Pizza & Wine Guide 🍕🍷
9 pies, 18 wines; Special Collab w/BowtiedWineGuy
Pizza has grown into one of the most universally loved foods
Over 5 billion+ pizzas are consumed worldwide with USA 🇺🇸 accounting for 3 billion of the consumption; which breaks down to 350 slices of pizza being eaten per second (if you’re into those sort of odd metrics).
While Italy 🇮🇹 may be the “home” of pizza, you can now travel the world and get amazing pies… including many different styles.
Today I’m taking 10 iconic pizza styles (yes, there are more… comment with your fave below) and pairing them with my favorite alcoholic beverage: wine 🍷
The rule of “Pizza with Red Wine” is far too vague and in many cases, just flat out wrong.
I asked my friend BowtiedWineGuy to chime in and, as always, it was fun talking about our recs and banter back and forth.
If you aren’t following him on Twitter your timeline is missing valuable content.
Format as follows: A pizza style will be listed with a brief description. Then BowtiedWineGuy recs followed by my 2 cents.
Save this as a reference and enjoy 🙌
Margherita
From Naples, Italy dating back to the 16th century comes this iconic pizza featuring the colors of the Italian flag: red (tomato), white (fresh mozz), green (fresh basil).
Neapolitan-style pizza crust has strict conditions and chefs can go get certifications/training to make dough the traditional way. Baked in a wood-fired oven the should rise, lightly blister and char.
This pizza is all about balance.
Light acidity of tomato, richness from the fresh mozzarella with a an herbal-anise lift from basil leaf at the end.
WineGuy Rec: Vermentino
I had some fun with this one. This was another one that you can go a lot of different ways with. I went all the way to considering Sangiovese, for example. But with the basil, and moz, something brighter would make this pop. The bright apple and lime notes will shine. And while Vermentino can be oaked or unoaked, you must go unoaked here.
Octopod Rec: Sangiovese Rosé
The acid from the tomato is key to the margherita but it is not overpowering. Many of the sauces are uncooked so you don’t have that stewed/cooked tomato flavor.
Sangiovese rosé offers flavors of rose petal, green melon, strawberry, pomegranate, cranberry. These play so well with basil and tomato and carry enough acid to cut through the mozzarella and charred crust.
New York-Style
Huge pies of tomato and cheese, cut into large wedges, fold and bite.
NY Style pizza is truly iconic (Ninja Turtles anyone? 👀 ).
Many people swear by the NYC water as a key. Whatever your views, this pizza style is a completely different eating experience than the Neapolitan Margherita.
WineGuy Rec: Rhone/GSM
The most classic option on this list deserves the most classic pairing.
Fun fact: GSM (Grenache/Syrah/Mourvedre for those at home) is commonly referred to as "pizza wine" so we have an easy winner here.
While Paso Robles makes some nice blends, they're a bit bold for pizza, so we'll stick to French here. The black fruit with pepper and olive notes are perfect.
Octopod Rec: Grenache (Barossa Valley 🇦🇺)
Grenache can have many expressions, in this case we get plush soft red fruits and berries that are restrained and not bombastic. Medium bodied and low tannin. This plays really well with the tomato-cheese on the NY-Style pie. (If you can find Richard Betts “Sucette” this is exactly what I’m thinking of).
Romana: Sausage & Broccoli Rabe
Romana style pizza dough is not tossed in the air or flipped and stretched like most other doughs. Rather, the dough is pressed down with the finger tips and baked off in large rectangles, then cut into slabs with scissors and served by the slice.
The crispy, thin crust is a delicious texture and good for walking around while eating. Since there are endless flavor combinations we are going with sausage (Italian) and broccoli rabe.
WineGuy Rec: Barbera
I crossed out like three different options before deciding on Barbera; Italian sausage leads us to red. We risk the mild spice of the sausage overwhelming a white. The low tannin allows for this to mesh, and the herbal and black pepper notes of a good Barbera will go nicely with this pie.
Octopod Rec: Riesling Kabinett
I’m a huge German riesling maxi, as many of you know. The low residual sugar in the kabinett will let the acid shine and cut through the spice of the sausage and balance the bitterness of the broccoli rabe. Nahe or Pfalz will be good regions to pull a kabinett from.
Detroit
Characterized by a rectangular, thick crust which should have a crispy exterior (frico) with a, fine crumb and chewy interior. The tomato sauce is thick and has that stewed/caramel tomato flavor with plenty of umami. Wisconsin brick cheese is absolutely essential, no substitutions, and usually pepperoni
The prize of this pie is the frico exterior. 🤤
WineGuy Rec: Lambrusco
The more classic profile of this calls for a classic pairing. We need a red so it can hold up to the brick cheese, but it needs to have a fairly high acidity with low tannin profile. There were a few I could have chosen here, but the pepperoni and Lambrusco combo is too good to pass up.
Octopod Rec: Cru Beaujolais
I should note that WineGuy nailed the perfect pairing. Lambrusco. Absolute perfection.
If you can’t find a good quality Lambrusco then consider a Cru Beaujolais that’s fruit forward, zippy and low tannin like a Fleurie.
Quattro Formaggi
You’ll see many variations on this 4-cheese pizza. The best versions IMO use a bechamel base (classic white sauce that is milk-base thickened with a roux), mozzarella, gorgonzola (blue cheese), fontina, and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
WineGuy Rec: Sangiovese
We need a high acidity to work with all the cheese, but we can't have something too light. That led me away from whites (though I think there are whites that can work with this), and over to Sangiovese which still has the acidity to cut through all the fat. Especially with the bechamel base, I think we need something a little more herbal to balance it all out. Additional notes of balsamic help as well.
Octopod Rec: Blanc de Blancs Champagne
This is a champagne made exclusively from Chardonnay or Pinot Gris. Both of these grapes (white aka blancs) have a full body and can convey toasted bread, yeasty notes which are perfect for this pie.
Cheese and bread are classic pairings, so carrying that over into this type of champagne is a no brainer, with the bubbles that will scrub and cleanse your palate between bites cutting the rich cheesy goodness.
If you can find a good Growers champagne you are in for a treat.
Chicago
Ultimate deep dish, this is where pizza really becomes “pie”. Baked in a deep dish, the crust becomes caramelized. With a chunky tomato sauce, cheese and Italian sausage (or pepperoni but we’ve already seen pepperoni farther up the list).
This deep-dish style pizza requires a knife and fork 😂
WineGuy Rec: Chianti
I know, I just said Sangiovese, but this one is specific! It just has to be Chianti. Another classic pie that needs a classic wine. I almost put Chianti with the Detroit pie, but it came down to pepperoni vs sausage. This can hold up to the spice of the sausage, while keeping up with the tomato sauce.
Octopod Rec: Pinot Nero (Alto Adige)
If you want to try something unique, Pinot Nero from Alto Adige fits the bill. Bursting with cherry and black berries, medium acidity and soft tannins will play well with the rich tomato and spicy sausage. It’s a medium bodied red so won’t hit you over the head, leaving the deep dish pizza as the star of the show.
New Haven
Originating in New Haven, Connecticut this pie features a heavily charred crust, with toppings of clams, pecorino Romano, garlic, oregano and lots of EVOO.
The proper execution will yield a pie that looks almost burnt. That tightrope of char to burnt is critical and why when you have one properly made it really is a treat. The briny and sweet clams, salty romano, herbacious EVOO and oregano… yum! 🤤
WineGuy Rec: Sancerre
This one is funny. I go almost all Italian wines for the list, and we come to a pizza screaming Mediterranean with the EVOO, garlic, and oregano, and I go French wine. It's just such a nice profile for a Sancerre though. The salty Romano, the herbs, and of course the clams paired with the crisp, bright minerality of the Sancerre is actually making my mouth water as I type this.
Octopod Rec: Alsace Riesling
WineGuy nailed it again 🙌 if you can’t find a Sancerre, consider Alsace Riesling (Trimbach would be my go to). The aromatics smell of wet rocks and petrol, with a citrus rind note underneath and bracing acidity.
These all marry perfectly with the charred crust, sweet clams, salty romano, etc.
Calabrian Diavola
From a different region in Italy than the classic Naples style, comes a different experience.
A thin and crispy crust that is loaded up with toppings of spicy salamis, ‘nduja, olives, onions… and of course calabrian chilis. The pie itself usually has no cheese except on being pulled from the oven and then showered heavily with parmesan.
It’s a flavor bomb of a pizza.
WineGuy Rec: Gewurztraminer
The calabrian peppers made this a fun challenge. Given how well Gewurztraminer goes with spicier dishes like Indian or Moroccan, I think it will go nicely here. I lighter white like a Riesling could also work here, but given the tomatoes, I wanted something a little fuller.
Octopod Rec: Unoaked Barbera
Usually white wine is my de facto go-to for spice. Thai, Indian, chilli, Sichuan… but here I went red. It really works and shows the versatility of Barbera since WineGuy used for a different pie previously.
The rounded, red fruit-forward notes of the wine and low tannin, blend with the spice of the chili and also plays well with the olives and salami. Worth trying 🤝
Siciliana
AKA: Fincione
This pizza features a thick crust with a fluffy, sponge-like consistency. It is baked in a rectangular shaped pan, topped with tomato sauce, anchovies, onions, oregano, and pecorino. Then covered in breadcrumbs which help absorb some of the oil from the ingredients.
WineGuy Rec: Pinot Gris
I said I wanted to go Pinot Gris earlier, but part of the reason I didn't was because I needed to put it here. This is somewhat similar to our New Haven pairing where we have a salty cheese and a seafood in the anchovies. Alto Adige is the way to go, where we'll find that minerality and lemon zing.
Octopod Rec: Rioja Cosecha
If you want red, try this Rioja. Expect notes of cooked blackberry and blueberry, with a juicy acidity. The structure and acidity of the wine will stand up to the tomato and bread while showcasing the briny anchovies.
And that’s a wrap! Hope you all enjoyed and have some fun pairing ideas and maybe a new pizza style to try. 🍕 🍷
Drop a comment on your fave pizza if we didn’t get to it.
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