Is there any better way to spend an evening than at home in sweatpants, gorging on pizza and chugging wine? It goes without saying that wine and pizza are hands down the two greatest things in the entire world and, when put together, are downright heavenly. Whether pizza & wine is your weekly friend-night ritual or your solo decompression activity, there’s no better way to unwind than with a slice of cheesy pizza and a glass of delicious wine. We’ve gathered up seven of our favorite bottles to pair with that pie when the night simply calls for some quality R&R.
THE CHOOK SPARKLING SHIRAZ NV
The 7 Best Pizza Wines for Under $20This might just be the best pizza and wine pairing of all time. This sparkling red wine, produced in the méthode champenoise, bursts with flavors of ripe black fruit, playing deliciously off the sauce/cheese combination on your pizza. Fizzy and funky, this wine is simply delightful. Fun fact: “Chook” means chicken in Australia. Average Price: $19
CASTELLO DI ALBOLA CHIANTI CLASSICO 2013
The 7 Best Pizza Wines for Under $20This Sangiovese-based wine is exactly what you’d want out of your Chianti Classico: bright, rich flavors of red fruit, with underlying notes of earth and spice. This Tuscan treat is an unbeatable match with red sauce, plus, it’s super affordable. Average Price: $16
LINI LAMBRUSCO ‘LABRUSCA’ ROSSO NV
The 7 Best Pizza Wines for Under $20We love the fizzy, frothy mouthfeel of this deliciously fruity wine. Its bright fruit flavors and zippy acidity cut right through the fatty cheese atop your pizza. Bonus point: This bottle will hold up to nearly any topping with which you decide to decorate your pizza. Average Price: $16
TRIVENTO AMADO SUR MALBEC 2014
The 7 Best Pizza Wines for Under $20This Argentinian blend dominated by Malbec shows rich, dark berry flavors with notes of spice. With about 10 percent each of Bonarda and Syrah, the blend displays a layered, textured complexity — at an extremely low price. Seriously, this bottle is a steal. Average Price: $14
CHÂTEAU LA CANORGUE LUBERON ROUGE 2015
The 7 Best Pizza Wines for Under $20This biodynamically farmed blend from the Rhone valley is spicy and delicious. Dark ripe fruit with notes of tobacco dominate the palate, with background notes of underbrush and garrigue. This Syrah-dominant blend, meshed with 30 percent Grenache and 10 percent old vine Carignan and Mourvedre, is a perfect pairing for pizza with all your favorite meat toppings, such as sausage and pepperoni. Average Price: $15
BACKSBERG PINOTAGE 2015
The 7 Best Pizza Wines for Under $20What used to be a grape varietal with an extremely bad reputation has created a serious name for itself over the last 10 years. This crossing of Cinsault and Pinot Noir has become South Africa’s “signature” grape. Backsberg’s expression is dark and ripe, yet maintains a solid freshness that is splendid with pizza. Average price: $13
JULES TAYLOR PINOT NOIR 2015
The 7 Best Pizza Wines for Under $20As much as we love our Pinots from France and the U.S., it sometimes causes us to forget just how much incredible Pinot Noir is being made in New Zealand. Jules Taylor presents a full-bodied Pinot, rich in jammy dark fruit flavors, dotted with light spicy notes of oak. Alongside vegetable toppings, especially mushrooms and peppers, this wine shines. Average Price: $21 — but definitely worth that extra buck.
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