Pizza requires a red with 'oomph'

It's been a long day, and the last thing you're in the mood to do is cook dinner.

Ordering a pizza and cracking open a bottle of wine sounds like a much more relaxing way to spend the evening.

But what wine works best with pizza?

Your best bet is a red with medium tannins. The wine needs enough oomph to stand up to all that gooey cheese and flavorful sauce. But some wines, such as a young cabernet sauvignon, might overpower the pizza. (Tannins are the chemicals in wine that give structure over time but can taste astringent when young.)

Certain wine varieties often have a spicy component that pairs well with a slice of pie, especially if you like toppings with strong flavors such as Italian sausage or pepperoni. Zinfandel and syrah (also called shiraz) are good examples.

Of course, you always can look to pizza's country of origin for a natural match. Red wine options run the gamut from delicate dolcettos to big burly Barolos, and many styles will complement the range of flavors found in different pizzas. Chiantis (made from the sangiovese grape) are an especially good bet.

The wine tasters tried several wines with pepperoni pizza, and here is what we found.

- 2001 Michele Chiarlo Barbera D'Asti at $12.99. This wine had a lot of earthy Old World flavors. By itself, it was soft and fruity. We found red raspberries and cherries with a bit of a vegetal finish. The pizza overpowered all the flavors in the wine.

- NV Marietta Old Vine Red, Lot Number 34 at $13.99. This blend of zinfandel, petite syrah, carignan, and mourvedre was a well balanced combination of fruit and spice. The fruit made the first impression (called fruit forward), showing juicy plums and cherries, backed up by some pepper. The texture was lush. The Marietta was our favorite without food, but the group was a bit more divided on its ability to match the pizza. Most thought the peppery quality did a good job standing up to the spicy pepperoni, while others thought the fruit turned sour, and that overall the wine was too strong for the pizza. The final vote: It was our second favorite with the food.

- Nonvintage Jest Red, California Red Table Wine at $9.99. This wine had pleasant cedar and sweet berry flavors and it placed second on its own. We also found it to be a good match of contrasting flavors with the pizza; the wine intensified the yeasty quality in the dough and cooled down the pepperoni. It placed third with the food.

- 2002 Cline Red Truck at $10.99. This well-balanced wine was more tannic than most of the others tasted. Made from grenache, mourvedre, syrah and pinot noir grapes, it had a dark color. It finished third without the food. Its deep, black fruit complemented the pizza, enhancing the meatiness of the pepperoni. Several tasters thought the wine overpowered the pizza.

- 2001 Bishop's Peak Rock Solid Red at $14.99. This blend of traditionally Italian grapes (sangiovese, barbera, dolcetto) created an earthy wine with anise spice and black cherries. This tannic and richly textured wine toned down the spicy pizza enough to taste the fruit in the finish but without overpowering the food. This was our favorite wine and pizza pairing.

Contributing: Kate Sutherland served as co-writer on this column. Questions can be sent to Frank Sutherland, editor, The Tennessean, 1100 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203 or e-mailed to editor