Tasting - Francis Coppola Pinot Noir

Name: Francis Coppola Pinot Noir: Diamond Collection 
Variety: 100% Pinot Noir
Region: Monterey County, California
Country: USA
Year: 2009
Price: $19.99


Wine review: 2009 was a great vintage for all California appellations and an excellent vintage for Pinot Noir. Light spring rains were followed by warm summer days and no abrupt climate changes at season’s end. As a result of these fortuitous conditions, we harvested very high quality fruit with true physiological ripeness and great concentration. Our 2009 Diamond Collection Pinot Noir offers a rich, velvety texture, profuse aromatics, and a beautiful tapestry of juicy fruits and spice nuances. This wine is delicious when paired with a sautéed mushroom topped salmon steak, herb-rubbed pork chops, or creamy risotto.


My review: This was a pretty good red wine; I ranked it a 7.8 out of 10. I would characterize this red as smooth and supple, with a medium body that makes it go down easy and smooth tannins and supple fruit flavors. The wine gave off aromas of mostly dark berries, but it also had some hints of spices. It tasted very smooth, dominated by dark berries but with hints of mandarin. It was not very sweet or acidic, and for an alcohol content of 13.5% it didn't have that much heat to it. I did not pair this wine with food, but if I were to in the future I would probably try to it with fish and sauteed mushrooms. 

Tasting - Prince Michel Chardonnay

Name: Prince Michel Chardonnay
Variety: 100% Chardonnay
Region: Central Region, Virginia
Country: USA
Year: 2005 (note: label is borrowed from 2008 vintage)
Price: $7.99

Wine review: The 2005 Chardonnay from Prince Michel is a result of grape selection, barrel fermentation, and sur lie aging. The vineyards selected for this wine are noted for their history of producing Chardonnays with elegant, lingering flavors and fresh, enticing aromas. To integrate and preserve the fruity, creamy, peach and vanilla nose, this wine was fermented in new and one year old oak barrels. A portion was fermented in stainless steel before blending to introduce a crispness to the structure of the wine. Aging sur lie allowed this wine to develop a butterscotch dimension with the broad mouth feel characteristic of our Chardonnay. The barrels also add a dimension of fruitiness and nuttiness. This Chardonnay is complex and lovely, with the structure and character to age well. The delightful aromas and clean, elegant fruit of this wine make it the perfect complement to fresh vegetables, fowl and French Provincial cuisine.

My review: This was a very good white wine; I ranked it an 8 out of 10. It had a delicate soft yellow color and mostly light floral aromas. It was very smooth on the palate and tasted mostly of pear and vanilla, though there were some hints of clove. With an alcohol content of 12.5%, this white had a medium body with lower sweetness and medium acidity and tannin structure. Since this white was not as sweet as most, and was recommended to pair well with vegetables, I tasted it while eating a vegetable pot-pie. The pairing was delicious and I would definitely try this white again. 

Tasting - Robert Mondavi Pinot Noir

Name: Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi 
Variety: 100% Pinot Noir
Region: California
Country: USA
Year: 2010
Price: $11.50


Wine review: Our silky, fruit-focused 2010 Pinot Noir pairs perfectly with many foods. Its elegant aromas and flavors offer light cherry and strawberry notes accented by a hint of cinnamon. On the palate these velvety, rich red fruit flavors mingle with a touch of smoke from the toasted oak aging. Enjoy this versatile wine with grilled tuna steaks, roasted lamb, or wild mushroom risotto.


My review: I enjoyed this red wine, rating it a 7 out of 10. It's deep red color gave out aromas of light citrus fruits but also some musky hints. It had a lot of body and an alcohol content of 13%, but lower acidity, tannins, and sweetest. For a red, it was smooth and did not have much heat. It tasted of dark berries and grape and had some hints of wood. I did not pair this wine with any food, but I would taste it again. 

Tasting - Bohemian Highway Pinot Grigio

Name: Bohemian Highway Pinot Grigio 

Variety: 100% Pinot Grigio

Region: California

Country: USA

Year: 2009

Price: $7.99

Wine review: A pleasing and fruit-forward Pinot Grigio, full of honeydew, apricot and pear flavors. Crisp grapefruit and light floral aromas round out the very refreshing finish.

My review: I enjoyed this white wine, ranking it a 7 out of 10. It has fresh, sweet aromas of citrus fruits and light spices, and it tastes of mostly melon and pear. I found that this white wine had a lot of sweetness and was smooth due to a good tannin structure and low acidity. There was not much heat, despite the alcohol content of 13%, which gave the wine a medium body. I tasted this on its own without food. For the low price, I would definitely try this white again! 

Dinner - Zeppoli's (South American)

Zeppoli's Italian Restaurant on Feb. 6th

On February 6th, I went to the Zeppolis dinner with my boyfriend, Travis, and two of my friends, Jam and Yen. We got to taste 9 different wines (4 reds, 1 dessert red, and 4 whites) and try a variety of foods from the restaurant. Overall, the experience was great--we had a lot of fun while enjoying some delicious wine and tasty foods in the South American genre. The two employees who were conducting the wine tasting were very knowledgeable about each of the wines and what foods would be appropriately paired with them while we were tasting. 

My pescetarian dinner included caesar salad, pasta salad, garlic bread, cheese and crackers, and crab rangoon. 

The nine wines that we tasted. 

First, we tasted 4 white wines; the first was 2010 Crucero, Sauvignon Blanc, Curico Valley, priced at $10.25 a bottle. This white was best paired with the pasta salad, and had a sweet, citrus smell with some hints of pine and grass. The taste was also very sweet, dominated by citrus and zesty fruit flavors.The alcohol content was 13% and the wine itself did have a considerable amount of heat. Next, we tasted the Picpoul de Pinet 2010 Conteux Du Languedoc, priced at $8.50. This also paired well with the pasta salad, but also worked nicely with the crab rangoon since it was supposed to be a "perfect match to seafood or shell fish." Again, this white had a very citrus and sweet smell, but it also had very crisp and fresh aromas. The taste was dominated by exotic fruits, mostly grapes but also potential citrus melons or berries. It had 12.5% alcohol content and did not have as much heat as the first white, making it smoother and more refreshing. The third white was Manos Negras 2009 Torrontes San Juan Argentina, priced at $12.75. This white paired very nicely with the mozzarella cheese and crackers that I had and is made entirely from Spanish grapes that flourish during the warm days and cool nights in the Tulum Valley in San Juan. The smell of this white was more floral than the others, but the taste was still pretty citrus and fruity. This white had 13% alcohol content but actually did not have that much heat, it was crisp and smooth like the second white. The last white we tried was Sombras Del Sol Chardonnay Valle Central Chile, priced at $6.99. This white also paired nicely with the cheese and crackers and with the caesar salad as well. It had intense aromas of sweet fruit but also had a hint of vanilla; the taste blended the freshness of fruit with the creaminess of vanilla making this white a little more syrupy than the others. It has the highest alcohol percentage, 13.5% and did have a little more heat than the others we had tried. My favorite white wine was the Picpoul de Pinet 2010, followed by the 2010 Crucero, Sauvignon Blanc, the Manos Negras 2009 Torrontes, and lastly the Sombras Del Sol Chardonnay. 

Jam, Travis, me, and Yen while tasting the white wines. Notice all of our glasses are empty... yum!

 After trying the four white wines (which I actually prefer) we moved onto trying the reds. The first red, Allaman Malbec 2010 Valle de Uco Argentica, had a very intense smell, characterized mostly by violets and paired well with the garlic bread. When tasted, it had a lot of acidity and a rather peppery taste. The high acidity and peppery taste could possibly be a result of the grapes being grown at the bottom on the Andes. With 14.1% alcohol content, there was a high amount of heat with this red. The second red we tried was Crucero 2010 Carmenere Chile, priced at $7.99. Our waiters told us that this red was ranked in the "Top 10 under 10" by Wine Enthusiast in Dec. 2010, because of it's high 88 point rating and low price per bottle. This red had some herbal aromas, reminding me of herbal berry teas.The taste was dominated by black berries and the 13.5% alcohol content gave it a considerable, but not overbearing, amount of heat. The third red that we tasted was Maipe Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 Agentine, priced at $8.99. This red also paired very well with the garlic bread, and was supposed to pair nicely with "grilled meats or pizza," which I did not try because of the pepperoni. The smell had some intense aromas of ripe berries, pepper, but also some minty chocolate and vanilla hints. The taste was interesting because of this combination, and it seemed as though the high tannins and alcohol content, 13.5%, made my mouth pucker a lot while tasting this wine. The last red, Gen 5 Cabernet Sauvignon California, priced at $11.25, was rated very highly by Wilfed Wong in 2009 at 92 points. I agree with this high rating; this red was much smoother and had less heat than the other reds, despite it's high alcohol content, 13.9%. It also paired well with mostly everything I had left on my plate, particularly the caesar salad, garlic bread, and crab rangoon. The aromas were nice,subtle red and black berries and the taste was well-balanced, soft, and more fruity than the previous reds. My favorite red wine was this last one, Gen 5 Cabernet Sauvignon, followed by the Crucero 2010 Carmenere, the Allamand Malbec 2010, and then the Maipe Cabernet Sauvignon 2010. 

Jam and Travis demonstrating the proper way to smell a wine, by putting their noses all the way in the glass! 

The last wine that we tasted was probably my favorite of the whole night, mostly because it was unlike any red wine I had ever tried before. It was Rinaldi Red Dream Filtrato Dolce dessert wine, priced at $12.99 a bottle. It had a much lower alcohol content than the other wines of the night, at 7%, which made it much smoother and softer. It also had some carbonation, making it seem more like a soda than a strong, red wine, but it's fruity aromas and fruity, honey-suckle tastes made it a very enjoyable light wine to finish on. I paired my glass with a delicious vanilla cupcake and it went together great.

Red Dream dessert wine and my cupcake!

Upon leaving, my boyfriend and I purchased one bottle of our favorite white, the Picpoul de Pinet 2010, one bottle of our favorite red, the Gen 5 Cabernet Sauvignon, and two bottles of the Red Dream dessert wine. My friends and I had a great time at the Zeppolis dinner learning about and tasting a variety of wines, and we all look forward to doing another wine dinner sometime soon! :)