Dinner: Zeppoli's (West Coast Wine Showcase)

     Tonight (Sunday, April 21st) my friend Tiffany, her friend Katie, and I met at Zeppoli's in Blacksburg for a west coast wine showcase presented to us by Matthew Burch.

Interior of Zeppolis

     Zeppoli's is located across the road from the University Mall. Every other Sunday they hold a wine tasting for students that consists of 8-10 different wines and a buffet of food for $15. 

The wines we tasted at Zeppoli's

     Once we arrived we were allowed to pick where we wanted to sit. 

Tiffany and I at the table (Kelsey from last week is in the background).

     He checked our ID's, handed us a wine glass and we loaded our plate with delicious food. They had two types of bread--white Italian, and olive bread, crackers and different types of cheese, Teriyaki Chicken and rice, Meatballs and Pineapples, a Greek salad with feta cheese, olives, tomatoes, and onions, Manicotti and some type of Italian pizza. There was no descriptions on anything but it all looked good so I just grabbed it all! 

My loaded plate! 

     Matthew started us with a 2011 Firesteed Pinot Gris from Oregon. It was probably my favorite wine of the bunch. It was very aromatically pleasing with smells of kiwi and pineapple. It tasted smooth and citrus-y with hints of pineapple, apple, and kiwi. It paired best in my opinion, with either the white bread or the chicken. Our second wine was a 2009 Lamplighter Chardonnay from California. It smelled like oak and vanilla and tasted tropical fruit forward with oak and vanilla on the finish. It also lit up the sides of my tongue. The chicken seemed to calm it down. The third wine, a 2011 White Knight Viognier from Clarksburg was ok. It smelled like pears and tasted like citrus and pineapples with a hot finish. The white cheese (I want to say it was swiss) helped take away some of the heat but it also took away some of the fruit flavor. The fourth wine, a 2011 Beringer Chenin Blanc from California was the cheapest wine of the night at $8.99. It was difficult to get anything on the smell but on the taste it was sweet, fruity and a little hot. It wasn't anything special but it wasn't bad either. I wasn't too impressed. I actually thought this wine was pretty good with the rice. 

Tiffany acting silly. 

     The first red wine we tasted was a 2011 Simple Life Pinot Noir from California. It smelled smokey, bitter and tasted tannic and very earthy. It wasn't fruity at all. It wasn't bad with the manicotti. The manicotti helped add a little acid to cut through the tannins. The second red was 2011 Riven Rock Cabernet Sauvignon. I'm not a big fan of Cabernet Sauvignons as I still think they're too much for my palate but I gave it a try anyways. On the nose this wine smelled dirty and it tasted like dark fruit and peppers. The cheese helped it taste better, but I'm still not a big fan. The third red, a 2008 Renwood Syrah from the Sierra Foothills, got me really excited because I'm a fan of Shiraz from Australia so I wanted to taste the same grape from a different region. It smelled like an earth covered fruit and tasted fruit forward with a little spice. It was really good with bread and I'm thinking it would be great with a good steak. The fourth red wine was a 2010 Cypress Vineyards Merlot from the Central Coast of California. I could really smell the alcohol on this wine, which isn't surprising since its 13.5% alcohol by volume. It also smelled like cherries and tasted like dark mushy cherries with a little chocolate thrown in. It was a little tannic, but not too bad. It was pretty good with the meatballs, but I didn't have much left to try it with at this point. The last wine, a 2010 Trentadue, Old Patch Red, Lot #34 from California is a blended wine that contains mostly Zinfandel with Syrah, Carignane, and Petite Sirah. It smelled amazing with notes of pepper, dark black and red fruit, along with some vanilla-y notes. However, I was disappointed when I tasted this wine, it just didn't live up to its nose. It tasted best with the buttery crackers. 

Some of the wines we tasted.

   All and all, I really liked Zeppoli's. You get a ton of food and wine for your money. I liked the fact that they let us explore our own food pairings, but part of me wishes they had a guide of what food matched best with what wine in their own opinion. You also get 10% off all wines the night of the tasting. Tiffany's friend Katie like the Pinot Gris so much that she bought a bottle. In summary, I would highly recommend Zeppoli's to anyone!

Tiffany and I in front of Zeppoli's with Katie's bottle of Pinot Gris.