National Pizza Day 2022: The Best Day of the Year!
Read our article about “The Ideal Wine for Pizza”, click here
February 9, 2022 - National Pizza Day
PairME Wines needs to celebrate National Pizza Day 2022 by telling you the incredible story of pizza, starting from NY going to Italy, the two pizza capitals of the world. This journey will follow the pizza by adding some traditional wine pairings, ending with the perfect match with our “The Wine for Pizza”.
History of New York Pizza
In the 110 years since its inception, New York pizza has become one of the most iconic foods in our city’s history, rivalled only by our bagels, cheesecake and ‘dirty water dogs.’ New York pizza is beloved by all and has even become a favorite of the rodents that call our subway system home. It has inspired competitions with other regional pizzas, like Chicago’s deep-dish pizza, which comedian Jon Stewart once brilliantly equated to ‘tomato soup in a bread bowl.’ It has birthed bizarre economic theories like the Pizza Principle, which proposes with uncanny accuracy that at any given moment, the average price of one slice of pizza will match the price of one subway ride. It is the perfect option for a first date, a family outing, and everything in between. But most importantly, it serves as a metaphor for New York itself, proving that it can be messy, and at times, a bit cheesy, but no matter what, it will always be love at first bite
An Old Pizza House in New York
Traditional NY pizza tends to be much more fatty and full of ingredients compared to the European one, so it needs "heavier" wines with full-bodied and stronger aromatics. One of the best pairings and one of the most classical is a Cabernet Sauvignon from California. The hot climate provides high alcohol and fully ripe aromas combined with the typical acidity and high tannins of this grape variety. These characteristics are needed to balance the strength of the typical NY pizza and its fattiness brought by the abundance of mozzarella cheese. Also, other styles of full-bodied red wines are used, just like Zinfandel from California and Syrah from Southern Australia.
History of Italian Pizza
Pizza has a long, complex and uncertain history. In absolute terms, the first written attestations of the word "pizza" date back to the vulgar Latin of the city of Gaeta in 997. A subsequent document, written on lamb parchment, leasing some land and dated on the back 31 January 1201 present in the library of the diocese of Sulmona-Valva, reports the word "pizzas" repeated twice. However, already in ancient times flat cakes, leavened and not, were widespread among the Egyptians and Romans.
An Old Pizzeria in Italy
Although it is now a widespread product almost all over the world, pizza is an original dish of Neapolitan cuisine. In common opinion, this term often refers to the round pizza topped with tomato and mozzarella, which is the best-known variant of the so-called Neapolitan pizza, the Margherita pizza. Moreover, there is also a broader meaning of the term "pizza". In fact, being ultimately a particular kind of bread or “focaccia”, the pizza comes in countless derivations and variations, changing its name and characteristics according to the different local traditions.
Other Wine Pairings for Pizza
Pizza and Wine Pairing Made Simple - PairME
Traditionally, pizza is paired with Asprinio d'Aversa DOC, an high acidity white wine produced from Asprinio grapes near Naples, one of the capitals of the pizza. It is an ideal wine for a pizza pairing because its acidity cleans the mouth from the fattiness of almost all pizzas, without overwhelming the mouth and keeping the flavors of the ingredients on the aftertaste.
In Northern Italy, on the other side of the peninsula, pizza is traditionally paired with fresh, not aged red wines with high acidity and vibrant tannins, just like a Rosso della Valpolicella DOC or a fresh Merlot from Veneto hills. This difference exists because Northern Italy pizza styles tend to require the use of cured meat and aged cheeses, while in Southern Italy pizza tends to be made with vegetables and seafood. The high acidity and especially the tannins are required to balance the fattiness and the strong flavor of both cured meat and mozzarella cheese, cleaning the mouth and making it ready for another bite.
As you can easily imagine, pizza and wine pairing depend on the style and ingredients used to top the pizza. In fact, a traditional Pizza Margherita with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and basil is completely different from a gourmet pizza with DO Jamon Iberico and sun-dried peppers from Southern Italy. It all depends on the ingredients: meat and strongly flavored ingredients need full-bodied red wines from hot climates, on the other side vegetables and dairy products require a high acidity white wine, maybe a sparkling one.
However, the most popular pizza recipes tend to be pretty similar, talking about the structure and the main flavors: that's why we offer you the “The Wine for Pizza”, a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo wine that perfectly balances the smoothness of the pizza dough by adding acidity and, at the same time, it enhances the flavor of the used ingredients by keeping under control the mozzarella cheese aroma on the aftertaste. The wine has beautiful and ripe aromas of wild berries, sweet liquorice and candied cherries; it fits with almost all traditional pizza styles, especially with the so-called “Pepperoni” one, but also with gourmet examples of pizzas with DO products and fine ingredients.
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