Pizza & Wine Pairing: an unusual date

Everyone loves pizza, one of the Italian foods that identifies Italy worldwide: to enjoy it at its best, we decided to organize a tasting in the company of Attilio Scienza, to demonstrate how even (and above all) wine is able to enhance the multiple flavors of this indispensable gastronomic delight.

The Neapolitan pizzeria Assaporito delighted us with eight specialties, from the most classic and simple Margherita to the most sumptuous fried pizza with ricotta and salami, from the essential marinara to the very rich 'nduja with burrata: the others included the deliciousness of the mortadella-pistachios combo, the freshness of the cherry tomatoes, the seasonal aroma of pumpkin and finally the combination of “agé” between sausage and friarielli.

Let's see together what wines accompanied our tasting.

Pizza and Fiano d'Avellino, pizza

and Sicilian Grillo

With the Queen of Pizzas on the table, we sipped Fiano d'Avellino, DOCG nectar with which to remain in the Campania region (where it has been talked about for its goodness for over five hundred years). The simplest pizza among the selection proposed to us by Mattia Rizzi was in turn combined with a second white wine, the Sicilian Grillo, produced with medium-late ripening grapes

that remind us of this time of year.

Pizza and Lambrusco di Sorbara

Both for the full-bodied fried pizza and for the... differently light pizza with cream and pistachio chips, our wine experts Cristina and Jacopo recommended Lambrusco di Sorbara, a Modenese red wine made from grapes with a truly unique peculiarity. The pollen of this grape variety is in fact sterile: this characteristic makes the clusters susceptible to the phenomenon of chipping, which consists in the reduction of the size of the grains even in very large percentages of

production.

Both combinations were appreciated, especially by Attilio! But in my opinion, this wine knows how to go with all the pizzas on the table

.

Pizza and Valpolicella Superiore, pizza and Chianti Classico

The combination with pumpkin turns to a non-tannic, soft wine: Valpolicella DOC Superiore is suitable for the purpose, with its pleasant and harmonious flavor. A personal favorite of mine, on the other hand, consists of the couple sausage and friarielli combined with Chianti Classico, which certainly does not need

a presentation.

Pizza and Bolgheri DOC, pizza and Trebbiano Spoletino

To keep up with the spicy flavor of the Calabrian 'nduja, we need a bit of roundness: a Bolgheri DOC, a brand well known to our Attilio, offers it. Finally, for the red and yellow tomatoes, a Trebbiano Spoletino DOC from the Antonelli winery arrives

, a surprise for me.

With the hope of having intrigued you about the pairing of flavors between pizza and wine, we invite you to put the beer aside and try something new, less random and more satisfying for your palate.

Cheers and cheers!