Professor Bainbridge...on law, politics, religion, culture & food

Majella Sparkling Shiraz (Coonawarra) 2005

Gas grill capable of hitting 650°+. Wood chips in a smoking pouch. Pizza stone. It’s the next best thing to having your own wood fired pizza oven.

Standard pizza dough. Stubbs BBQ sauce (original not spicy). Sauteed red onion, diced. Smoked duck breast, diced. Smolked gouda, grated. Cilantro leaves, chopped. Assemble on pizza paddle.

Pizza onto stone. At 3 minutes, the bottom of the crust was beginging to show black spots, the top crust was brown and puffy, the cheese was melted, and everything was hot through. Slice and serve.

What to drink? Regular readers know that I firmly believe that Italian wines are fine with pizza, but also that there’s a better choice; namely, sparkling shiraz. The first time I had a sparkling shiraz with pizza was in Australia about 5 years ago. The context was unpromising: Apepperoni pizza from the local Pizza Hut after a long day of wine tasting in the Yarra Valley. It was an epiphany. Scrubbing bubbles and potent acidity refreshed the palate, slicing through the cheese and, let’s be honest, the grease. The pretty ruby color. The berry flavors. Yum. So why not try one with a California-style pizza?

I liked the 2003 Majella a lot. The 2005 is even better.

Beautiful deep purple. Intense berry flavors and aromas—blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, and maybe even some cranberry. Yummy. Grade: A-