Pizza

[ncbob43]

We are planning a pizza party featuring homemade pizza made of fresh ingredients such as tomato, pesto, cheese. Only one pizza with meat....a pepperoni. Which would be better.....red or white and what are 4 good wines you would recommend??

[Innkeeper]

Hi Bob, and welcome to the Wine Board. Unless you are making a so called "white pizza" you just need red wine. If they are all tomato based some wines to try are Chianti Classico, Rosso Montalcino, Rosso Piceno, Rosso Conero, and Barbera d'Asti. The first two are made primarily from the sangiovese grape. The second two are blends of sangiovese and montepulciano. Barbera is another grape. All of these are quite acidic to go with the tomatoes. If you are going to make a white pizza, try Vermentino (a white) with it.

[Thomas]

Having no idea of your pizza-making prowess all I can say is this: pizza is the food of Campania. Down there they have no Barbera D'Asti and no Sangiovese (well, some of the latter, but it ain't so good). What they have is Aglianico and a few other grapes. Not too far away, in Puglia, they also have some fine products for tomato-based foods, Brindisi, Copertino, for two of them.

The debate about tomato and red wine lingers. I say: acid with acid is ok, but acid with contrasting lushness is sublime...

But for the pesto, assuming no tomatoes, go with a northern wine like Dolcetto.

[This message has been edited by foodie (edited 08-04-2002).]

[Innkeeper]

If there is no barbera or sangiovese down there, there certainly isn't any dolcetto either. Not that any of this up there down there amounts to a hill of beans. Americans have been enjoying Chianti with pizza for a hundred years, and at least some of them should know what they are talking about.

[mrdutton]

Alright, alright, guys settle down! Where is Roberto when we need him?

[zenda2]

I think Roberto may still be whooping it up in Brazil.

Not going to enter the debate, I'm only going to say...pizza with a zinfandel field blend not be traditional but sure tastes great. Old Vine Marietta for instance, I love Laurel Glen 'REDS' with my pizza.

[Botafogo]

I will second the motion for Aglianico based wines although you want something a bit zippy like a Sannio rosso or a minor league Aglianico del Vulture and not a serious, ageworthy, looking for roast leg of lamb Taurasi Riserva.

I am also a BIG fan of Nero d'Avola based wines from Sicilia with the pie, even better if they have a dash of Frappatto in them.

As to IK's pick of Rosso Conero, we enjoyed a bottle of Saladini Pilastri's single vineyard bottling with pizzeti do bacalhão (bite sized pizzas with olive oil, garlic and salt cod) at Rio's fabulous Ristorante Quadrifoglia last Saturday night....

Roberto

[Thomas]

Zenda, the Zinfandel grape is related to Primitivo (twice removed); the latter is a southern Italian delight (Puglia). In my view, it should go with pizza, even though the Zinfandel might have a tad more acidity if from northern California.

I am not anti-acid with acid; just find the contrasting taste experience a lot more interesting, varied and pleasurable.

[dananne]

FWIW, it may not be the most traditional pairing for 'za, but I enjoy it while drinking an A Mano 2000 Primitivo.

[Thomas]

A Mano Primitivo seems to me a near-perfect match for pizza.

[winoweenie]

Depending on your finances at this time you could make an offer for the bottle of Bordeaux posted under the Aussie Thread. WW

[Hal]

For my taste, a Salice Salentino makes a good match for pizza. Its lower acid balances nicely with tomatos, and it has a rustic, earthy quality that works well with a crispy crust, especially from a wood-burning oven. I believe its also appropriate regionally. To top it off Salice Salentino is easy to find and usually inexpensive.

[This message has been edited by Hal (edited 08-09-2002).]