Well, after a long two weeks of distancing myself from alcohol and greasy food (we'll call it Birthday Week Detox), you can only imagine my food and wine cravings. I was surprised at how well I kept a healthy schedule for that long (pat on the back). I also had pizza night planned for Saturday. I made my easy go-to french bread pizza from The Pioneer Woman.
Now, I know that pizza and cold beer are such a great companion, but pizza and wine can pair wonderfully if you know a bit about how to do it. Here's what you should know when your pizza and wine night rolls around!
CONSIDER:
- A wine with higher acid and lower tannin
WHY? A good amount of acid in wine complements the acid in pizza sauce (if your pizza base is a red sauce). A wine with lower tannin won't over power the pizza and will allow you to taste the flavors in it
- A wine with that has little to no oak
WHY? Full bodied wines that taste of oak JUST DON'T TASTE GOOD with pizza
- What is ON the pizza
WHY? If your pizza has lots of herbs and spices, pair it with a wine that has herbal notes. If your pizza has earthy flavors (think mushrooms) pair it with a wine with earthy notes
This wine has a lighter body, lower tannin, and earthy flavors. It would pair wonderfully with a mushroom and/or veggie pizza.
Italian varieties such as:
This wine has flavors of cherry, plum, tomato, herbs, and spice (everything that compliments any type of pizza). It also brings out the flavor of salty meats.
This is a zesty wine (high in acid and low in tannin). It has herbal notes which pairs well with basil/herb pizzas.
Like Pinot Noir, this is a lighter bodied wine with lower tannin and berry flavors. It pairs well with simple pizzas.
Since I had a bottle of Blina Barbera D'Asti at home, that was the wine of the night.
The pizza was a traditional tomato basil.
conclusion: I thought the combination was great...but the second glass was better. This wine (like many Chianti's that I have tried) needed a bit of time to open up and soften. First sips were a tad sour, but my second glass brought out a lot of the basil flavor I was hoping for! Next pizza pairing will be a Chianti.
Happy Weekend!
photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bdlandis/2598187190/">Brian Landis</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a>
photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/justininsd/5876244838/">Justin in SD</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a>
photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bdlandis/2598187190/">Brian Landis</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a>
photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/justininsd/5876244838/">Justin in SD</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a>
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