Wine Dinner - Zeppolis (Italy)

This week, a classmate and I went to Zeppolis to pair wine with Italian cuisine. After placing our order, we asked our waitress which wine would go best with our meals. She suggested Pinot Noir to both of us. We had very similar pasta dishes. 

We started the meal by eating some of the bread. We then tasted the wine for the first time. I am usually a big white wine person, I prefer Pinot Grigio and Moscato, very sweet wines. I was very skeptical when the waitress brought out a large glass of Pinot Noir. 

The nose on this wine had a very berry scent. I got a lot of raspberry and strawberry. It was very sweet. There was a hint of oak at the end, but not overwhelmingly so. 

Tasting the Pinot Noir before the meal was a surprising experience for me. Red wine is usually not something I enjoy because I don't like the dry, oaky after taste. However, with this Pinot I didn't get that at all. The berry flavors from the nose came through a lot in this wine and it was very sweet. There was hardly any dryness or oaky aftertaste. I was surprised to find I actually really like this wine. 


However, this was all about to change. 

For my meal, I got a pasta dish with chicken, shrimp, mushrooms in a creamy tomato sauce. This dish was really good. I was excited to try the wine after the food, as we've been told that the food should enhance the wine. When I tasted the wine again, the sweetness was gone. The after taste of the wine became very harsh and "in your face." It was dry and oaky. The berries I tasted before my pasta dish were gone. For experienced red wine drinkers, this transformation was probably a good thing, but for me, it was not. 

After we had finished our meals, we sat for awhile and sipped on the Pinot Noir. After the meals were digested, there was a taste of apple in the wine. 

I thought this was very interesting. I always assumed I would like red wine more once it was paired with a meal. Ironically, I liked this wine a lot more before eating, and would probably choose to drink it alone in the future. 

 Me and Megan at Zeppolis.