Dinner - Zeppolis (French wines)

This week I was able to go to the final wine and dinner pairing at Zeppoli's Italian Restaurant. I have been to Zeppoli's once before (with my boyfriend's family), and I remembered it being really good! So I was excited to go again. I was also really excited to pair some French wines with food because I've heard it talked about so much!

The photos to the right shows the outside of the restaurant. It was such a beautiful afternoon!

At Zeppoli's for the "Boyer wine dinners" as they call them, we were all seated in the side room which is immediately on your left as you walk in.Each table had cups of water and empty wines glasses on them. We used plastic silverware, which I found comical. The food was served buffet-style. We each went up to the car to put food on our plates. I was able to capture some photos before everyone started eating.



Below is a plate of various cheeses. The three cheeses were Swiss, Mozzarella, and a Mozzarella spreadable cheese. The plate also came with dried cranberries, crackers, and tomatoes.

Below is a salad dished with fried calamari on top.

Below is a dish of roasted potatoes topped with cheese, chives, and ham bits.

Below is pictured cheese Manacotti.

Below is a dish called "Pasta Pinwheels" which was basically just pasta rolled into a pinwheel shape with cheese and a tomato sauce. It was very similar to the Manacotti; it was just spiced differently.

This last photo of food was of a plate of baked bread topped with cheese served with a crushed tomato and basil dipping sauce.

It was so hard not to pile my plate high with all this food. It looked so delicious! Here is a photo of what my plate looked like after I served myself (I went back later for seconds).

Sitting across for me at our table was my wonderful boyfriend, pictured below. We waited for a few minutes after we got our food for the first wine to be served.

The first three wines we tried were all white wines.

Wine #1:
Name: Chateau Gaillard Touraine Sauvignon Blanc

Country: France
Price: $11.99
Alcohol: 12.5%
Zeppoli's review: "Pale yellow with green hints. Very characteristic of its variety, flowery, delicate. Fruity, dry, supple and silky. White from pure Sauvignon grape, this fresh wine exhales perfume of the grape. this wine's crisp acidity with notes of grapefruit would be delicious with bouillabaisse or cheese, canapes, olive cakes, or asparagus."
My review: I thought this wine smelled like a typical white wine. It was fresh and acidic. I didn't get all of the flowery/fruity flavors from the description. This wine tasted acidic but was crisp. I could taste hints of grapefruit on the backend. This really did pair well with the cheese, especially the Mozzarella. With the cheese a huge buttery/creamy flavor exploded in my mouth. It was quite delicious!

Wine #2

Name: Chateau Suau 2010 Bordeaux Blanc Sec
Country: France
Price: $10.99
Alcohol: 12.5%
Zeppoli's review: "Fermented in stainless steel tanks, aged on fine lees for three months. This expressive, refreshing and aromatic wine reveals honeysuckle and white peach aromas. It has an excellend depth of fruit as well as a long finish with a nice acidity. Delicious as an aperitif or when served with shellfish, seafood, and grilled fish."
My review: For me, this wine wasn't super aromatic. It smelled a little acidic and I would get a hint of the honeysuckle, but it was really hard to isolate the flavors because of all the food around me. This wine tasted acidic and was refreshing. It wasn't incredibly different from the first wine. The waiter said this wine felt smoother to him, but I disagreed. I tried this wine with the cheeses as well, and it was also really good.


Wine #3
Name: Prochaine 2009 Chardonnay Vin de Pays d'Oc France
Country: France
Price: $10.99
Alcohol: 13%
Zeppoli's review: "An unsual and electable lightly oasked Chardonnay from the Languedoc region of France. This wine is aged on the lees from a Viognier fermentation with constant stirring (battonage). These Viognier lees give the wine distinct, easy to enjoy, flavors of pineapple, mango, and passion fruit."
My review: This wine smelled like butter. It was so buttery! It was also heavy on the oak and vanilla smells. This wine tasted just like it smelled. Very buttery and oaky. The waiter said this wine reminded him of a California Chardonnay and I completely agree. With the cheese, this wine became ever more creamy and buttery. This wine was already really smooth and the cheese just enhanced that. This wine also blended really well with the roasted potatoes. However, the potatoes had small bits of ham on them and the wine did not pair well with that flavor.

Wine #4
Name:Manoir Du Carra 2010 Beaujolais noveau
Country: France
Price: $10.99
Alcohol: 12.5%
Zeppoli's review: "Just barely three weeks old, this fresh fruity red from the granite hills of Beaujolais comes entirely from Gamay grapes. Beaujolais Nouveau day is November 19th this year and is a celebration of harvest and a festive event. This bistro style wine should be consumed in copious quantities in the first full year of its life."
My review: This wine smelled fruity like blackberries. I could also smell some tannins. This wine tasted weird. It wasn't very full in body or flavor. Something was missing. It was kind of tannic, but then again it just wasn't fully there. I did not like this wine at all, but it did have some of the same spice flavors as the Pinwheel Pasta: together they weren't terrible, but still not something I would want to try again.

Wine #5
Name:Jean-marc burgaud 2010 Beaujolais Villages
Country: France
Price: $14.99
Alcohol: 12.5%
Zeppoli's review: "Wine Adovcate-The Burgaud 2010 Beaujolis Villages les Vignes de Thulon offers a sappy, exuberant, and ultimately gripping profusion of ripe but tart-edged and prominently seedy blackberry. A mouthwatering salinity helps render this simple but pur and intensely-fruited recent bottling irresistible. Plan to enjoy it over the next couple of years. Score 89."
My review:This wine had some nice aromatics. It was really full and had smells of vanilla. It tasted very similar with lots of vanilla coming through on the palate. There were slight tannins, but they were well blended. I tried this with the cheeses. It was good with all three, but especially with the Swiss. It was also really good with the Manacotti. The ricotta cheese exploded with flavor inside the noddles. It was also really good with the calamari and the salad. It had a long, semi-smokey finish. This was delicious and my favorite wine of the night.

Wine #6
Name: Georges DuBoeuf 2010 Morgon Descombes Burgundy
Country: France
Price: $15.99
Alcohol: 13%
Zeppoli's review: "Shows perfect balance and a sumptuous bouquet of black currant, plum, violets and old-fashioned roses. Elegantly smooth on the palate, revealing several layers of fresh red berries, especially cherries. The silky, prolonged finish signals complete ripened fruit."
My review: This wine also smelled of vanilla and oak. The aroma had a hint of sweetness to it. This wine first overwhelmed me with tannins on my palate. Then it transitioned into lots of spices like pepper. It tasted a little of vegetables like green pepper. I tried this with the bread, which helped tone down the tannins a lot. The green pepper flavor went away when I had it with the pasta dishes.

Wine #7
Name: Charles Thomas 2009 Cotes du Rhone Rouge
Country: France
Price: $11.99
Alcohol: 13%
Zeppoli's review: "50% Syrah, 40% Grenache, 10% Mourvedre. Clear ruby wine with overtones of red berry fruits. Round and supple with smooth aftertaste. A good all round red wine for meat courses, pultry and ligh cheeses. Best drunk now while fresh with good keeping up to 4 years."
My review: I could smell a lot of fruit in this wine. It was mostly dark fruits like black cherry. I could also smell a hint of vanilla and oak. This wine was tannic at first but then moved into a smooth vanilla flavor. The aftertaste was a bit smokey/barbaquey. This was great with the Mozzarella cheese. It was even better with the dried cranberries because the cheese made the wine sweeter!


Wine #8
Name: Clos de sixte 2004: Lirac
Country: France
Price: $11.99
Alcohol: 14.5%
Zeppoli's review: "50% Grenache, 35% Syrah, 15% Mourvedre. 88-90 points Robert Parker: The 2004 Lirac has a dense ruby/purple color and exhibits a Syrah-like character in its blacker fruit-dominated aromatics and flavors. With medium to full body, ripe tannin, and good freshness as well as definition, it should drink well for 6-8 yeras."
My review: Again, this red wine smelled like oak and tannins. It tasted the same way. It was really tannic and oaky. This wine also had another weird flavor on the mid-palate. It was kind of like a metallic-metal flavor, even though I could also get hints of dirt in there too. This wine actually didn't blend as well with the cheeses as the others. I was pretty disappointed with this '04. Not a favorite.

Wine #9
Name: Chateau Suau 2009 "Cadillac" Merlot/Cab
Country: France
Price: $15.99
Alcohol: 13.5%
Zeppoli's review: "The wine is made from 45% Merlot, 55% Cabernet Sauvignon. Frapes are weighted, destemmed then sorted on a table in the cellar. Fermentation in thermo regulated stainless steel tanks. Aging from beginning of November, after malolactic fermentation, in 100% French oak barrels (30% new oak) during 12 months. Fleshy, fruity adn ample in mouth, this wine is attractive both with its ripe fruit aromas melted with roasted hints as well as its nice structure and elegant, pleasant finish."
My review: This wine had a great nose. It was really floral with lots of dark fruits like blackberries. I could also smell lots of oak with tons of vanilla pouring through. This tasted like vanilla and oak. There were some tannins, but nothing too harsh. This wine was slightly bitter on the mid-palate and had a slight burn going down. With the Manicotti, this wine was delicious! It was also fantastic with the dried cranberries, again exploding flavor in my mouth. This wine wasn't so great with the salad and dressing.

Wine #10
Name: ChateauGrimard 2010 Bordeaux
Country: France
Price: $11.99
Alcohol: 13.5%
Zeppoli's review: "This right bank Bordeaux estate is located in Lugon, just outside Fronsac. The vineyards are well situated on a south-east slope and the clay/limestone/sand soils provide an ideal growing environment in which Merlot thrives. This wine is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. Sourced from vines that are at least 25 years old, the fruit was fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks. Displaying round and ripe Merlot aromas and flavors, the bouquet of red fruit and well-balanced tannins combine on a fresh and supple finish. A classic Bordeaux, offering a deep red-purple color, a lush bouquet, and a ripe plummy-cassis fruit with good structure, showing the promise of the 2010 vintage."
My review: Again this wine smelled like oak. There wasn't anything special on the nose. This wine didn't taste as balanced as the other wines we tried that night. It was heavily oaky and tannic with vanilla flavors. It was also a bit earthy in flavor. This wine was mediocre with the pasta dishes and the Mozzarella cheese. However with the Swiss cheese and the dried cranberry this wine was good.

This is a photo of my boyfriend and I at the end of our dinner. We both agree that this is a horrible picture of us because we both look tired, but I guess after drinking 10 different wines and eating all that food we should be!

This was a very enjoyable experience! I have learned so much about wine this semester. I look forward to using this knowledge in the future and continue to enjoy lots of different wines. For both my boyfriend and I our favorite wine was the Jean-marc burgaud 2010 Beaujolais Villages. Also our favorite dish was the Manicotti.