Best Wine With Pizza: Pairings by Topping

The best wine with pizza is almost always Italian — Sangiovese, Barbera, or Montepulciano d’Abruzzo cover most bases — but the topping matters more than people think. A heavy meat lovers needs something with serious tannin and acidity to cut through the fat, while a delicate white pizza (bianca) gets steamrolled by a big red. Match the wine to the topping, not just the dough, and you’ll get it right every time.

Why Acidity Is the Key to Pizza Pairing

Pizza has three things working against it from a wine perspective: rich cheese, fatty toppings, and a carb-heavy base that amplifies sweetness. High-acid wines slice through all of that. That’s why Italian reds like Chianti Classico (minimum 80% Sangiovese) work so consistently — the grape is naturally high in both acidity and tannin, which reset your palate between slices.

The rule of thumb: the richer the topping, the more acid and tannin you need in the glass. A $22 bottle of Cantine San Marzano “Tramari” Primitivo (available through Dan Murphy’s) handles a pepperoni pizza better than a $60 McLaren Vale Shiraz that’s built for cellar ageing, not fast drinking with food.

Margherita and Classic Neapolitan

This is where Sangiovese lives. The tomato-herb flavours in the sauce mirror Sangiovese’s natural cherry, dried herb, and earthy notes — it’s not a coincidence that the grape and the pizza grew up in the same country.

Specific picks:

• Ruffino Chianti DOCG (~$18, Vintage Cellars) — reliable, bright, zero pretension
• Coltibuono RS Chianti (~$25, BWS) — a step up, with real depth
• Cantine Due Palme Primitivo (~$20) — slightly rounder, works when there’s a bit of buffalo mozzarella richness

If you want to go local, a Clare Valley Nero d’Avola from Shut the Gate Wines (~$28) has the same tart cherry profile and works beautifully with a simple Napoli-style base.

Meat Lovers, Pepperoni, and Salami

Fat-heavy toppings need tannin. Sangiovese still works, but you can go bigger here — Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Southern Italian Negroamaro, or an honest Australian Shiraz will all handle the load.

The D’Arenberg “The Stump Jump” Shiraz Grenache ($16, most bottle shops) is arguably the best value pizza red made in Australia. It’s medium-bodied with enough pepper and plum to complement cured meats without overwhelming them. For something with more grunt, the Two Hands “Gnarly Dudes” Shiraz ($30) is grippy enough to stand up to a smoked sausage-topped deep dish.

Avoid anything oaky and buttery — it clashes with the nitrates in processed meats and creates a bitter, metallic finish.

White Pizza: Bianca, Mushroom, and Truffle

Tomato-free pizzas call for white wine, full stop. The creamy, savoury base — usually a mix of ricotta, fior di latte, and olive oil — needs textural weight in the glass to match, but not so much fruit that it overpowers the subtlety of mushroom or truffle.

Best options:

• Fiano — the gold standard for white pizza. Try the Coriole Fiano from McLaren Vale (~$22); it has that savoury, almost nutty edge that mirrors roasted garlic and cremini mushrooms perfectly
• Pinot Gris/Grigio — the Jansz Tasmania Pinot Gris (~$24) is lightly textured with pear and stone fruit, excellent with a four-cheese bianca
• Aged Chardonnay — a leaner, Burgundian-style Chardonnay (not the oaky supermarket slabs) works with truffle pizza. Try the Oakridge “864” Chardonnay (~$45) if you’re making it a proper occasion

Veggie Pizzas: Capsicum, Artichoke, and Olives

Vegetables are tricky because they span such a wide flavour range. Roasted capsicum and eggplant lean sweet and smoky — a grenache rosé from McLaren Vale or the Barossa (try SC Pannell’s “Arido” Rosato, $24) bridges the gap between red and white beautifully. Artichoke and olives are bitter and briny, which calls for something with matching saline edge — a Vermentino or Picpoul de Pinet is ideal. Deviation Road’s Vermentino from the Adelaide Hills ($26) is one of the best food wines in the country at that price.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you drink red wine with a white pizza?

You can, but it’s rarely the best call. Light reds like Pinot Noir or a chilled Gamay can work with white pizza if the toppings are earthy (mushrooms, truffle), but the lack of tomato means you’re missing the acidic bridge that usually ties red wine and pizza together.

What about sparkling wine with pizza?

Absolutely. A dry Prosecco or Australian Pétillant Naturel is one of the most underrated pizza pairings going — the bubbles cut through cheese fat and cleanse the palate in the same way a high-acid still wine does. It also makes a casual Friday night feel slightly more civilised.

Does the style of pizza base matter — thin crust vs deep dish?

Yes, more than most people realise. A thin-crust Neapolitan has less dough sweetness and more char, which suits leaner, higher-acid wines. A thick American-style deep dish has more bread flavour and richness, which can handle a slightly fuller-bodied red — think a Zinfandel or a round, ripe Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.