Wine to Pair with Pizza

There’s a reason New York is considered the food capital of the world. If you want to eat something, we’ve got somewhere that makes it. Dishes and cuisines from all over the globe are proffered on every corner, opening up the horizons of millions of people every day. 

But if you ask any New Yorker what it is we do best, there is only one answer: pizza. 

Saucy, cheesy, salty, meant to eat right out of the oven so the crust makes that cracking sound and the cheese pulls in a long string from the slice to your mouth, delicious toppings evenly distributed over the giant slice that you fold in half while you eat. Honestly, is there anything better?

Many of us think of pizza and we picture that dollar slice hurriedly eaten on the corner of the street in those spare few minutes we have to catch our breath during our busy days. Chances are you’re not going to drink wine during those moments but what about the times you get to sit down at one of our innumerable Italian restaurants and enjoy a truly handcrafted pie? One with fresh and local toppings, maybe it was woodfired if you’re lucky. In those times, you should enjoy a perfectly paired glass (or two) of wine with your perfect New York slice, so we’ve created a little guide to help you with your choice. 

• Margherita or Cheese: Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Classic meets classic. Margherita will be mostly sauce so your deep Cab Sauv is going to meld nicely, and when you melt some cheese on top, you’re just improving the whole experience. 
• Meat Lovers: Malbec
  • Whether it’s a simple pepperoni or you’ve got a pile of cured meats, you want something acidic to counteract that delicious fat coming from the meat as well as the cheese. The beauty of a Malbec is that it won’t add any weight to your already heavy meal but it’s got a little fruit, a little spice, and some acid to balance everything out. 
• White Pizza: Riesling
  • A Riesling may come as a surprise here but a young harvest, crispy white is just what you need with all that garlic. A really good white pizza probably has ricotta on it too, or just an overwhelming amount of mozzarella, and the fragrance of a Finger Lakes early Riesling is the perfect partner to all of that flavor. 

Vegetable: Unoaked Chardonnay

• • The priority here is letting the veggies do their thing and shine on top or (and under, if done correctly) that cheese so you want a nicely balanced but not too outrageous glass of wine to go with it. A quality unoaked Chardonnay is the right idea but the “unoaked” is the key here. Oaky equals buttery and although we love butter, you’ve got a mountain of dairy fat in the cheese so go for something crisper instead.