Francis Ford Coppola - Rosso & Bianco

Price: $9.99
Region: California
Varietal: Zinfandel 48%/Syrah 27%/Cabernet Savignon 25%
Year: 2006

OK, back to having a little more time to roam the wine store and pick out something I hadn't tried before. While I have had a few different bottles of Coppola wine, namely the Merlot and Cabernet Savignon, I hadn't yet tried the relatively inexpensive blend called Rosso & Bianco. On this particular day, I wasn't looking for something to have with a particular dinner, just something to enjoy on a Saturday night at home. While I will be the first to admit red zinfandel is not my first choice of wines to kick back and relax with, I thought I'd give this one a try since it was blended with two other varieties I enjoy very much.

Based on the grapes used for this blend, it was no surprise that the color was a deep dark red. When I swirled the wine around the glass, and took my first sniff, I was again not surprised by what I smelled. When I took my first sip, that made it three for three. To me, this wine looks, smells, and taste like a classic bottle of red zinfandel, but with just a tad less edge. Maybe the syrah and cabernet just round off the corners a little. I am not the best at relating the smell and taste of a wine back to everyday food items, but the word that first came to mind was spicy. Now, I will be the first to agree with the notion that a good serving of spicy food needs a wine that can stand up to it, and this is when I would be the first to purchase a good bottle of red zinfandel (and for the price, this one might qualify). However, if I am just looking for a bottle to sit back and relax with on a Saturday night, my preference is for something a little smoother. The one prop I will give this wine is that the 2nd glass seemed to be a little better then the first.

So, maybe this one is just a victim of the circumstances, and given a different scenario I would rate it a little higher, but given how it played out, I am going to give this one 3 corks. Not a bad wine, but not an everyday wine either.

Rating: 3 corks (match this one up with the right dish)