Pairing Wines with Pizza: Which Ones Go Together?

Pizza and beer may go together like peanut butter and jelly, but while cooking a pizza outdoors in a wood burning pizza oven on a warm summer night, you may prefer to pour a glass or two of wine. So, how do you select the correct wine to go with your pizza? Here are some considerations to make.

Acidity: Tomatoes are acidic, so the more tomato sauce you have on your pizza will determine how much acid you want in your wine. Some people follow a “red with red” rule that dictates pairing tomato sauced pizzas with red wine, while others prefer a clean white with bright citrus notes that nearly matches the acidity of the tomatoes. Which one you choose may depend on how much acid your palette can handle.

Herbs: The more herbs you have on your pizza (basil, oregano or even cilantro), the more you will want a wine that is rich with tannins. Experts often recommend a medium-bodied red wine to complement the flavors of any heavily herbed dish, but if your pizza is flavored with pesto, that could also work well with a floral wine such as Chardonnay or Riesling.

Cream: Pizza with alfredo sauce (“white” pizza) is popular, but the smooth texture and understated taste of a cream-based sauce needs the right wine to bring out its flavor. When cooking up a white pizza in your wood burning pizza oven, try a wine that offers a little spice; anything that claims to have notes of cinnamon, pepper or clove could be a great way to zest up a creamy white pizza.

Spice: Of course, some pizzas have more than enough spice on their own. If yours has lots of pepperoni, sausage or salami, you need a full-bodied or even earthy wine to tamper down the spice and smooth out your palette. This could be red or white, but many wine experts lean towards red anytime you are pairing wine with red meats.

Vegetables: Lighter pizzas with vegetables like zucchini, broccoli, asparagus or artichokes deserve an equally light wine. They can be outstanding with a clean white or a rosé; just choose a wine that seems to reflect the lightness of the pizza you are cooking in your wood burning pizza oven.

Once you find a good pairing, you’ll be likely to choose pizza and wine over pizza and beer quite often! If this your first time using your wood burning pizza oven, it may be helpful to watch this demo before you begin.

Posted in: