Pizza may very well be the most popular dish in America. It comes in myriad varieties - deep dish, thin crust, cheap, expensive, and with an endless selection of toppings, sauces, and cheeses. So picking a wine to match with pizza is a daunting task. Nevertheless IntoWine.com posed the question to our panel of wine experts: What wine do you suggest for pizza?
I’ve become a real convert to the classic Neopolitan-style pizzas, simple combinations of tomato sauce, basil and mozzarella, or tomato, garlic and oregano, with light, delicate crusts. The kinds of wines that go best with this style of pizza are light, fruity, well made Italian wines, particularly from producers like Occhipinti and Paolo Bea.
Both of these producers minimize the sulfites in their wines, which helps preserve the fruity flavors in their Frappatos and Nero d’Avolas, in the case of Ochipinti, and Sagrantino and Sangiovese in the case of Paolo Bea, giving the wines a real sense of freshness on the nose.
The ideal bottlings by these producers with this style of pizza would be Occhipinti’s Il Frappato or SP68 Nero d’Avola Frappato, or Paolo Bea’s San Valentino or Rosso de Véo. Richard Jennings, IntoWine.com Featured Contributor and the Founder RJonWine.com.
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A juicy, light to medium bodied red wine is what I reach for most often when pairing wine with pizza. The red fruit flavors of the wine will pair with the tomato sauce component of the pie, and the vibrancy and the lighter style of the wine will not compete with the various meat and vegetable toppings often used. I also like to stay away wines that exhibit too much oak influence as it often interferes with the complex flavors of a pizza with more than a couple different toppings. Try an Italian Barbera like the 2005 Agostino Pavia Barbera d'Asti Bricco Blina $13.99, or a southern French red like the 2005 Mont Tauch Fitou $13.99. - Mulan Chan, Rhône and French Regional Buyer, K&L Wine Merchants
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Buy Isole E Olena Chianti Classico This sounds very unimaginative but I think Italian red wine should be served with Pizza! It isn’t essential but why not, I mean, it’s not like Chicago invented the thing, they just claimed it and made it famous! Granted, it isn’t very Italian either because there is only a very small area of Italy in which pizza is considered typical of the region. Of course, if you are having a Hawaiian pizza covered with pineapple, or another such exotic new wave pizza, you should think again about the choice of wine, otherwise, with a good old thin crusted red pizza, go for something like Isole E Olena’s Chianti Classico. This particular Chianti made by Paolo De Marchi has the requisite pizza spicy strength, partially due to the fact that a touch of Syrah has been added to the traditional Sangiovese and Canaiolo grapes, yet, at the same time the wine has restraint and elegance. Now, I’m talking top quality pizza, more of a thin crust than deep dish. If you are just ordering a simple take-out pizza from the local chain, then it doesn’t matter what wine you drink but I’d suggest sticking with beer. - Bartholomew Broadbent, CEO, Broadbent Selections, San Francisco
------------------------------------------------ Buy the 2005 Chionetti Dolcetto di Dogliani BriccoleroDolcetto. Specifically the 2005 Chionetti - Dolcetto di Dogliani Briccolero. Who doesn’t love pizza? A crisp crust, a little red sauce, some carne cruda, a few veggies, a bit of formaggio … and a Dolcetto! Don’t let the name of the variety fool you. Dolcetto sounds sweet but it is more lush than it is saccharine. The Chionetti Dolcetto is possibly one of the only things that makes my mouth water more than a good slice of my favorite pizza. The two together – impressive. The rich roundness of black cherry, earth, basil and supple tannins in this wine stretch the flavors of almost any style of pizza to the limits – especially oven baked pizza with meats and mushrooms – without breaking the bank. (About $20)– Ben Spencer is a diploma student with the Wine & Spirit Education Trust and an IntoWine Featured Writer.
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Buy Masciarelli Montepulciano d'AbruzzoI have never been fond of the term “pizza wine”. We drink some of our best wines with homemade pizza with any number of traditional and non-traditional toppings. I do understand the concept though. After a long day, picking up a pizza (or getting it delivered) is convenient. One wants a wine that goes well with the food but is not necessarily a wine that needs contemplation. Or perhaps it is just a wine to order at the local pizzeria that will not break the bank. Either way, for me, that means Italian wines. Why? I could say because they have the acidity to meld with the food and enhance the gustatory experience. While that would be true, for those casual times it is more a factor of fun and theme. Pizza is Italian, so why shouldn’t the wine be. Some ideas immediately come to mind; Chianti’s are very good wines these days. A Taurasi from the region of Campania, the home of pizza would also work. I am going to recommend, however, a Masciarelli Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. Anything from 2003 or more recent vintages are fine. This basic bottling retails for under $10 and should be affordable even at restaurant markups. This is an earthy wine with lots of robust smoked cherry and dark cherry flavors. It has a great backbone of acidity that will bring out the best in your pizza. The owner of the winery recently passed away (in his early 50’s), so if you like the wine, raise a glass for him too. - Loren Sonkin, IntoWine.com Featured Contributor and the Founder/Winemaker at Sonkin Cellars.
In my last article, I listed the Top 75 French Wines to Try Before You Quit Drinking . In this article I look at the “non-dump bucket” list for wines from California. This proved to be a different task. First, very few wineries have a long track record of making great wine. Secondly, while California is diverse, it does not have the diversity of climates and terroir and grape varietals of France. Still, it does produce some of the best wines in the world and any wine lover should make it a point to try as many of them as they can. Here is my list: 1. Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon – It’s hard to pick the first wine. This one is a great wine in every vintage and has been for a long time. Expensive but still possible to afford and made in large enough quantities to be found in grocery stores. Every lover of Cabernet should try this once.
It’s that time again. As the end of the year draws near, it is natural to look back over the past year. That includes considering the wines enjoyed this past year. Drinking wine involves so many qualities. What we drank, who we drank wine with and when we drank them. The “best” wines aren’t always...
The California Central Coast, identified as Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo (and its main wine region Paso Robles) and Monterey is California the way it used to be, or at the very least, California the way people want it to be: small towns, charming architecture, varied history of Missions and Indians, and coastlines for miles; a slow pace, clean air and a belief that no one real really works very hard. But the area has been home to grape growing since the Spanish brought vine cuttings from Spain via Mexico in the late 1700s and winemakers and vineyard managers have been working hard ever since. To celebrate this beautiful region IntoWine.com offers these 50 wines that represent the diversity of the California Central Coast.
CHEFS AND SOMMELIERS REVEAL THEIR FAVORITE PAIRINGS Enthusiasm radiates from their lips, as some of the most innovative chefs and sommeliers in the Napa Valley describe their most smashing wine/food pairings, whether recently concocted, or so reliable that they have become a permanent fixture on their tasting menus. Seasoned restaurant professionals not only uncover their wonderful wine and food combinations, but also explain a bit of the process behind their achievements.
If you are a wine lover, wine connoisseur, wine aficionado or even if you just like to have a couple of glasses on a Friday night, it soon becomes obvious that there are some wines that are held in a higher esteem in the wine world. Sometimes, it is because these wines are very rare. Other times, it’s because the wine has a place in history. Sometimes it’s because the wine is just that good. Here is a list of 75 wines from France that make up that category. A few caveats. I have not tried every wine on this list. Some I have and others I hope to. Many of these wines are rare and hard to find. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be on the list. After all, if the opportunity presents itself, go for it.
I’ve become a real convert to the classic Neopolitan-style pizzas, simple combinations of tomato sauce, basil and mozzarella, or tomato, garlic and oregano, with light, delicate crusts. The kinds of wines that go best with this style of pizza are light, fruity, well made Italian wines, particularly from producers like Occhipinti and Paolo Bea.
