Which wines to drink with pizza

There are single ingredients that are loftier, more intensely flavoured and perhaps even more exciting than pizza, but come on, few culinary amalgamations have ever been more complete and satisfying than a nice warm pizza. Acidity, sweetness and herbs in the tomato sauce, fattiness and salt in the cheese, maybe some char on the soul-calming crust, and an ocean of possibility with toppings. If you changed up the ingredients from time to time, you could live on pizza alone, and live well at that. Bread, sauce, cheese, toppings.

Starting with the classic margherita pies of Naples, pizza evolved into the nouveau vehicle that introduced the world to ham and pineapple. From there pizza went on to become something of an elevated cuisine at times (sirloin, rocket and a sprinkle of gorgonzola) and perfectly low-brow at others. (And there's nothing wrong with a nice taco pizza - I'm just saying.)

I can't remember my first taste of this glorious and dependable food because I probably had it when even eating was new to me. It seems as though pizza was just always there. Like the sky. A giant, steaming, gooey, delicious pie in the sky. What a beautiful daydream. I do vividly remember the pizza that my grade school served - rectangular, soft and chewy - served on a potentially toxic polystyrene tray. No side dishes needed. If there were corn kernels or peas 'n' carrots filling the cavities next to that slice, I'm sure I didn't even notice. Like Shakespeare sort of said, the pizza was the thing.

Years ago, for about nine months I crashed with a couple of buddies, one of whom I called The Pioneer for his culinary adventurism. He introduced me to a pizza place not far from where we lived that offered all kinds of wacky ingredients. I thought of it as a carnival sideshow until I started tasting the pies he was dreaming up. Soon, with a straight face, I was ordering pizzas topped with prosciutto and peaches, among other combinations. At the time I was doing a lot of long-distance running, and a regimen like that can produce what must be the male equivalent of pregnancy-like cravings. I don't think I would order a prosciutto and peaches pizza today - and not just because I have cut back on my miles. It's more because I like a heartier, more savoury-style of pizza - a perfect partner for a nice glass of wine.

Despite pizza's general humility, a wine accompaniment elevates it - not because wine makes meals fancier, but because wine is the best accompaniment to food that there is. Wine makes pizza even better than it is on its own. Just remember a few things, and you'll be fine.

First, most pizza is salty, and a great wine quality to partner with salt is acidity. The same goes for the fattiness that the cheese brings. Cut it with acidity in wine. Chianti, the legendary sangiovese-based red wine from Tuscany, is a classic pizza pairing for this reason. It's not too big on the body scale, and it's simpatico with tomato-based sauces. Plus it's from Italy, like pizza. I like a nice, fruity zinfandel with my pie too.

When you're pairing wine with pizza, keep it simple and use common sense. A subtle margherita pizza would be overpowered by a huge cabernet sauvignon but not by a lighter chianti. A white pizza with seafood? Maybe a chardonnay or sauvignon blanc is in order, depending on how rich the pizza is. A rose could work too, especially if it has good acidity and a nice complement of fruit. Dry bubbles? Always, and with pretty much everything.

If your pizza is loaded with earthy mushrooms, pour a glass of the mushroom's best friend, pinot noir. If your pizza is also piled with meat, like a classic version I had recently (sausage, pepperoni, mushroom), go with a more formidable red. On the other end of the pizza spectrum lies the quieter vegetable-focused pizza. I tried one with sun-dried tomatoes, capers, basil, mozzarella, goat's cheese and olive oil, which went well with prosecco.

Obviously you don't have to spend a lot of money to find a good pizza wine. And maybe that's the final takeaway here. Save your pricey bottles for more rarified cuisine - the dishes you indulge in only once in a great while. If you're anything like me, pizza is going to be with you every step of the way on your journey in wine, and in life.

Chicago Tribune