Pinot Noir With Pizza?

Ah, pizza. As simple as dough, tomato sauce and cheese- it can become so much more so quickly. 

It’s the sauce and cheese that begins to help you choose a wine to go with pizza.

A tomato sauce is quite acidic, and too soft a wine will taste dull and simple. A white sauce is generally creamier and milder- so red wine can dominate the experience (and not in a fun way.)

A higher-acid wine will balance the fat in softer cheeses, and help cleanse your palate for another bite, while hard, flavorful cheese can play nicely with a more off-dry style. 

Toppings like wild mushrooms, fennel sausage or arugula do well with earthier bottlings- ham and pineapple slightly sweeter ones. Avoid very tannic wines, as the saltiness of the pie emphasizes tannins.

All that too much to think about? Keep it simple. Lighter, livelier reds go with most red pies, and light-to-medium bodied crisp whites for white pies.

Want to get deeper? (Not canned) mushrooms, sausage or cured meat toppings play well with small-production Tuscan wines. Pizza Biancos get another layer of flavor with Falanghina or Alsatian Gewurztraminer.

learn about wine, one sip at a time >