Pairing Guide: Pizzas and Wines
Pairing pizza and wine is an incredibly enjoyable task. Whatever your preference, the combination is sure to be a success in this marriage of comfort and fun. Let's look at some tips to get the most out of this experience.
Wine and pizza are as perfectly complementary as a group of good friends and lots of laughter. Whether ordering delivery or taking the time to bake your own creation, today there are as many pizza flavors as there are wine varieties available, which can make creating a definitive guide a more complicated, but no less exciting, task!
Pizzas are consumed in as many variations as there are ingredients around the planet. It is estimated that 5 billion pizzas are sold every year worldwide and that at least 350 slices of pizza are eaten every second! Here in Brazil, as lovers of good food, we don't hold back and consume something close to 1.5 million pizzas every day, absorbing the culture spread by the Italians and adding our own Brazilian flavor to this iconic dish.
How Did Pizza and Wine Meet?
The true origin of pizza is a far more complex matter than its preparation. Due to its simple essence, there is much debate as to who truly invented this recipe. Many peoples are credited with creating this dish of flour-based dough partially covered with various ingredients. Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans have records of similar recipes, with historical findings on the Italian island of Sardinia dating back almost 7000 years.
Regardless of its true origin, modern pizza was only conceived in the 16th century in Italy, when Europeans returned from their incursions into the Americas and brought with them some exotic fruits, including tomatoes. Initially, they were not well-received by consumers because it was believed that they could be poisonous; however, slowly tomatoes and their rich sauce began to enter the daily diet of the poorer Italians in the communes of Naples, in the south of the country, where the first pizzas actually appeared, such as the famous marinara, made simply with dough, tomato sauce, garlic, olive oil, and oregano, and owes its name to being made by the wives ( marinaras) of sailors before their voyages.
These treasures began to be discovered by tourists and spread throughout Italy and neighboring countries, all lovers and producers of great and abundant wine labels. The communion was inevitable. While wine culture spread across the planet, pizza followed the same path until it became commonplace in modern times. It maintains its original simplicity and remains a constant presence in all types of homes.
Types of Pizzas and Their Combinations
Even though there are thousands of possible flavors, some styles have won over consumers and persisted through time, joined by some typically Brazilian recipes. Let's talk about some of the most common pizzas and their pairing suggestions.
Calabrese/Pepperoni: These pizzas have a very intense flavor of cured meat, especially the pepperoni pizza which, being spicier, calls for red wines with good tannins to balance the fat and strong flavors. Tip: Casa Marques Pereira Cabernet Franc.
Portuguese/Margherita: Traditional pizzas with delicate flavors and a strong presence of tomato sauce, olives, and cheese call for wines with moderate tannins and good acidity to balance the dish's richness. Tip: Casa Marques Pereira Segredos da Adega Pinot Noir.
Mozzarella/Four Cheeses: In this case, the proportion of cheese is much higher and even lacks the contrasting acidity of the tomato, as in a four-cheese pizza. To compensate for the lack of this component and cut through the natural fat of the cheeses, a good choice is young sparkling wines or those with a pronounced acidity. Tip: Casa Marques Pereira Brut Rosé Historic Vintage MMXX.
California: The traditional pizza with its sweet tropical fruit flavor has won the hearts of Brazilians and couldn't be left off the list. Due to its sweetness and pronounced acidity, pairing it with food isn't so simple. In these cases (and when in doubt), trust a traditional brut sparkling wine made from Chardonnay; the bubbles and creaminess will guarantee balance and cleanse your palate between slices. Tip: Casa Marques Pereira EXITU ANNI Brut Vindima MMXVII
