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Picking up Pizza

Four years ago this month, TableWine posted its inaugural feature, Perfect Wines for Pizza. We chose the topic because pizza seemed to epitomize everyday fare and we wanted to make it clear, from the outset, that our focus would be on affordable wines for everyday drinking.

Back then, it seemed that most wine websites were targeting the connoisseur or the oenophile. Readers exchanged views and tasting notes on old Bordeaux and Burgundy or regaled one another with accounts of their latest coups in securing cases of 90-point California Cabs. But how many people (even those who can afford them) actually drink First Growths or Grand Crus on a daily basis? Far more, I’m sure, sit down to a weekday meal with a bottle that was on special at their favorite wine store or with a glass of their own house red or white that they pick up every week at the supermarket. That’s our audience, I thought, and so began TableWine.com.

Over the last four years, we’ve remained true to our objective to promote the pleasure of wine drinking and to remove the intimidation factor that so often surrounds choosing and serving it. We want our readers to be comfortable with buying wine and matching it with food. We also try to encourage them to try varietals that they may never have heard of before, like an Argentinean Malbec or a Greek Asyrtico, or to discover unfamiliar wine regions, like the Languedoc or the Loire. But above all, we continually urge them to taste wine (which is the best way to learn about it) and to trust their own palates.

Before I wax overly nostalgic, let’s turn to the subject of this month’s feature: pizza wines. A good bottle can pick up even the most mundane pie.

What we wrote four years ago about pairing wines with pizza still applies: “Choosing a wine for pizza can depend a lot on what you like about this Italian staple. If you're a crust fancier, you'll want a wine that tones down the sauce and toppings and brings out the baked flavor of the crust. If you're a toppings nibbler (we'll limit our discussion to cheese, pepperoni, and mushrooms--no gourmet fare), select a wine with enough acidity to stand up to the sauce and just enough flavor to complement your topping. But if, like many of us, you think the whole pizza is greater than the sum of its parts, you want a wine to counterpoint the blend of bread, tomato, and topping.”

For this tasting, we visited several local wine merchants and asked them to recommend wines that would go well with pizza. We also thought it would be fun to revisit some of the wines we reviewed four years ago and taste their current vintage.

The pizzas were from a local pizzeria; no gourmet specialty fare; just three large pies, one with cheese, one with mushrooms, and one with pepperoni.

We’ll begin with the five revisited wines and then review seven new ones.

1998 Coltibuono, Cetamura, Chianti DOC ($10.99)

Light garnet in color, this wine has an earthy nose with pronounced cherry notes. Light to medium bodied, it’s dry with soft tannins. On the palate, it delivers ash and chalk flavors that appear diluted. There are no fruit flavors to speak of. The wine also falls short on the finish, which is a little spicy. Coltibuono has always made some delicious Chiantis; unfortunately this is not one of them. I should note that the wine improved somewhat with the pizza. (Four years ago, this wine was also a disappointment.) Imported by Winebow, New York, NY.

1998 Laurel Glen Vineyard, Reds, California Red Wine ($8.49)

Bright ruby red with beautiful legs, this wine has a big nose of cherry and cigar-box cedar that leaps from the glass. Medium bodied with mild tannins, it’s packed with blackberry and leather flavors that linger on the palate. It also has a good spicy finish. This wine was wonderful with the pizza and was definitely a star of this tasting. It’s also a good value. (It was also a winner four years ago.)

1998 Laurel Glen Vineyard, Terra Rosa, Cabernet Sauvignon, Valle Central, Chile ($10.99)

Deep ruby and opaque, this wine has long, long legs. It has a very big nose of earth and chalk together with some hints of green bell pepper and wild berries. On the palate, it’s jammy, dry, and medium to full bodied and delivers chewy bell-pepper and cocoa flavors. This Cabernet from Chile has a lot of finesse, but it did not stand up well to the pizza. It’s still a very good wine and I think it would be better matched with grilled meats than with pizza. (We also enjoyed this wine four years ago; but back then it was a California Cabernet.)

Non-vintage, Marietta Cellars, California Old Vine Red Lot Number Twenty Four, California ($10.99)

Deep ruby in color with long legs, this wine has a beautiful alluring nose of plums and black fruit. Full bodied and well structured, it has soft tannins and plenty of jammy flavors characterized by plums, black pepper, and vanilla. The finish is long with pronounced vanilla/black pepper notes. I should note that the tasting group was divided along gender lines as to whether the finish was more vanilla or black pepper. Nonetheless, all enjoyed this wine with the pizza and agreed that it was definitely another star of this tasting. (This wine also fared well at our very first tasting.)

1998 R.H. Phillips, EXP Syrah, Dunnigan Hills ($13.99)

Ruby in color with long, long legs, this wine has a pretty cherry nose with underpinnings of cedar. There is a bit of mustiness on the nose as well. The wine is medium bodied with jammy flavors of cedar, currants, and black licorice. It also has an assertive mid-palate. The flavors linger and the finish is pure black licorice. This wine was even better with the pizza. (We sort of enjoyed this wine four years ago, but I think it has improved considerably. As I said in my original review, I think this wine would be great with lamb.)

1998 Bogle Vineyard, Petite Sirah, California ($10.99)

Ruby in color with good legs, this wine has a nose of burnt sugar and hay. Medium bodied and quite dry, its flavors are like burnt sugar and crème caramel. The finish is a little short but noticeably spicy. This is not a big wine, but is well balanced and a pleasure to drink. We all thought that it was a bit too delicate for the pizza and would be better with lighter fare or cheese.

1998 Ca’ del Solo, Big House Red, California Red Wine ($10.99)

This blend of Sangiovese, Carignane, Zinfandel, Mourvedre, etc, etc. still shows its Bonny Doon origins in its packaging but not in its character. Light garnet in color with good legs, this wine has an earthy nose with some burnt sugar notes. It’s dry and just spicy on the palate, but its plummy flavors appear diluted. The finish is also rather short. Not surprisingly, this wine did not stand up well to the pizza. I was surprised by this showing, since I had reviewed the wine last April and thought it at that time to be the “quintessential pizza wine.” Could it have been that I tasted it at the winery?

1997 Apollonio, Terragnolo Primitivo Rosso, Salento Primitivo IGT ($9.99)

Dark ruby in color with long legs, this wine has a big, big earthy nose with hints of sweet potato and caramel. On the palate, it is medium bodied, dry, and tannic. As for flavor, this is a one note wine: black pepper through and through all the way to the finish, which is adequate. This wine was not a great match for our pizza, but I think it would go quite well with a chunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano and some crusty bread or perhaps even with a good steak. Imported by Vin Divino, Chicago, IL.

1996 Bodegas Inviosa, Tierra de Barros, Lar de Barros ($12.99)

Ruby in color with lovely legs, this wine made from Tempranillo has an attractive nose of tobacco and dried figs. Medium bodied with good tannins, the wine delivers plum and currant flavors that seem to metamorphose into black pepper. The wine has good acidity for pairing with food and a nice peppery finish. It was definitely one of the better wines with the pizza. Imported by Classical Wines, Seattle, WA.

1997 Apollonio, Copertino, DOC ($7.99)

Brilliant garnet in color with good legs, this wine from the heel of the Italian boot has an iris nose with subtle barnyard notes. Medium bodied and quite dry, it has good concentration of fruit and delivers leather and spice flavors. It has a nice dry finish. The wine was another pleasing match for the pizza. Imported by Vin Divino, Chicago, IL.

1996 Quinta do Casal Branco, Falcoaria, Almeirim VQPRD ($17.99)

Very ruby in color with beautiful long legs, this wine from Portugal has a complex yet clean nose of cherry, burnt sugar, and spice. Quite dry with mild tannins and good acidity for food pairing, it delivers dry caramel and cedar flavors followed by a long black-pepper finish. This was one of the best wines with all the pizzas. In fact, it was almost like a sparring partner for the pies. Definitely one of the stars of the tasting.Imported by Tri-Vin Imports, Mount Vernon, NY.

1998 Mazzini, Montecarlo, DOC ($9.99)

This Italian white is a blend predominated by, I believe, Trebbiano. Light gold in color, it has a pretty nose of almond and honey. On the palate, there’s a spectrum of flavors from granny smith apples to lemon zest to honey. This is an elegant wine with good structure and acidity. It finishes nicely, with lemon zest flavors. Did it go well with the pizza? If you prefer whites over reds, you might enjoy this wine with a cheese or mushroom pizza. It might also be a good match for a pizza bianca (white pizza) made from mozzarella, gorgonzola, fontina and anchovies. My preference would be to savor this wine as an aperitif or pair it with trout or sole. Imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY.

TableWine is a personal website and does not sell any wine. However, many of the wines we review are purchased from our local wine merchant, Wine & Spirit World. Their web site may help you locate a good number of our selections. Also, if your local wine store does not carry a wine that you've read about here, don't hesitate to ask them to order a bottle or two for you. For imported wines, you may need to supply them with the name of the importer or distributor.

If you have any suggestions for future tastings, drop us a line at the address below.