Wineguider wine reviews

Continuing our Italian restaurant experience, here’s a 2010 red blend from California that Bertucci’s sells for $7.50 a glass / $29 a bottle. It was paired with their Eggplant Napoleone.
 
The Coppola Rosso is a blend of zinfandel (33%), syrah (26%), cabernet (25%) and petite sirah (17%). Whoa — look at those grapes.  But instead of a serious steak wine, the winery says it is intended as a lighter, sweeter red for casual dining.  And that’s what it is.  Likely to appeal to younger drinkers, for me it was a little too jammy, with vanilla and a dusty zinfandel zing.  
 
But!  Bertucci’s Michael Cropper and Chad Phillips paired it with a lovely modern caprese salad, featuring eggplant roasted in their famous brick oven, plum tomatoes and fresh mozzarella all drizzled with a balsamic glaze incorporating pesto without nuts, for those of you with allergies.  The croutons were too crunchy,  but no matter — Eggplant Napoleone rocks, and it made the Rosso shine. 

I don’t recommend the wine alone, but I do recommend this pairing.  This dish would also go very nicely with a pinot noir (Bertucci’s offers the delicious Estancia pinot, which I praised here).