For years, we have been told that pizza goes with beer. That’s it. And so, we often end up choosing the ingredients that stimulate us the most, unusual flavour combinations, gourmet doughs and we pair it with… beer, often of industrial quality!
Now, the time has come to replace the pint with the glass!
The combination of pizza and beer – contrary to popular belief – was not in fact born for gastronomic reasons, but rather for a set of coincidences. Few people in fact know that back in the 1950s there was still a restriction in Italy that had been issued during Fascism on serving alcohol, whereby pizzerias could not serve beverages exceeding 8% alcohol.
This is the origin of this cultural heritage that has now resulted in less than 10% of Italians (abroad this is not the case at all) choosing to pair wine with pizza.
A great pity because with the imagination of the thousands of pizza variants one can really open up a world where pairing with wine is not only possible, but often even more interesting and surprising.
If you ask us, each pizza ingredient has a well-defined character that a good wine may enhance better than any hop.
Moreover, both beer and pizza are “leavened” products, which, by contrast, can lead to slower digestibility and bloating of the stomach.
Choosing wine with pizza means going outside the box, breaking a pattern, eating with awareness and above all having fun experimenting. After all, isn’t that why we order pizza in company?
The perfect pairing exists: to every pizza, its wine
It is all about finding the right wine for the right pizza. The goal is to balance the acidity of the tomato, the fattiness of the mozzarella and the complexity of the other ingredients. OK, now we know you’re thinking ‘too difficult, I’ll just have a pint’, but it’s much simpler than what you might think.
Red pizzas, for example, go very well with a young, fresh and lively rosé wine to balance the acidity of the tomato and the sweetness of the mozzarella.
If the pizza is richer – perhaps with salami, mushrooms or mature cheeses – we may dare with a red wine with good acidity, but with a low alcohol content, while if we are talking about white, vegetarian or anchovy pizzas, bubbles come into play with their effervescent freshness and minerality.
If you don’t know where to start, we’ll give you some ideas for pairing wine and pizza without going wrong. We are certain you will never go back!
Pizza Margherita and Barbera d’Asti DOCG Rive Rosse
The ingredients of pizza Margherita are very basic: mozzarella, tomato, and a basil leaf. It is the triumph of Italian cuisine and, to a great classic, it is imperative to respond with another great classic!
Pizza Margherita, with its perfect balance of tomato, mozzarella and basil, finds an ideal ally in the freshness and liveliness of our Rive Rosse Barbera del Monferrato DOC. A simple yet not at all mundane pairing.
Pizza 4 stagioni and Sabbie Rosa (Rosato)
Four ingredients, four different flavours: artichokes, mushrooms, ham and olives.
You need a versatile, fresh wine with a nice acidity that cleanses the palate but does not cover the flavours. A light rosé wine is ideal for bringing together the different flavours of the ingredients, like our Piemonte DOC Rosato Sabbie Rosa: fragrant, elegant, casual… like a dinner with friends on the terrace.
White Pizza (or focaccia) with lard and Castel del Mago
We ara raising the bar here. The white base enhances the softness of the lard, which needs a wine with a nice structure but with just the right delicacy to complement without overpowering.
The Pinot-Chardonnay Brut Spumante DOC “Castel del Mago”, with its floral aromas and mineral finesse, is the right choice.
