Dinner - Zeppolis (The House Wine Showdown)

Almost every Sunday Zeppolis pairs ten different wines with a buffet style dinner.  A few weeks ago I went to their dinner called "The House Wine Showdown" with a few friends.  There were five different categories with each category having two wines of the same varietal.  We had to guess not only the grape varietal, but which wine in each category was their house wine.  

The front entrance to the restaurant. 

Zeppolis is located in Blacksburg, VA at 810 University City Blvd.  It is tucked back behind some buildings and a gas station and it is in a plaza.  If you were not looking for it, then you would never know it was there.  I actually did not discover the restaurant until my third year here at Virginia Tech.  It always has great food and service, so I wish that I would have discovered it earlier.

The front counter at Zeppolis.

This is the counter my friends and I were first greeted at and we were promptly showed where to check in.  We had made reservations a few days in advance as these dinner tastings tend to fill up fairly quickly.  There was a special sign in sheet just for this tasting.  We were allowed to pick anywhere we wanted to sit in their tasting room. 

Zeppolis' tasting room which is to the right of the front counter.

This is where we had our dinner with many other students in the class.  Our menu was pretty extensive as it included a romaine salad with parmesan pepper dressing, three different cheeses and crackers, caprese salad which had fresh tomatoes slices with mozzarella cheese and balsamic vinaigrette  chicken parmesan, shrimp scampi, Italian bread and olive bread with dipping oil and cheese raviolis.  Below is a picture of one of our plates of food.

Dinner plate at Zeppolis

We tried two of each of the following varietals; Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, White Zinfandel, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon.  At the end of the tasting we were given the following sheet that includes pictures of all of the wine labels that were tasted.

 

Group A: Pinot Grigio, Group B: Chardonnay, Group C:White Zinfandel, Group D: Malbec, Group E: Cabernet Sauvignon

Picture of me at the end of the dinner.

I was very impressed that Zeppolis had these printed for us just because they knew most of us are in the Geography of Wine class.  I had a great time trying to guess the varietal of these wines as they were poured in brown paper to bags to conceal both the grape varietal and the labels.

My friends and I actually arrived late to the wine dinner so this picture of me was taken after it was all said and done.  We were packing up to leave when I remembered that I needed to take a picture for this blog!  We stopped putting on our winter gear to face the cold winter weather for just a moment so that I could have my picture.  I wish we would have been able to take more pictures, but we got to caught up in trying to guess the name of the wines.  Time sure does fly when you are having fun.

The first wine I tasted was Casra Pinot Grigio from 2010.  It is the house wine which is sold at $5 a glass and $14.99 for the bottle.  Floral and fruity on the nose.  It was very acidic and watery and subsequently one of my least favorite wines of the night.  I tried it with salad and bread which rounded it out a little, but it did not change my opinion of the wine.  Everyone in the group agreed that this was not their favorite.

Musarango Trattoria Busa alla Torre de Lele Lison was the second Pinot Grigio from 2010.  The alcohol is 11.5% and it is sold at $7.99 a bottle.  Hints of floral and peach on the nose.  Bold, strong and very acidic, but I really liked it.  I would pick this wine over the one above any day.  I also had this wine with the salad and it was fantastic.

The Original Darkhorse Chardonnay from 2010 is 13.5% alcohol.  Spice and smoky on the nose.  Spice, caramel, vanilla and very smooth going down.  It is sold at $9.99 per bottle and I believe it is worth every penny.  I tried the chicken parmesan with this wine which changed the flavor to creamy.  When I had it with cheddar cheese and Italian bread it brought out more of the caramel, oak and the spice.  I was astonished at how much this wine could change with different types food.

Wine display in Zeppolis

The Riven Rock Chardonnay from 2011 was the house wine which again is sold at $5 a glass and $9.99 a bottle.  Floral and pear on the nose. Very acidic with a strong taste of grapefruit   I was disappointed that this had no oak component at all because unlike Gary, I love the oak monster.  I tried this with shrimp scampi which did not seem to make much of a difference.

Front Porch's White Zinfandel from 2011 was the house wine with the same pricing scheme of $5 a glass and $9.99 a bottle.  The color is a very light pink and it is from California.  Blackberry jam and raspberries on the nose.  Sweet with a bold mid palate and an acidic after taste.  11% alcohol content and I could not detect any heat at all.  I really liked when I tried this wine with parmesan chicken, but the difference in taste was minimal.  It took away some of the acidic after taste.

Buehler Vineyards from 2011 is 100% White Zinfandel sold at $10.99 a bottle.  Overwhelming aromas of berries on the nose.  Berries and grapefruit with a satisfying after taste.  I tried this with shrimp scampi and it toned down some of the berry flavors so I could taste the subtle hint of melon flavor.  I really enjoyed this wine.

Santa Julia's Malbec from 2011 is produced in Argentina.  It is the house with the same pricing as the other house wines.  Jammy, oak and woody on the nose.  Hot and spicy with flavors of plum and black cherries along with big tannins.  When tasted with cheese and crackers the cherry flavor became much larger and more powerful.  I enjoyed this wine with food much more than without food.  

Wine rack at Zeppolis

Maipe Malbec from 2012 is also from Argentina.  Caramel and jams on the nose.  A nice deep, dark color. Very dry with the oak monster coming out once again.  Tried this with the olive bread dipped in olive oil and it really toned down the flavor for me.  I prefer to have this wine by itself.  It is sold at $12.99 a bottle.

Yellow Tail Cabernet Sauvignon from 2010 is priced at $9.99 a bottle.  Oak, cherry and berries on the nose.  This was a large oak monster to me and I thought it was to powerful.  I tried this with the caprese salad which had no affect on the taste.  I would have to pass on this.

Riven Rock California Cabernet Sauvignon from 2010 is priced at $9.99 a bottle as it is their house wine.  Overwhelmingly spicy on the nose without much else going on there.  Bold tannins, very dry and a hot after taste.  This wine did not sit well with me even after trying it with the Italian bread.

I very much enjoyed my dinner with my friends.  We each had our own favorites, but mine was Musarango Trattoria Busa alla Torre de Lele Lison Pinot Grigio.  I really liked the set up of the dinner however it was much different than I expected.  I thought this was a five course meal with each course brought out separately, however I liked the buffet style with lots of interaction.  I can't wait to go back for another dinner.