The best wine and beer pairings for pizza (updated)

Should you drink wine or beer with pizza? No rights or wrongs, obviously but here are a few thoughts which might encourage you to experiment.

Italians themselves more commonly drink beer than wine, usually a light lager like Peroni but I personally like something with a bit more flavour - a Czech-style lager for example or, with spicy pepperoni toppings, a Viennese-style lager like Brooklyn.

Cider works really well with pizza too.

What about Chianti?

Inexpensive Italian reds are also ideal being moderate in alcohol and with the fresh acidity to cut through gooey cheese and tomato toppings.

I personally enjoy Chianti with pizza but you could equally well drink something like a Barbera, a Valpolicella or a Rosso di Montalcino or a simple Sicilian red*.

Italian grape varieties such as Sangiovese and Dolcetto made elsewhere in the world also work well but you might want to chill them lightly to offset the extra ripeness and sweetness.

Other good pairings would be a fresh-tasting, medium bodied red like a Merlot, a Syrah, an inexpensive Zinfandel or a young Rioja.

Can you drink white wine with pizza?

There are also times when I think white wine works better with pizza than a red. Examples include goats’ cheese and spinach pizza, pizzas topped with prawns or other seafood like this pizza ‘claminara’ and pizza bianco (without tomato).

Again Italian wines seem to hit the spot perfectly, even the ubiquitous Pinot Grigio, though other crisp dry Italian whites would be equally good. 

If the pizza is topped with truffles you could even serve a good white burgundy as I found with this black truffle and fontina pizza which went brilliantly with a premier cru Puligny Montrachet. 

And with pizza topped with with fresh ingredients such as parma ham and rocket? Again try a dry Italian white like Gavi or a well-chilled glass of prosecco! Which brings me to ....

What about sparkling wine?

Absolutely. I really enjoy a pet nat (pétillant naturel), a gently fizzy natural sparkling wine with pizza. See this pairing with a Westwell pet nat rosé at a pizza truck pop up at their winery. It’s really refreshing in the way that beer is.

I’ve also enjoyed a pizza topped with gorgonzola, treviso and honey with an Alta Langa spumante and an aubergine-topped one with Franciacorta 

Light chilled red Lambrusco is a terrific pairing too. 

Top image © Foxys Forest Manufacture at shutterstock.com

Top food pairings with Barbera

Barbera is a versatile red that will happily partner pretty well any meaty dish you throw at it. It is more robust and typically drunk younger than its Piedmontese counterparts Barolo and Barbaresco.

It’s also generally less expensive which makes it a more affordable option for everyday drinking.

There are two DOC’s in its home region of Piedmont - Barbera d’Alba and Barbera d’Asti but I wouldn’t worry too much about the implications of that for food matching. Barberas made elsewhere such as California and Australia are more distinctive with riper fruit and less acidity and capable of handling spicier food.

In Piedmont the locals tend to drink it with the first courses of a meal - particularly pasta dishes - but it works really well with hearty main courses.

TOP MATCHES FOR PIEDMONTESE BARBERA

Grilled and roast pork and wild boar

Inexpensive steaks like hangar steak and onglet

Braised lamb dishes such as lamb shanks

Italian-style stews and braises such as rabbit with olives or braised duck

Italian-style sausages with lentils, or in a pasta sauce (alla salsiccia)

Pizzas with a sausage topping

Pasta with meat and cooked tomato sauces such as bolognese. In Piedmont that would often be the eggy pasta tajarin.

Spaghetti and meatballs

Meatloaf

Mushroom risotto

Meat-stuffed pasta such as ravioli and agnolotti

Fonduta with truffles

‘New world’ Barbera should also work with the above but also spicier stews with chili.

Barbera loves: garlic, tomato and olives

If you found this piece useful check out The Best Food Pairings for Barolo and Barbaresco

Image ©ARCANGELO at shutterstock.com

White or red wine? What’s the best pairing for risotto?

Talking about wine matches for risotto is a bit like talking about wine with pasta - it’s depends on the other ingredients you use, not the rice.

That said, risotto is usually a delicate, creamy sort of dish which is served among the primi (the first main dish) on an Italian menu and generally suits a white better than a red.

It’s also typical of the northern half of Italy rather than the south, particularly the Piedmont area which points to an Italian white from that region.

In this post you’ll find my top wine pairings for popular types of risotto, including spring vegetable risottos (e.g. asparagus risotto), seafood risotto (e.g. Risotto ai Frutti di Mare), mushroom risotto, beetroot risotto and pumpkin risotto. Read on to learn which types of risotto best suit a white wine and which are better with red.

Spring vegetable risotto

With a light risotto made with spring vegetables like asparagus or courgette (zucchini) flowers or with seafood like shrimp or prawns I’d drink a Gavi, Soave or a Roero Arneis or - and this might surprise you - a glass of dryish* prosecco.

Seafood risotto

If the risotto was a bit richer - made with crab or scallops for example - I’d go for a richer white wine but still one with some acidity - a light creamy chardonnay for example or a pinot bianco. Premier cru Chablis, although not local, would be a good match and I have enjoyed a crisp fresh-tasting sauvignon with this style of risotto

Mushroom risotto

Chardonnay, especially white burgundy, is also a good pairing for a chicken or a mushroom risotto which tend to be richer and more savoury but you could also drink a pinot noir or a Barolo, even though this is not traditional in the region. (They generally save it for the meat course and drink a Barbera.). If truffles are involved, I would go for the Barolo though!

Beetroot risotto

I’d also drink a red wine with any risotto that was made with red wine, served with meat or one that was based on beetroot. Barbera would probably be my top choice but again pinot noir would work very well especially if that’s the wine you use in the recipe.

Beetroot and pinot noir risotto

I also prefer an earthy red like Barbera with a risotto made with saffron like the classic risotto all Milanese but again you could go for a crisp white like a Gavi.

Pumpkin risotto

And for rich pumpkin or butternut squash I might go for a richer style of chardonnay or viognier.

Wines that don’t go quite as well

Enjoying a risotto is all about the creaminess of the dish and the texture of the rice so you don’t want a wine that’s too intrusive either in terms of fruit character or tannin. So I personally wouldn’t go for a pungent New Zealand style of sauvignon blanc or a full-bodied red like a cabernet sauvignon or shiraz. Feel free though if it works for you!

* I deliberately use the word ‘dry-ish’ rather than ‘dry’ because that’s a classification in the prosecco region that actually means medium-sweet’. You want to look for ‘brut’ style proseccos.

Image © Ale02 at shutterstock.com

Top wine pairings for lamb

It’s true that lamb is one of the most wine-friendly of meats, as at home with red Bordeaux and Rioja as it is with the fruitier wines of the new world. But if you’re looking for a spot-on wine pairing it’s worth thinking just how - and for how long - you’re going to cook it.

And, though you might not have thought about it before, how old it is.

Here’s my wine pairing guide to wine with different lamb dishes

‘Baby/milk fed’ lamb

A delicacy more popular in Mediterranean countries such as Spain, Italy and south-west France than in the UK and one that deserves to be paired with fine wines - top quality Bordeaux, burgundy and Rioja, all with a few years’ bottle age. (Mature wines go well with this style of lamb)

Spring lamb served pink with fresh herbs and/or spring vegetables

Cuts like rack of lamb, noisettes and leg of lamb - exactly the sort of dishes you might be thinking about for an Easter feast (unless you’re living in the southern hemisphere, of course). Again, the wines mentioned above will work well but I’ve got a bias in favour of Pinot Noir or cru Beaujolais with this type of dish. Dry rosé, especially vintage rosé Champagne, is also good.

Roast lamb served medium-rare to well-done, with garlic or rosemary and/or a winey sauce or gravy

The way many households would prepare a leg of lamb for a multi-generational family get-together. This is more robust treatment than the above which would work better with a younger, more fruit-driven wine such as a younger red Bordeaux, Cabernet or Cabernet/Merlot blend, a Rioja reserva, a Chianti Classico or a northern Rhône red. (The same goes for lamb shanks cooked in red wine.)

Lamb chops

Often served simply on the grill - maybe with some grilled Mediterranean vegetables such as courgettes (zucchini) or peppers on the side. A medium-bodied red wine such as a Chianti or a Mencia from northern Spain would be delicious as would reds from the Southern Rhône or Languedoc.

Slow-roast shoulder of lamb

A fattier, more flavourful dish, especially if made with older lamb such as hoggett or mutton. A slightly gamey Rhône or Spanish red such as a Ribera del Duero is a good choice with this.

Typically British/Irish lamb stews and hotpots, shepherd’s pie

The characteristic of these types of dishes is their very simple flavours - sweet-tasting lamb, stock and a few root vegetables with maybe a sprig of thyme or bay. Big tannic reds will overwhelm them - stick to inexpensive country reds such as a Côtes du Rhône Villages. (Or, frankly, a British pale ale.)

More exotic lamb stews such as tagines or lamb with aubergines

Robust, rustic but not overly tannic reds such as Côtes du Roussillon, Languedoc reds and young (crianza) Riojas.

Lamb curries such as rogan josh

A fruity, slightly porty red such as a Douro red or Zinfandel should work provided the accompanying dishes aren’t too hot. India Pale Ales (IPAs) are also good.

Chargrilled/barbecued lamb

Depends on the rub or marinade. If it’s spicy you’ll need a wine with some sweet fruit like a Chilean Cabernet, Pinotage or an Australian Shiraz. If it’s marinated, Greek-style, with lemon and herbs look for a wine with a bit less fruit and a bit more acidity. (Italian reds such as Chianti and Barbera fit this description. (See this recipe for lamb and porcini kebabs with sage and parmesan.) Crisp Greek whites like Assyrtiko and strong dry rosés are also enjoyable.)

For more inspiration, see my 5 favourite pairings for wine and lamb.

Image © Natasha Breen - Fotolia.com