Pairing wine with pizza is perfectly logical these days, but that wasn’t always the case. In Naples, Italy, in the 18th century, people weren’t sitting around sipping wine with their slices. Pizza got its start as a street snack sold by vendors and eaten on-the-go, and that trend continued as pizza tentacled its cheesy strands of goodness around the world.
Only in recent decades has pizza become an elevated art form, savored and studied. The temple of pizza where I like to worship is called Razza. If you haven’t heard of it, New York Times restaurant reviewer Pete Wells infamously declared that Razza was home to the best pizza in New York, even though it’s in New Jersey. Cue the pitchforks, torches, and angry mobs.
But it’s true — Razza really is THAT good. Owner Dan Richer meticulously sources, tastes, and tests every ingredient on his menu. To select the tomatoes for his sauce each year, for example, he lines up and rates all available tomatoes on a seven-point “tomato evaluation rubric” to select a winner.
That’s all to say, Dan is intentional with his choices. So I made a pilgrimage to Razza to check out his wine menu and get some advice. Razza’s tightly curated list has a range of whites and reds, mostly Italian with some exceptions. Interestingly, Dan is not at all dogmatic on the wine front, stating that the perfect wine and pizza pairing is whatever someone wants to drink.
But what does he like to drink? Dan says he’s been seeking out lighter-bodied, lower alcohol reds like the Forlorn Hope “Queen of the Sierra” red blend on Razza’s menu. The Barbera-dominant wine has bright sour cherry and rhubarb aromas and flavors, lively acidity, and a smooth texture. It was a knockout pairing with his guanciale pizza, which I’d like to be buried with. #guanciale4ever
But my quest for pairing perfection was far from over. I put on my lab coat and did the tough work, tasting a variety of wines and pies over the past few weeks to develop my own definition of the ideal pizza wine. Here’s where I netted out (five pounds heavier and a whole lot happier).
Anatomy of a Perfect Pizza Wine
IMHO, the best pizza wines are light- to medium-bodied reds with lively acidity. The can’t be too tannic. And they’re preferably made from Italian varieties.
Why Italian grapes? I do have a bias for “what grows together goes together.” But then, in tasting these wines with pizza, they were just better. Italian reds are known — across the board — to have mouthwatering acidity, which is the key here for why the wines pair well with pizza. After taking each salty, cheesy bite, you need the acidity to cleanse your palate so you’re ready for next bite.
For example, I found Barbera and Frappato wines to pair better with pizza than the Pinot Noir and Gamays I tried, which were similarly lighter bodied, but not as crisp. In the grease-stained, clinical tests I conducted, these grapes rose to the top:
Barbera — This black grape is the definition of “juicy,” with high natural acidity, low tannins, and a lighter body. Barbera hails from the Northern Italian region of Piemonte, where it is made into everyday drinking wines that have bright red cherry and blackberry flavors.
Frappato — This grape makes Sicily’s version of Cru Beaujolais — fresh, lighter-bodied reds meant to be enjoyed young. It has strawberry, flower, and spice aromas and flavors, and lower tannins.
Sangiovese — Italy’s most planted red grape, which makes famous Tuscan wines like Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino, and high-end Super Tuscans. These wines can range broadly in style, from lighter to more full-bodied, with lovely savory notes of herbs, spices, and tomato leaf, coupled with high acidity, and medium- to high tannins.
Let’s talk about those tannins. This black tea-like, astringent quality in wine is the sworn enemy of young, soft cheeses. Tannins bind to the protein and fat in cheese, which — in the case of mozzarella — can result in a metallic, almost fishy taste. Avoid that.
But yet! You’ll notice that I put Sangiovese on my list, which has higher tannins. Not all Sangiovese-based wines would work well with pizza, but Chianti Classico wines are a sure thing in my experience. Bottles labeled “Chianti Classico” mean the wines are the top DOCG classification for Chianti wines. These wines typically show well-integrated tannins that — along with those interesting savory notes and bright acidity — make for a fantastic pizza wine.
While my experiments were not quite as scientific as Dan’s tomato trials, I do have a high-degree of confidence that these selections will transform your next pizza night into an experience worth savoring.
Four Pizza Wines to Try
I comparison shopped all over the web to find you the best deals, from retailers that ship nationally. Enjoy!
COS Frappato 2019 ($21)
My favorite. Wow, this is a delicious wine. I could drink it all day — the low alcohol (11.5%) certainly makes that possible. Transparent and ruby colored, it is a fresh, light-bodied wine, with sour cherries, dried cranberries, dried orange peels, and cola aromas and flavors. COS is one of the most influential producers in Sicily (and Italy), founded by three friends, including the renowned Giusto Occhipinti. The winery is practicing organic and biodynamic, and this wine is made by spontaneous fermentation in concrete tanks.
Forlorn Hope, “Queen of the Sierra” Estate Red 2018 ($20)
Winemaker Matthew Rorick blends Barbera, Trousseau, and Graciano to make this thirst-quenching, fruit-forward (strawberries + sour cherries + rhubarb) red that has fresh and lively acidity, a medium body, and a smooth texture. The unfiltered, natural wine is made from organically grown grapes in the Sierra Foothills of Northern California.
Hilberg Pasquero Vareji 2019 ($24)
This is a really cool find — first time I’ve seen Barbera blended with the Brachetto grape (another light-bodied Italian red from Piemonte). It comes from a small, family-run biodynamic winery in Piemonte. The wine is intensely aromatic, with wildflower and raspberry aromas and brambly berry flavors. It’s medium bodied with crisp acidity, a silky texture, and lingering finish.
Felsina Berardenga Chianti Classico 2018 ($20)
Top value for a classic wine. Wild herbs, violet, and spice scents lead into this lively, fresh Sangiovese, with flavors of dried cherries, tomato leaf, and earth. The wine is medium-bodied, with mouthwatering acidity, and fine-grained tannins. Felsina is a benchmark, organic Tuscan wine producer — it’s a good brand to know as one you can always trust to have excellent quality for the price.