Ella Elli Wine Tasting
Normally every Thursday I bring a recipe to the table; however, this Thursday will be slightly different! I've been pretty busy and haven't been cooking a lot at home recently, therefore, no recipes to share … womp womp… I did however get to this really cool thing at a local wine bar the other day and had to share.
Wine counts as food, right?
Ella Elli is a restaurant just down the street from my place. I've been there a few times for drinks and dinner. I recently found out about this wine tasting they do: 20 for 20. You get to try 20 wines for 20$. Amazing!
The theme this month was Italian wines. They had 3 serving stations with about 7 options each. They provided you with an overview sheet of the wines at each station and informed us they went from light to dark. Once all my friends got there it was time to get to work.
We went up to the first station that had an opening and tried the Zardetto Brut Rose. While I am not a fan of sparkling rose, the flavors of the wine quickly changed my mind. It was dry with a touch of sweetness with a light fizz that made the overall tasting experience quite effervescent . The next wine in the line was the Cantina Tramin White Blend. Unfortunately this one was not for me. I have recently become white wine averse. Which is unfortunate because I love white wine … it's also summer so what else does one drink if not white wine? As a result of my white wine aversion, I skipped over the next white option the Librandi Chard/ Sauv Blanc and went straight for Castello Di Neive Pinot Noir. This was the first red of the night for me and was quite tasty. I'm not usually a pinot fan because of the how light it is, but this one had a bit more body to it than most pinots. Once I was done tasking the pinot it was time for what ended up being my favorite of the night.
A while ago I went to a restaurant in the West Loop called Daisy's and had an amazing bottle of Sangiovese wine. I went in to the tasting of the Bindi Sergardi Sangiovese hoping I would enjoy it as much as the last time I tried a Sangiovese and boy were my hopes exceeded. It had the right balance of full body with light flavors and a bit of spice. It's a perfect in between wine for those that want to maximize flavor but don't want something so heavy they can only have one sip.
Of course, in between the tastings there was a lot of chatter and catching up with friends, which delayed our wine tasting experience, so I wasn't able to try all the wines. I did notice they had the Principiano Giuseppe Barolo on the list and knew I had to try that. I've only ever had Barolos a few time and I usually liked them, unfortunately I was not as pleased with this one. Again, not sure if I'm wined out and need a break or if it was too acidic for me, but the small tasting was just enough for my needs for the evening.
The final wine I tried was the Zabu Nero d'Avolo. It was from the third tasting section and on the same line as the Sangiovese so I was hopefully it would be that middle body flavor with a bit of a kick. While it did have a good taste it was still on the more acidic side for my liking. I guess I'm just a Sangiovese girl!
Even though I didn't get to try all 20 wines offered it was such a fun experience overall. One, I got to catch up with old friends while doing a fun activity, always a treat, and two I got to try out wines I normally would never try! I may have also found my new go to wine! I'd give this a 5/5 stars, so much fun, so well organized, and a good balance of learning and enjoying! I will definitely be going back to the next 20 for 20!
