair" the Sauvignon Blanc with the pasta primavera.  

Cost: $18.99

Grape: Sauvignon Blanc

Origin: Chateau Souverain, California, USA

Year: 2019

Description: "Dried leaves and honeydew melon on the nose. Honeydew melon and a slight grapefruit finish on the palate. Medium body, medium acidity. Pleasant enough and drinkable."

Smell: When smelling the wine it gave off citrus lemon notes, peaches, and a lighter flower, like geranium or rose. It was much lighter than the Pinot Grigio and had a greenish tint.

Taste: When tasting the wine I got pear, peach, molasses/honey, and possibly a little lemon. All around a very good wine, everyone enjoyed it.

With food: When tasting with the food the Sauvignon Blanc got more bitter. It tasted strongly of lemon. The food is buttery so the citrus notes become more prominent. I enjoyed the pairing because it made the pasta not as heavy as a dish.

Below are pictures of the label, food, and Hannah S. enjoying her meal...


    Then my friend Gabby, who is also in the class ordered the gnocchi pollo pomodoro.  Morgan also suggested a white wine to pair with this, so we paired Pinot Grigio with the gnocchi.

Cost: $18.99

Grape: Pinot Grigio

Origin: Belmondo, Italy

Year: 2018

Description: "Very pale color, almost none. On the nose: apple, grass, and something sweet and citrusy like pineapple. Off-dry. Fruit forward; Disappears a bit quickly. Overall, pretty good."

Smell: I smell floral with slight lemon. I smell apple. It has a pretty strong scent of acidity. It is a darker white than the Sauvignon Blanc.

Taste: I taste apple on first sip. I get lemon. I feel that there is butterscotch from how smooth it is. Overall very enjoyable and easy to drink, recommend to anyone who drinks any white. This is the wine that my mom and roommate drank the most of.

With food: The wine brings out butter in sauce. The food takes out the fruity citrus note from the wine, but brings out the smooth butterscotch flavor.

Below are pictures of the label, food, and Gabby enjoying her meal...


    Then I had the three-cheese ravioli with a marinara sauce.  Morgan suggested a light red, so we got a Malbec because that is one of my dad's favorite reds.

Cost: $39.99

Grape: Malbec

Origin: Mendoza, Argentina

Year: 2018

Description: "Dark ruby color. Earth, red fruits on the nose. Leather, oak dark red fruits berries on the palate with spice. Well balanced tannins."

Smell: I smell cherry, raspberry, licorice. It smells spicy, possibly a clove. It has a slight spicy feeling of the resinous. It is dark red. Not see through at all.

Taste: It does not have as much spice on the taste. It tastes fresh when drinking and was not bad at all. Tastes like cherry. It feels like lighter body, very balanced. My dad really liked it as well and ended up taking the rest of the bottle back to Virginia Beach with him to finish.

With food: The Malbec still had bite at beginning, but softens at the end. You get the spice more than anything else, and the berry tastes decreases. I almost enjoyed it more on it own or with the margherita pizza appetizer.

Below are photos of the label, my food, and myself...

Overall this was really fun for my friends and family.  We hope to do it again in April.  It was great to show those not in the class what we had learned and fun to pull out the wine wheel at Zeppoli's.  Here are a few more photos of what else was ordered and our table.

 
left to right: Gabby, Hannah S., my roommate, and my parents







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