Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, #MWWC4 Deadline Nears, What Vinotype Are You, Understanding Luxury Goods
Meritage Time!
Let’s start with the answer to the wine quiz #77, grape trivia – Savagnin. In the quiz, you were supposed to answer 5 questions about white grape called Savagnin, best known in the Jura region of France. Here are the questions, now with the answers:
Q1: Australia makes wines from Savagnin grapes. However, when the grape was planted, it was assumed to be …?
A1: Albariño. We actually already talked about it when we run through the Albariño quiz, only in reverse (in the Albariño quiz, Savagnin was the answer).
Q2: Wine made from Savagnin was one of the most expensive wines ever sold at an auction. It was sold at about:
a. $98,000, b. $74,000, C. $47,000, d. $30,000
A2: b, ~$74,000. See the full answer below
Q3: Continuing previous question – do you know what wine was that? Bonus part: can you also identify the vintage?
A3: This wine was 1774 Arbois Vin Jaune, sold at an auction in France for €57,000, which would be about $77,000 considering today’s exchange rate.
Q4: Name at least two other wines, produced in the same way as way Vin de Paille, one of the popular wines made from Savagnin.
A4: To produce Vin de Paille, after the harvest, the grapes are dried out on the straw mats for a few month, to concentrate the flavors. Similar methods of production are used for Vin Santo, Amarone, Sfursat of Valtellina and a number of others.
Q5: Which reddish-skinned ( but technically white) grape is a close relative of Savagnin?
A5: Gewurztraminer. Savagnin is closely related to the whole Traminer family, and Gewurztraminer, “an aromatic Traminer” is known for its reddish skin.
There was very little participation in this quiz (sad, but mostly expected). We don’t have the winner, but I have to acknowledge Namie from Eat with Namie for her excellent attempt at the quiz.
Now, to the interesting stuff around the vine and the web!
First, a friendly reminder. Your Oops! moment is getting near – the deadline for #MWWC4 (Monthly Wine Writing Challenge #4) is next Wednesday, October 23rd. The #MWWC4 is hosted by The Wine Kat, and the theme is Oops – you better get your wine oops together, or it will be a clear oops on your part… I have an idea, I hope to be able to find time to actually put it into the blog post, or oops.
Now, couple of interesting articles for you. First one is coming from The Wine Economist blog, where Mike Veseth is suggesting that all wine drinkers can be divided into the four categories, or Vinotypes – sweet, hypersensitive, sensitive and tolerant. The concept of the Vinotype is described in the book by Tim Hanni, MW, and Mike is explaining the concept in his blog post – but you should probably read the book. In the post, there is also a link to the web site where you can quickly perform your Vinotype assessment. I actually did, and came out as “Tolerant” – I would probably accept that, but the description provided for the Toerant type didn’t match me for a second. Well, YMMV – see it for yourself.
The second post I want to bring to your attention comes from Seth Godin, who is one of the very few people I would call as my mentor. His understanding of the world is nothing less than stunning to me, and every time I read his daily blog posts, it is almost a revelation of a simple truth, right in front of you. Seth’s post, called Understanding Luxury Goods, has nothing to do with wine in the direct form. However, every time we scoff at a bottle of Screaming Eagle, or Chateau Petrus, or 1755 Taylor Port at a price of north of $3000, or 1966 DRC at $10,000, understanding of how the luxury works helps to put things in perspective. Read it for yourself, and better yet, subscribe for Seth’s blog – it will provide infinite value compare to your subscription price.
That’s all I have for you for today, folks. The glass is empty – but refill is on the way! Until the next time, cheers!
Weekly Wine Quiz #77: Grape Trivia – Savagnin
Welcome to the second day of the weekend and your new wine quiz!
We are continuing our grape trivia series, still focusing on the white grapes, and today’s subject is Savagnin.
Actually, with Savagnin, we are finishing the white grapes series, and will be going back to reds next week – but for now, let’s talk about Savagnin.
Have you heard of Savagnin? Have you ever had any wines made from that grape? Actually, Savagnin is one of the oldest known grapes, taking its roots in the 10th century in the French Alps. From there, it slowly made it to the other side of the Alps into the Switzerland, where it is known since the 16th century. Savagnin is primarily used in winemaking in Jura, and it is barely used outside of that area in its direct form, with only some known plantings in Australia. However, as part of the Traminer family, it has relatives living all over the world.
Savagnin is one of the not just late, but the latest ripening grape varieties – it is not uncommon for Savagnin to fully ripen only in December. Savagnin is quite versatile, capable of producing both dry and dessert wines. It is also typically blended with Chardonnay to create Crémant du Jura, a local sparkling wine. The most famous wine from Jura is called Vin Jaune (“Yellow wine”). Vin Jaune is produced in the sherry-like style, and Savagnin is the only grape variety allowed in production of that wine.
And now, to the quiz!
Q1: Australia makes wines from Savagnin grapes. However, when the grape was planted, it was assumed to be …?
Q2: Wine made from Savagnin was one of the most expensive wines ever sold at an auction. It was sold at about:
a. $98,000
b. $74,000
C. $47,000
d. $30,000
Q3: Continuing previous question – do you know what wine was that? Bonus part: can you also identify the vintage?
Q4: Name at least two other wines, produced in the same way as way Vin de Paille, one of the popular wines made from Savagnin.
Q5: Which reddish-skinned ( but technically white) grape is a close relative of Savagnin?
Good luck, enjoy the quiz and the rest of your weekend! Cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, #MWWC4 Theme, Merlot is Back!, And a Few Videos
Meritage time!
Let’s start from the answer to our weekly wine quiz #76, grape trivia – Roussanne. In the quiz, you were supposed to answer 5 questions about white grape called Roussanne.
Here are the questions, now with the answers:
Q1: Explain the source of the name Roussanne
A1: Name Roussanne most like comes from the word “roux”, which refers to the reddish color of the grapes.
Q2: Which one doesn’t belong and why:
a. Hermitage, b. Côte-Rôtie, c. Châteauneuf-du-Pape, d. St.-Joseph
A2: b. Côte-Rôtie. Roussanne is allowed to be blended into the red wines of the three other regions – but the white grape allowed to be used in Côte-Rôtie is Viognier.
Q3: Outside of Northern Rhône, the traditional bending partner of Roussanne is…
A3: Grenache Blanc is the most popular blending partner for Roussanne outside of Northern Rhône
Q4: Roussanne was re-introduced in California in the 1980s, only to be proven in the late 1990s to be not the Roussanne but another grape. Do you know what grape was that?
A4: Viognier. Randall Grahm, winemaker from Bonny Doon winery, brought [illegally] a number of cuttings of supposedly Roussanne from France at the beginning of 1980s. In 1998 it was found that the grape is actually Viognier, not the Roussanne.
Q5: One of the first California “Roussanne” wines from the 1980s had a specific name. Can you name that wine?
A5: The “Roussanne” wine was produced by Randall Grahm under the name of Le Sophiste.
Sadly, there was very little participation in this quiz – I have to acknowledge Julian at VinoInLove, who was a sole participant – thank you Julian! I guess I’m going to far into the vineyard with some of my latest quizzes… Well, one more white grape, and we are switching back to the red right after.
Now, to the interesting stuff around the vine and the web!
First of all, we have a new theme for the Monthly Wine Writing Challenge! Now in its 4th round, it is hosted by The Wine Kat, winner of the round #3. The theme of the #MWWC4 is… OOPS!, and I can tell you that oops is looming, as the submission deadline is already very close, it is only two weeks away – October 23rd. Get your writing pants… oops, may be glass? Writing hat? Well, whatever oops gets you moving, get it on and start writing. The theme announcement and all the important dates can be found here.
Just a quick question at the moment. What do you think of Merlot? Do you still have an image of Miles “I’m not drinking no #$%^ Merlot”, or does it trickle back to you table and Cellar? Well, I can tell you that about 100 Merlot producers from California want to make sure you will once again look at Merlot seriously. Tomorrow, October 10th, is actually the start of #MerlotMe, a month-long celebration of Merlot, taking place both with the live events and all over the social media. You can find more details about the festivities here – and don’t wait, grab your bottle already!
Continuing the theme of Merlot, I wanted to share with you this video, made by one of the Merlot pioneers, Gundlach Bundschu:
And for no other reason, but just for your enjoyment on this Wine Wednesday, here is the video which I wanted to share a while ago – a “Blurred Lines” parody, made by the enterprising folks at Jordan (in addition to making great wines, they also have one of the best social media outreach in the wine industry):
That’s all I have for you for today, folks. The glass is empty – but refill is on its way. Until the next time – cheers!
[Mind Boggling] Price of Wine
I’m again [lucky bastard] in Portugal, and get to enjoy this beautiful country. Of course one of the first places I have to visit is a supermarket, to see what’s new in the wine section (you can find some illustrations for my first encounter here). My eyes stop on the bottle of wine from the unknown region for me – Tejo. There were both red and white wines, standing next to each other, so I decided to grab both.
Let me give you description of the wines.
2012 Enóloga Antonina Barbosa Vinho Branco Tejo Vinho Regional (12.5% ABV, made from the Portuguese grape called Fernao Pires): Light yellowish color in the glass. Spectacular perfumed nose, resembling some of the best French Viognier – shows bright perfumed fruit, very elegant, not over the top. Very round and delicate on the palate, touch of apricot, peach and white apple, fresh acidity, perfectly dry and balanced. Drinkability: 8
2012 Enóloga Antonina Barbosa Vinho Tinto Tejo Vinho Regional (13% ABV, a blend of Aragonez, Castelao and Cabernet Sauvignon): Ruby red color in the glass. Fresh fruit nose, shows nice ripe concentrated fruit and a touch of earthiness. On the palate, very restrained, dry, touch of tart cherries, some earthiness and light tannins presence. Good acidity and good overall balance. Drinkability: 7
So we are looking at two good wines. Now, let me ask you a question. Based on the description above, how much these wines should cost?
I will give you a few seconds to think about.
And a few more seconds.
And a few more.
Ready? What do you think?
Okay, we can skip the drum roll, but let me know if you expected to see this number.
€1.29 each.
A whooping €1.29.
I think this is pretty impressive, that such a level of quality can be achieved at such a price of the wine. This wine is a private label, made for the Pingo Doce stores, by the Falua winery. Of course as this is the case with the private labels, no additional details can be found on the winery web site.
I also learned about relatively new designation for the Portuguese wines – Tejo Vinha Regional, which was created in 2009 to be used in the Ribatejo region. Ribatejo DOC (higher classification) is retained for some specific areas of the region.
That’s all I have for you for now. There were many other great wines, food and very special experiences, like Port barrel tasting all the way to the 1970 – this all hopefully will be shared in this blog in the orderly fashion.
So, can you top my quality/price ratio? I will let you think about it. Cheers!
Weekly Wine Quiz #76: Grape Trivia – Roussanne
Welcome to the weekend and your new wine quiz!
We are continuing our grape trivia series, still focusing on the white grapes, and today’s subject is the white grape called Roussanne.
Last week we talked about grape called Marsanne, and today’s quiz is about its close friend, Roussanne. Similar to Marsanne, Roussanne is also seemed to appear first in the Northern Rhône, and then from there it slowly got into the other wine regions. Today it is growing in different areas in France, in Australia, California, Washington, Texas ( up and coming to the greatness), Spain and … Italy. If you remember, Italy was the major winemaking country which didn’t make any Marsanne wines. Another interesting note about Roussanne is that it is actually allowed to be a part of the 18 grapes permitted in Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines.
Roussanne is a late ripening variety, and it is also susceptible to the various grape diseases, which makes it tricky to work with in the vineyard. However, Roussanne compensate from those vineyard difficulties with great flexibility in the hands of the winemaker, helping to create full bodied, long living wines which greatly improve with age. This is where Roussanne is often paired with Marsanne to create those spectacular ( and very expensive 😦 ) white wines of Northern Rhône.
And now, to the quiz!
Q1: Explain the source of the name Roussanne
Q2: Which one doesn’t belong and why:
a. Hermitage
b. Côte-Rôtie
c. Châteauneuf-du-Pape
d. St.-Joseph
Q3: Outside of Northern Rhône, the traditional bending partner of Roussanne is…
Q4: Roussanne was re-introduced in California in the 1980s, only to be proven in the late 1990s to be not the Roussanne but another grape. Do you know what grape was that?
Q5: One of the first California “Roussanne” wines from the 1980s had a specific name. Can you name that wine?
Good luck, enjoy the quiz and your weekend! Cheers!
Simple Recipes: Roasted Chicken Breast
I’m sure that a concept of a “simple” recipe is largely individual. For me, it means that you have a few ingredients, and the actual prep time is rather short. Actual cooking can be short, long or very long, like the beef brisket I shared with you a while ago – but the actual cooking time doesn’t affect the difficulty level of making the dish.
The dish I’m talking about today perfectly fits the bill – very few ingredients, very simple to make. Why am I talking here about something as banal as roasted chicken breast? I love the ultimate flexibility of this dish. Without changing the complexity for a bit, you are limited only by your imagination in the way the dish will taste, and also in the ways you can use it.
It just happened to be that I’m mostly responsible for making the school lunch for my daughter (sometimes she would make it herself, but I was unable to solidify that tendency). One of the easiest and most convenient items to make is a wrap. And we were making the wraps for the long time with Costco’s pre-sliced roasted turkey breast. The Costco product tastes fine, but I always wondered, how much preservatives do you need to make something like pre-sliced turkey breast to last for at least two weeks after it is opened (try that with regular deli meat – but please don’t share the experience). At some point, we decided that we have to try something different. Almost a revelation, but we recalled that a few times we roasted chicken breast, and it would perfectly fit the purpose of the “sandwich meat”. From that moment on, this simple roasted chicken breast proven its versatility many times. Now, let me give you recipe first and then we can talk about a few possible uses.
Roasted Chicken Breast:
- Prep time – 5 minutes, cooking time – about 50 minutes
- 3 lb chicken breast (about 3 large pieces)
- Dry herbs or any rub spices
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt, pepper – according to the individual taste
- cooking time – about 50 minutes ( assume 15 minutes per pound) at 375F
Cooking instructions: Take chicken breast, put it the bowl, add herbs, spices, salt, pepper and olive oil. Mix together, cover with plastic, refrigerate for few hours if desired. Pre-heat oven at 375F. Arrange chicken breast on the roasting pan, put in the oven and cook uncovered for about 15 minutes per pound. When done – take out, let it cool down. Voila – your roasted chicken breast is ready to be used for many possible applications. Here is the same recipe in the form of pictures:
Chicken breast, ready to be prepared
Herbes de Provence, salt, pepper, olive oil – simple
Spices applied – you can marinate, or cook right away
Ready to roast
And we are done!
Again, my real point here is to give you an idea of the dish, which can be taken in many possible directions:
- you can substitute the spices with anything your heart desires – BBQ rub, chipotle, spicy paprika, cajun – anything you can think of
- instead of using dry spices and oil, you can use marinades – mayo with mustard, wine, yogurt and garlic, anything you like.
Once the chicken breast is cooked, you are looking at multiple uses as well:
- as cold cuts – we usually make a few flavors for the parties
- in sandwiches and wraps
- top the salad
- chop it into the tiny pieces and make filling/topping for tartlets, pies, etc.
The last (and almost unbeatable) important factor for me – where I live, it is still possible to buy boneless chicken breast for $1.99/lb – compare that with the price of deli meats…
Anyway, I’m done here. I wonder what you think about this simple dish, and if you have your “staple of simplicity” in your home cooking – comment away. And be assured (or scared) – I have more simple recipes to share with you. Until that time – cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, #MWWC3 Winner, The Way You Pour, Wine and Shutdown, and more
Meritage time!
As usual, let’s start from the answer to the wine quiz #75, grape trivia – Marsanne. In the quiz, you were supposed to answer 5 questions about white grape called Marsanne. Here are the questions, now with the answers:
Q1: Name the grape, typical blending partner of Marsanne in Northern Rhône
A1: Roussanne.
Q2: True or False: Plantings of Marsanne in Australia far exceed Marsanne plantings in France.
A2: True. Actually, about 80% of worldwide plantings of Marsanne are located in Australia
Q3: Solve the riddle and explain: Part of 8, but not part of 18
A3: Marsanne is one of the 8 white grapes officially allowed in the Rhône appellations. At the same time, Marsanne is not a part of the 18 grapes officially allowed to be used in Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation
Q4: Marsanne is known in Switzerland under the name of …
A4: Ermitage [blanc]
Q5: Name major wine producing country which doesn’t make any Marsanne wines of notice
A5: Italy. Yes, Italy makes no wines out of Marsanne – at least no wines which can be easily accessible or found on the internet.
I’m glad to report that we have a winner! Jeff of the drunken cyclist fame correctly answered all 5 questions, so he is our uncontested winner and he gets the coveted prize of unlimited bragging rights. Well done!
And now, to the interesting stuff around the web and the vine!
First of all, we have a winner for the Monthly Wine Writing Challenge #3! The Wine Kat wrote the winning story, which you can find here. Congratulations to the winner! Now we are all eagerly waiting to learn the theme for the challenge #4 – hopefully it will be announced soon…
Do you know that the way you pour the wine affects how much you drink? Here is the link to the post on the subject. Weather you hold the glass, tilt the glass, pour red or white – all of this factors affect the amount you consume – according to this study, of course.
Wondering about the connections between US Government shutdown and wine? I had no idea there is one, until I read this post by Dr. Vino. TTB, the government agency which approves all the new labels, is part of the shutdown. On one side it makes perfect sense as it is seemingly not-essential. At the same time, as opposed to many other parts of the government, this one actually makes money… Anyway, read the article for more details.
Actually, there is another small post by the same Dr. Vino, which I want to bring to your attention. Before you read it, I have a question for you. Which country do you think might request to put the words “wine kills” on the labels? No, it is not United States. Interestingly enough, it is France, which is concerned with the fact that people drink wine, so this was one of the proposals as a way to reduce wine consumption. Another, similarly bright proposal, was suggesting to ban all the internet writing about the wine – brilliant, isn’t it? You can read the post here – it is short and interesting.
That’s all I have for you for today, folks. The glass is empty – but refill is on its way. Until the next time – cheers!
Weekly Wine Quiz #75: Grape Trivia – Marsanne
Welcome to the weekend and your new wine quiz!
We are continuing our grape trivia series, still focusing on the white grapes, and today’s subject is grape called Marsanne.
Marsanne seems to originate near the town of Marsanne in Northern Rhône, hence the name. The grape is known at least from the 17th century (but could’ve been used in winemaking before). Marsanne is a foundation for the white wines of Northern Rhône appellations of Crozes-Hermitage, Hermitage, St.-Joseph and St.-Péray, but it is also used in the white wines throughout the whole Côtes du Rhône region and in a few other regions in France. White wines of Northern Rhône are typically full bodied and powerful, known for its great longevity (might be some of the longest living dry white wines). It is not just the longevity which matters – Northern Rhône whites also known to improve with age.
Marsanne made it to Australia in the 1860s, where it became quite popular. It is interesting that considering the fact that Marsanne wines improve with age, one of the best known Australian producers of Marsanne, Tahbilk, makes two releases per year, offering both current and older ( 6 years older or so) vintages of the wines.
Marsanne also made it to California, however, it is not very clear when. Based on some of the internet sources, Marsanne made it to US in the 1870s and was used in some of the red blends, paired with Syrah to replicate Northern Rhône wines. However, it appears that Marsanne started to be actively used in California wines some time in 1980s, and today it is offered by many producers in California and state of Washington.
And now, to the quiz!
Q1: Name the grape, typical blending partner of Marsanne in Northern Rhône
Q2: True or False: Plantings of Marsanne in Australia far exceed Marsanne plantings in France.
Q3: Solve the riddle and explain: Part of 8, but not part of 18
Q4: Marsanne is known in Switzerland under the name of …
Q5: Name major wine producing country which doesn’t make any Marsanne wines of notice
Good luck, enjoy the quiz and your weekend! Cheers!
Italian Tapas? Sì, Signore!
Can’t tell you why, but this local Stamford restaurant, called Zaza Italian Gastorbar, had been on my “must try” list for a while. Something in that name, Zaza Gastorbar, is utterly attractive – the same way as you look at the creative wine label and say “wow, cool label, wonder how it tastes like”, the name “Zaza Gastrobar” had that effect on me. I guess it was a promise of a unique experience hiding in a word “gastrobar“. Finally, the convenient occasion presented itself, and off we went.
While it is hard to say that Stamford has its culinary Mecca section of the town, if anything, an intersection of Broad, Bedford, Summer and Atlantic streets can be designated as one – this is where lots of restaurants are located. The good thing in Stamford is that you don’t need to worry about the parking. Unlike many towns nearby, where you need to run circles looking for the street parking, downtown Stamford has plenty of parking garages to accommodate all the hungry people. Well, okay, enough about parking, let’s talk about the restaurant.
Zaza doesn’t accept reservations, but we had no problems finding the table for 6 on Thursday at 6:30. From the moment we walked in, I liked the way the restaurant is decorated, it felt modern but comfortable. One thing you need to be aware of – the place gets noisy. But, when the restaurant is good and busy, which doesn’t?
I love trying food as opposed to just eating. Whenever available, my strong preference is tapas, chef tasting menu, dim sum, or any variation on the theme of small plates. Now, when you think of an Italian restaurant, do you think of it in terms of the small plates? I’m sure first thing which comes to mind is a full plate of pasta, or pizza, or mozzarella sticks. But Zaza, to my absolute delight, has a whole menu section, which is called… yes, Italian Tapas! Luckily, our friends share the same outlook on food, so this was an Italian Tapas night!
Before we get to the food ( mostly in pictures), few words about the wines. I would call the wine list somewhat limited – however, considering that it contains the options starting from $25/bottle, I can’t really complain. We started with 2012 Honig Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley, which is one of the best examples of Napa Sauvignon Blanc – just enough citrus notes, with some fresh grass and delicate finish, very round – that was definitely a great start to our meal. At $46 on the list, it was also a relative bargain (about triple retail).
And then, there was food. In no particular order:
Calamari Fritti, lightly fried, tomato sauce – very well done, light, crispy:
Calamari Fritti
Potato Gnocchi, Butternut Squash, Cream Sauce – not only it was a butternut squash sauce, but butternut squash was perfectly present in the dish. Lightly sweet and delicious together.
Potato Gnocchi
Tuscan Beans, Spicy Tomatoes, Garlic, Pancetta, Olive oil – pancetta makes everything taste better, right? I’m a sucker for white beans, and this dish was perfectly balanced, great flavor profile with a light crunch of crispy fried pancetta.
Tuscan Beans
Lamb Sliders, lamb, polenta, Barolo wine sauce – you expect to see a bun on the traditional sliders – but not on this Zaza slider. Polenta cake was topping off the lamb patty, resembling bun in the appearance -but of course it was no bun at all. Excellent herbal flavor profile on lamb, not overpowering, but working together – this dish just transports you to Mediterranea…
Lamb Sliders with Polenta Cake
Next up – Tuscan Tuna Tartare, fresh Tuna, tomato, capers, basil, balsamic. Love tuna tartare, but I’m typically very dreadful when ordering it. My problem is that a number of tuna tartare dishes I tasted had the same issue – flavor is only on the outside, and once you dig in, the flavor is gone and you are one of one with fresh, but almost tasteless fish. This time, the dish was perfect. Every little morsel was tasty, in and out – a great combination of refreshing lemony acidity, balsamic, saltiness – very successful dish.
Tuscan Tuna Tartare
Next up – Baby Lamb Chop, rosemary, olive oil, arugula, balsamic. I have to admit – I’m a snob when it comes to the lamb chop. About 15 years ago, I was spoiled back in Montreal – the lamb chop I had there was a surreal perfection. Now I measure everything against that experience. I’m glad to report that Zaza’s lamb chop was very close to that perfection – succulent and delicious.
Baby Lamb Chop
I need to mention another wine we ordered. We wanted to drink something red, and I had a problem selecting the wine, both in terms of what I want to drink and what I want to pay. I asked for the taste of the two wines I didn’t know – Montepulciano and red blend from California. While the red blend was not perfect, it was still better than Montepulciano. Thus our choice of red was 2009 Lost Angel Mischief Red Wine, California (13.5% ABV), a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Zinfandel.
Lost Angel Red Wine
My goal was to find an inexpensive, but palatable wine. At $35, it was definitely inexpensive as the wine list prices are concerned. Had I known that you can find this wine in retail for about $8 – $10, I would probably not ordered it. However, to be entirely honest, it was drinkable – while it was clearly the fruit forward with almost a sweet finish, it carried enough weight and balance to be pleasant (didn’t have any of that over-extracted fruit, which I personally can’t stand). I would not buy this wine to drink at home, but if this would be my only “budget” choice on the wine list, I will drink it again.
Almost as an afterthought, but at the same time very apropos, we ordered a cheese sampler platter right after we were done with the most of the meal. The Cheese Sampler included Buffala Mozarella, Burrata, Stracciatella and Scamorza. Burrata is one of my all time favorite Italian cheeses, and then there was creamy and spreadable Stracciatella – wow, the word “delicious” does only half justice to the way this cheese tastes.
Cheese Sampler
And then of course there was the dessert – everything was very tasty, and I’m not going to inundate you with the details – you can drool on your own:
It is time to conclude the report on this culinary extravaganza. The food was delicious, service was excellent – prompt, attentive, with the smile – the way you want to be treated in a restaurant. I will gladly come back to Zaza at any time. My only concern is the limited selection on the wine list, so next time I might come back with my own bottle – but this is not the wine bar, after all, it is a Gastrobar – and I think it suits this description perfectly.
And we are done here. Until the next time – cheers!
Zaza Italian Gastrobar
122 BROAD STREET
STAMFORD, CT
PHONE: 203.348.2300
Last Bottle Sign Up ($10 credit)
Talk-A-Vino 