Wine With Pizza?

Any suggestions for a wine to pair with a Giordano's stuffed sausage? I have one delivered way too often and usually go with beer. I tried a Zin this week, and it didn't seem to work at all.

Perhaps a bit on-the-nose, but maybe a chianti?

Valpolicella, Malbec.

Barbera, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano

Italian wine. For me, preferably cheap and slightly fruity Italian wine

I agree with leek on an Italian red. It doesn't have to be fancy, but lighter-bodied, only a little oak, and a good amount of fruitiness. Most grocery store/drug store Chiantis are undrinkable, so I would steer clear of those. To the OP, I could see why a Zin wouldn't work with pizza - the high alcohol content of Zin strips the palate and overpowers some of the subtle flavors of pizza.

It may seem like an odd pairing but I like Lambrusco. I avoid the overly sweet dolce version but find a semi-sweet a good match.
Feel free to tell me what a rube I am

Hah - you know, what's the best wine Zoid? The one that's in your hand!

It may depend on on what you order on your DD. But Chianti is my go to. Chianti and sausage pizza is about as good as it gets.

My question is what actually does go well with a powerhouse zin? Maybe a greasy goose?

I love a big spicy Zin with venison or elk steak or a bison burger. The gamey richness of the meat stands up to the power of the varietal quite well, IMO.

Cheers,
Davooda

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2008 from Villa Cerrina $4.99 at Trader Joe's

Yeah, I think of Zin and big meaty meat things. BBQ etc.

leek wrote:Yeah, I think of Zin and big meaty meat things. BBQ etc.

Yeah, Zin and BBQ is a "classic" combo, yet, even for that, it seems a bit rough to me (I prefer a Tempranillo or Garnacha, for instance). I like the game and rich, fatty meat pairing for Zin. I was checking my Zin supply yesterday, and the noticed that the highest in alcohol at 16.4% was a Sonoma County Martinelli.

I used to drink them a fair amount since the price/quality ratio used to be very good. But then I realized that they were just too much for almost anything I ate. Of course I like to have 2-3 glasses with dinner and with some of those high alcohol ones, I'd be falling asleep in my plate.

From what I've been reading of late, it seems that research is showing that how/what we taste varies enormously from person to person. Different numbers and types of tastebuds sending very different signals from person to person. Makes it harder and harder to come up with recs. for people one doesn't know, taste-wise.
I tend to go with light-to-med. body, inexpensive Italians (Chianti, Valpo., even some northern wines that are primarily Nebbiolo, esp. if there are mushrooms on the pizza---and there almost always are on mine.) and Spanish wines (Protocolo is a nice, cheap, quaffer) when not doing beer, which is where I end up most often. Assuming there's a tomato component, I've just found that the marriage is never that great with wine, for me. Now if you've got some sort of pizza bianco going, (e.g., romana, pesto, etc.) it's a whole 'nother ball game.
Never have been a huge Zin. drinker. I tend to find it overbearing (this from "Mr. Barolo," I know. But "chacun...")

I've been making a lot of pizza at home lately, which has altered my quaff of choice to accompany it. When the aromas of yeast and fresh baked bread fill the house, only two things come to mind: beer and champagne. Perhaps a yeasty sparkling cider if the toppings call for it. The thought of drinking red wine with pizza no longer appeals to me at all.

I'm with you KennyZ. I've been drinking a lot of Cava and Prosecco. If I could find a good sparkling from Argentina, I'd be all over it, but I have only been able to find one kind at Binny's that was pretty marginal.