PIZZA AND WINE PAIRINGS

 

 

In terms of legendary food and drink pairings, it’s pretty tough to beat ice cold beer and fresh hot pizza. However, the subtle sophistication of pairing wine and pizza is pretty much overlooked, and can be an equally delicious alternative if you consider a few loose guidelines and suggestions derived from a combination of my own extensive research (cough, cough) and words of wisdom from industry friends and professionals.

 

 

Let’s keep it simple with a few basic suggestions.

 

 

Avoid wines that are high in alcohol. High alcohol levels, let’s say above     5%, can often finish “hot”, meaning you can feel something akin to a slight burn dissipating off your back palate, which will certainly overpower the subtle flavors of most good pizzas, except ones with huge amounts of spicy toppings.

 

Be careful with heavily oaked younger wines. Oak aging, especially in new oak barrels, typically imparts flavors of vanilla, baking spice, coffee and even caramel to wines, and given proper time to age, these elements will integrate seamlessly, creating a more complex, multi-leveled flavor experience. 

 

However, in wines with only a few years of aging, these flavors are much more prominent, and at times even aggressive, with the vanilla and spice elements dominating everything in its path, besides steaks and roasts. And tripe. Nothing dominates tripe. The subtle flavors from a slice of plain cheese pizza don’t stand a chance up against wines with this much power, and even pies loaded with meaty toppings will often find themselves overmatched. 

 

Consider the setting. This one seems obvious but I think it’s important to point out that if you are having pizza outside on a warm summer night, light and fresh white or rose wines make more sense, than big reds, and consequently, if it’s windy and cold outside and you are huddled indoors, it’s a great opportunity to bust out those heavier reds.

 

 

 

Before we get to which specific combinations are my favorites, it is important to note that in Italy, and the rest of the world for that matter, people do not typically drink wine with pizza, making this pairing a relatively young and pretty uniquely American cultural development with few established guidelines. 

 

With that said, the most important rule to pairing wine and pizza, and really pairing wine with anything, is that remembering what doesn’t work is as important as remembering what does. Thankfully your brain is very good at reminding you of things you don’t like, so combinations to stay away from should reveal themselves quickly. 

 

In this case, I brought 4 bottles of wine over to a friend’s house for a pre-concert hang, with the knowledge that they had ordered an absurd amount of pizza with a wide variety of toppings. This was thin crust New Haven style pizza, with a sauce that leans more tangy than sweet, and the article would be way too long if I went through all the pizzas, so I settled on four: plain cheese, bacon, pepperoni, and sausage and onion.

 

 

 

2006 Lopez de Heredia Cubillo 

 

In general, Riojas with a bit of age are reliable reds to pair with pizza due to their balance of high acidity and array of secondary, non-fruit flavors. This was the best pairing for the cheese pie by far, adding layers of new flavor onto each bite without disturbing the delicious simplicity of a plain slice. The Cubillo was also fantastic with the bacon pie as the smoky flavors enhanced the more subtle elements of the wine, again without disturbing all the good things about a bite of bacon pizza. 

 

It was also a nice complement to the pepperoni which is a typically difficult topping to deal with. 

 

 

 

2019 Saint Cosme Côte du Rhône Village 

 

Like Rioja, these village Rhone wines are generally a good pairing with pizza and this bottle did not disappoint. It paired very well with the cheese but not quite as good as the Rioja, with the bacon however, this bottle was a knockout. The savory flavors of Rhone wines are amplified by the bacon and go for a long ride on the finish with help from the cheese. 

 

Onion can be a difficult topping on pizza for many reds, but worked nicely with this one, as the onion added a burst of brightness in the middle of each bite. 

 

 

 

2023 Jurtschitsch Gruner Veltliner-White 

 

Wines with high acidity and a neutral flavored fruit profile (meaning not citrus or tropical) are great pairings with pizza and this Gruner is no exception. Simply delicious with the cheese pie, this was one of those pairings that make you want to go back and forth from bite to sip so embarrassingly fast I found myself looking around the room to see if anyone was watching. The Gruner was good, not great with pepperoni, and fantastic with the bacon and the onion sausage. This would be a great choice for a bottle to bring to someone’s house for a pizza party if you had no idea what was going to be on any of the pizzas. 

 

 

 

Champagne Delavenne Dom Basle Reserve Bouzy Grand Cru

 

This is a big, broad shouldered bottle of bubbles and if I had chosen something less complex I think it would have paired better with a wider variety of the pizzas. 

 

That said, I made a huge discovery here, and it’s that bubbles pair perfectly with onions on pizza. It is truly a revelation and I highly suggest trying it as soon as possible. I don’t think it would matter what else is on the pizza besides onion because the two hook up so quickly and take your palate on such a simple but pleasurable ride, that any other flavors become happy backseat passengers along for the trip, occasionally jumping in to join the conversation. 

 

In this case, that passenger was sausage, but I’m confident this pairing would have worked just as well if it was chicken, bacon, or meatball with the onion. The champagne was fine with the cheese pie, but the biggest disappointment of the night by far was bacon pizza with the bubbles. I thought this was going to be the best pair of the night, but alas, they just didn’t work that well together. 

 

 

 

 

 

Which brings me back to a point I referenced above, where finding out what doesn’t work is just as important as finding out what does. Champagne does not pair well with bacon pizza, but is fantastic with onion/sausage, and really any pizza with any combinations of toppings that includes onion. 

 

Côtes du Rhône reds are delicious with a plain cheese pizza and even better with the bacon pie. Gruner Veltiner can pair well with just about any combination of toppings you can think of as long as the pizza is crispy. 

 

The Lopez de Heredia Cubillo had the best ability to pair well across a range of toppings for a red wine. 

 

I hope this was helpful and, for you, esteemed reader, I look forward to putting in more hard work on future pizza and wine pairings. You’re welcome.