I dined at Panorama Ristorante in Philadelphia (Front Street) last Friday. They have a large wine list and have an interesting way of presenting flights of five wines in 1.5 oz. tastes. The five glasses are arranged around a vertical glass-holding rack so they don't take up a long of table space. Several flights looked interesting (Northern Italian, all Syrah, around the world, etc.) but I decided to go with 3 oz. pours of several wines that interested me.
I ordered an eggplant appetizer and an appetizer portion of a lobster tortelloni. My first wine was a 2005 Louis Latour Marsannay and the second was a 2005 G. Lonardi Valpolicella Classico Superiore "Ripasso." The Valpolicella Ripasso was much darker and denser than the Burgundy which had some transparency. The Marsannay did have a long finish and was only slightly tart and somewhat spicy. Cherry flavors but it all seemed rather diluted. The Ripasso was more enjoyable with dark cherries and berries on the nose, a strong and pleasant presence on the palate. It seemed somewhat high in alcohol and yet balanced (I didn't check the bottle label to see abv percentage.) I enjoyed the eggplant dish with capers, finely diced/minced red peppers and onions in a tomato sauce topped with melted Fontina cheese. With the tortelloni stuffed with two cheeses and lobster in a lobster/cream/tomato sauce I felt that the lobster quality was not that great. The manager said they get fresh lobsters flown in daily and that that is one of the most popular dishes at the restaurant but he took off the dish from my bill without my asking him to do so--kudos to the management.
I ordered a tasting size Port for after dinner. The listings included Special Reserves from Sandeman, Croft and Fonseca all at the same price. I asked the waiter which would be the driest and after checking with the bartender he recommended the Fonseca. I was enjoying it until my dessert came out--the blood orange sorbet. The sorbet was delicious and I don't regret ordering it but I should have had them bring it out after I finished the Port because the two definitely did not go together. I could have ordered another special of the evening, the flourless chocolate cake or profiterole or something else that might have complemented the Port better. The sorbet was very refreshing and had the taste of blood orange pith or zest. It was served with a single very large, ripe strawberry and three scoops of sorbet on a strawberry sauce (I managed to eat two scoops. The gelato is also three scoops of three different flavors.)
Fonseca Special Reserve Port Rather opaque and leggy. Deep purple color with magenta rim. Baked plums on nose and palate. Very nice.
The next two evenings I was in Bethlehem (PA) to attend Musikfest concerts--Jonny Lang Saturday evening and Crosby, Stills and Nash Sunday evening.