Vikas Sharma

It was my 51st spin around the sun this weekend, and while my special day was immersed in spa, art, and dining activities, I made a quick stop into Everything Wine on Marine Drive in North Vancouver.

I know, the name is horrible. My partner was calling the shop “World of Wines” when we first got here, probably because the name is so uneventful and forgettable.

But, it’s one of my favourite among a small group of shops that carry some serious product.

My absolute favourite wine shop is Liberty Wines on 13th (Central Lonsdale). They have a fantastic selection of wine, vermouth, cider, beer, champagne, and other fine spirits, and a team of sales folks who love their product.

I’ve been to a couple of their other locations (Commercial Drive and Granville Island) – and it’s an equally good experience.

Another favourite is Marquis Wines on Davey. It is the shop that I’ve known the longest since I’ve been travelling to BC for work (about 15 years now). Fantastic selection.

The reason that Everything Wine has become one my favourites, is that they have a vintages section in the back of the store, where an English gentleman (I think his name is Chris, so let’s just call him that for the reminder of this post), who holds court to discuss the wines that are currently in-stock. He, very-well, may be the wine specialist employed by EW.

When I popped in yesterday, another customer was eyeing my potential purchases (I was in the Oregon region), and recommended a couple of other Willamette Valley Pinot Noir selections. Just then, Chris showed up and we both chatted with him about Italian wines; aside from Oregon and Okanagan wines, I’ve been focusing my imbibing efforts on Veneto and Piemonte.

Chris mentioned that they had a Zenato Amarone and I was intrigued.

Back home in Toronto, a lot of folks love the Zenato Ripasso. It’s about $25 a bottle, and it’s a super vino for the price.

The Amarone della Valpolicella is about twice the price, but I never tried it because the Ripasso is so good.

So, I took a chance.

It was the last bottle in the shop – and the other customer was kind enough to pass it over to me, even though I could tell that they wanted it.

Before I get to the wine, a little bit about Zenato.

They are a fairly young grower – only 60 years old. The current oenologist is Alberto Zenato, who owns the vineyard with his sister, Nadia. They produce about 2M bottles annually at a vineyard that is just 75 hectares on the Veneto side of Lake Garda. Their father Sergio Zenato founded the vineyard.

Wine: Zenato Amarone della Valpolicella Classico

Region/Appellation: Valpolicella/Veneto

Grape(s): Corvina, Rondinella, Oseleta, and Croatina

Vintage: 2015

Style: Red

Price: $64

The Visual: Oily viscosity in the glass with a medium to dark intensity in colour, which was ruby with a cherry rim.

The Aroma: Medium to powerful with notes of tobacco, chocolate, licorice, and umami.

The Flavour: Medium to powerful intensity. Medium bodied on the palate. Alcohol medium to high at 16%.

I found the flavours to be moderately balanced with a long finish.

Dry – with flavours of dark, plush berries, a bit of earth, prune, and cassis. Slightly herbaceous and oaky. Has a very good structure and could probably age another five to 10 years.

Food pairing: I think this wine would go well with grilled meats and vegetables, pizza, and pasta (with a zesty, savoury sugo). I enjoyed it with quick fry up of cannellini beans, tomato, spinach, shitakes, and parmigiano.

Final Comments: I would highly recommend this wine to those who love the Zenato Ripasso, or just Amarone, in general.

I had been thinking of grading wines, simply because of the bullshit ratings that you see at the wine shops … “Robert Parker gives this wine a 92!” Sure.

When I was in my Wine Specialist course, we learned how to grade/score wines, and if a wine hit 80%, then it was a pretty good wine. So, I don’t know how all of these wines are scoring in the 90s when they are just average wines at best.

But, as I just went through this review, I’d like to just give you the goods from my perspective … and if you’d like to give the wine a shot, and you like it, then what does a score matter?

Cheers – Salud – Salute – Živeli – Prost – Na Zdrowie – Skål – Santé