What's The Best Wine To Pair With Pizza?

Even if you only have a passing interest in wine, there are some iconic wine pairings too well-established to ignore: red wine with red meat, white wine with fresh fish (or French fries and a caesar salad), champagne with oysters, etc. But which wine goes best with the meals we eat more often? Particularly on a Friday night when we're ready to wind down from the work week, gear up for the weekend, and celebrate with a restaurant-style slice of pizza at home, inquiring minds want to know which bottle of wine to crack open to keep the pairing party going.

To find the answer, Chowhound went straight to the professionals. Speaking exclusively with Corey Garner, a winemaker for The Federalist, we learned that while there is truly no wrong answer, some wines elevate your pizza-eating experience to the next level. "If the sauce is red/tomato based, I'm reaching for the Federalist zinfandel," she says. "Its juicy berry notes, spice, and soft tannins would work so well with the acidity of the tomato sauce and the richness coming from the cheese." So there you have it. The next time you pick up a tomatoey flatbread from Trader Joe's or a frozen pepperoni pizza from the grocery store, add a bottle of zinfandel to your cart and you won't be disappointed.

While a bottle of zinfandel is always safe, not all red wines pair well with red pizza sauce. Winemaker Corey Garner cautions against a few bold varieties in particular: "I would say wines to avoid with pizza would be anything overly tannic, like a young cabernet or young Nebbiolo, which might clash with the acidity of the tomato sauce, creating more of a harsh rather than harmonious vibe."

Of course, not all pizza is tomato based. Which bottle of wine should we pick up if we prefer a white pie? "If we are talking about a white-sauced veggie pizza, I would go with something crisp and refreshing," Garner says. "The Federalist sauvignon blanc would highlight the fresh vegetable flavors while still cutting through any of the creamy, fatty cheese elements." Sauvignon blancs have a crisp, vegetal taste that makes them perfect for pairing with salads, light pasta dishes, and veggie pies alike. Don't worry if you're limited by what you already have at home, or what a guest brought over. "Pizza is one of the best foods to pair wine with because there are so many possible combinations giving a wide range of complementary flavors," Garner adds. "It's hard to go wrong."