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).
Wineguider wine reviews 