Submitted by Lynda Albertson, Dec 27, 2007 04:51

While the Pizza at La Pizza Fresca is some of the best I have tasted in North America, I have to disagree with dollar heavy patrons choices of bold chewy tannin reds like Brunello or Sassacaia. The aging of the wine (in wood) is often lost with smoky quality of the pizza, especially when cooked in a real pizza oven, with wood.

With the tang of tomato sauce and with herbs found on most pizza, its better to select a younger light to medium body red or a well chilled rose, something that is rounder and fruitier and does not drown out or overpower the main course itself.

That said, finding a restaurant where you can actually find some of these higher end wines in abundance could be rational enough for patrons to choose to spring for the expensive stuff, even if for me I think its a shame to waste them on such a simple meal.

For me, I would choose something tangy that compliments the sauce , something with enough tannins to cut through the richness of the cheese but still light enough to not tip the scales of one item of the meal being superior to the other. Instead of Brunello di Montalcino, how about Brunello's little sister red...a Rosso di Montalcino? Your wallet will thank you and you may appreciate the pizza more.

Ahhh...Italians in Italy drink beer or coke with their pizzas because of habit and long term belief that the two beverages (with their bubbles) help to digest the heavy pizza. A few will order wine, but not very frequently and almost always a house red by the "mezzo litro" carafe as Italian pizzerias in general to not stock upscale reds as most patrons are more interested in great beers.

Lynda Albertson
"In Vino Veritas"

Note: Comments are screened, and in some cases edited, before posting. We reserve the right to reject anything we find objectionable.