How do you dress up a pizza?

This past year, I wanted to learn more about wines and explore some new restaurants. A friend suggested the Manhattan Fine Wine and Dine Group, led by? Stephen Halperin, who is my "Ask the Pro". It is extremely popular, so when an invite appears in your inbox, you need to reply promptly. Each dinner usually accommodates only eight people, and you know the old saying- he who hesitates … Some of my favorite restaurants the group dines at are Noreetuh and Bobby Van’s on Park (where Stephen's picture is on the wall).?

Recently, the group had a pizza dinner at Donne Margherita, a new Italian restaurant located on the Upper East Side. Unfortunately, I missed it (emoji), but it got me thinking about finding a way to dine with the pro and try this new restaurant. Then, I had an "aha" moment and thought that Stephen would be a great guest for my series. And here we are enjoying pizza at Donna Margherita located on 2nd Avenue, between East 69th and 68th St. The menu looks great for pasta as well as pizza. Our wine choice for the evening is a nice Red (brought by Stephen) the 2019 Ridge Vineyards Boatman Graveyard Zinfandel.??

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?So, to start off, I would like to ask you to tell us about the history of this group, your passion for wine (second only to trains), and how you became involved in this group.???

?Let’s start with my passion for wine first…..When I graduated college I drank mostly beer, along with some Bourbon.? Not long after graduation, I was invited to a Single Malt Scotch tasting, and I was hooked. I drank a LOT of Single Malt Scotch over the decades.? But in 1992, I was very involved with a woman who was still living with her parents, and as we both liked cooking, we ended up cooking many dinners at my place.? She grew up with wine on the table at most family dinners, and since she wasn’t going to drink any of my whiskey, we would pick up a bottle or two of wine when we went grocery shopping for dinner.? We would pick wines based on the “shelf talkers” at the wine shop, along with any information we could get from the back label about food pairings.? We would almost always buy more wine than we needed, after all, if we liked the wine, we wanted to ensure we could have it again. A trait I still have today!? When we parted ways, I had a closet full of wines, but I had no idea what they were.? Reaching out to an older friend, he suggested I subscribe to the Wine Spectator Magazine and learn about wine.? I quickly figured out that I like wines with some bottle age on them, and from there, I became a COLLECTOR.? Thankfully, I am a collector who enjoys sharing and drinking my wines with friends!?

I stumbled onto a wine group on Meetup, the “New York City Wine Tasting Group,” run by Jeff and Dan.? I hosted dinners for that group (which is still active, and a GREAT group) for about 8 years, before I decided to repurpose my Fraternity Meetup group as a wine group, the “Manhattan Fine Wine & Dine” group, and that is where I host dinners now.??

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Steve, I heard you mention that full-bodied wines go best with pizza. I guess that is the opposite of a skinny cocktail. Please explain what full-bodied means.?

A Full-bodied wine refers to the mouthfeel or the impression that a wine leaves on your palate and taste buds as you drink it.? Some wines just feel “heavier” than others, and those are the wines that typically get described as full-bodied.? Wines such as Napa Valley (California) Cabernet Sauvignons, Australian Shiraz, Red Zinfandel, and American Petite Sirah generally are full-bodied.? Other wines, depending on the style of the winemaker, can also be considered full-bodied, such as Rhone wines, both the Northern (mostly Syran) and Southern (mostly Grenache and Grenache blends) regions.? Personally, I love a full-bodied wine with steaks or Cheeseburgers!?

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Is it important to open a bottle and let it breathe? If so for how long? If it is an inexpensive bottle of red wine, do you let it breathe longer??

Breathing, and sometimes decanting, is great for older wines that have been cooped up in the bottle for many years.? The exposure to air allows the wine to wake up, stretch, and flex its muscles.? That sounds like me, in the morning! That being said, a young and tannic wine also benefits from exposure to air.? Inexpensive wines, to me, can be differentiated from Cheap wines, by the way. Not much helps a cheap wine! But there are a lot of very good inexpensive wines out there. Will exposure to air help them? It really depends on the grape type.? Any tannic wine will benefit from some air.? But the lighter reds and the whites, don’t really need an extended exposure.? By the way, if you can’t decant a wine and want to let it breathe, just fill your wine glass 1/3 of the way, allowing plenty of room for air in the glass.?

Is red wine preferred over white or rose with pizza? Are there any specific grape varietals that pair well with different styles of pizza???

That is such a loaded question.? Pizza is to wine like a blank canvas is to an artist. Anything is possible! The answer really depends on the style and toppings on your pizza.? Do you like a White Pizza (one without tomato sauce), vegetarian, lots of sausage, or the plain classic pie??

But…I really like Red Zinfandels, Beaujolais, and Sparkling Wines (Cava or Champagne), and of course Italian Sangiovese with Pizza.?

How does the choice of toppings impact the wine pairing??

I think the toppings are everything when trying to pair wine and Pizza! With the classic Tomato and Mozzarella pizza, some great choices are Sangiovese (Chianti), Dolcetto, Pinot Noir, and Beaujolais. Or try a white wine such as Vermentino. Or go with sparkling wines! When you add Pepperoni (apparently NYC’s favorite topping), Sausage, or Meatballs, you can then go to the bigger wines. Red Zinfandel, Shiraz, Grenache and Cabernets.???

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Since we are enjoying a beautiful wine from your private collection and seated in a restaurant, could you explain how a corking fee applies??

A corking fee, or Corkage, is what the restaurant charges a patron for bringing their own bottle of wine.? This fee is different for every restaurant. It should be noted that some places refuse to allow customers to bring outside wine to their restaurants.?? Generally, a restaurant has a standard corkage fee, which they usually can tell you over the phone.? For NYC, it seems to range from $20 per bottle to $75 per bottle. Although I hear Per Se charges $150 per bottle. This amount is added to your bill, and subject to both tax and tip, just like any other item you would order at the restaurant.? Some restaurants also have a limit on how many bottles you can bring for each visit. If you want to bring your own wine, always call and ask about the policy.??

For those who get upset at the concept of corkage, keep in mind that in NYC, alcohol sales are a large part of a restaurant’s profit and the waitstaff’s tip. It is also very good manners to offer a sip of your wine to the restaurant manager/owner/Sommelier.?? If you are a regular, and bring a special bottle of wine, sometimes you get lucky and the restaurant waives the corkage fee!?

?If we weren’t at a fine dining restaurant and ordered “Hawaiian Pizza, my kids' favorite, or spicy pizza what wine would you pair??

I love Hawaiian Pizza! Something about the sweet and salty combination! I think white wine works best here.? Dry Riesling, Unoaked Chardonnay, Champagne (which honestly goes with everything).? For spicy pizza, Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, and New World Syrah work very well. I’ve even had Beaujolais with spicy pizza, it wouldn’t be my first choice, but it works.?

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What are your favorite wines for wine that would go well with Italian food??

The starting point is always grapes that come from Italy! Sangiovese and Nebbiolo. But sometimes the best wine is the one you really want to drink! My personal collection is heavily weighted towards California and Washington State. So, I’m very often looking at those wines first. I tend to go with the non-Cabernet reds.? Such as Syrah, Zinfandel, and Grenache, followed by Barolo (the Nebbiolo grape) from Italy, and Italian Cabernet Sauvignons (Tuscan ones are very good).? Spanish Garnacha (their word for Grenache) and Spanish Priorat also work very well with Pizza and other Italian foods.?

Favorite wine shops????

I have a lot of favorites!? Locally, I really like Rye Brooke Wines in Westchester. If you spend enough money on an order (I think it is $150) they deliver for free to NYC and Nassau County. In NJ I really like Plucky Wines, and in California, J.J. Buckley (if you order from them, mention my name, and they will give me a gift certificate!). I also get a lot of wine directly from various wineries. Many of them have direct-to-consumer sales. But if you go that route, be careful, sometimes the direct-to-consumer sale is more expensive than finding that same wine in a local wine shop.?

What do you think of online wine clubs? Do you recommend any???

I’m not a big fan of online wine clubs. While I’ve heard of people getting an occasional spectacular bottle for a low price, in general, I think they send wines that otherwise they can’t sell, usually from mass marketers.? Joining these clubs denies you the opportunity to talk with a wine merchant, who has a passion for wine and can help you make great wine selections, either over the phone or in person.? Talking about wine, either with the wine merchant, your friends, or other wine lovers in a group (like mine) is how you gain knowledge about wines.?

How do you join your wine group??

Go to Meetup.com and put “Manhattan Fine Wine & Dine” in the search engine and you will find us! I have a short series of questions that you need to answer, and then I approve someone’s membership.? If somewhere in the questions, your readers put a reference to you Suzanne, I’ll add them ASAP!?

?Here is the backstory to my questions. Let’s imagine it’s Friday night and there are no games on television, so you invited that special someone over to watch a movie. Normally you are the beer and pizza kind of guy but you want to dress up that pizza and impress your date with your superior palette by switching to wine! You’re even considering not ordering the meat lover’s special, What pizza and wine combination would you serve??

No games on TV? It must be the day before or the day after the MLB All-Star Game!? Does she like Mushrooms? If so, I would go with the classic tomato and cheese pizza with added mushrooms, or maybe the white pie with mushrooms and a very nice Red Burgundy, which is Pinot Noir. It’s a little lighter-bodied than the big wines and might be a little lower in alcohol, making it a little more elegant for a stay-at-home dinner.?

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One real estate question- I know you live on UES – what do you like most about your neighborhood?? ?-? What is your favorite restaurant and coffee shop that an outsider might not know?

I have a home on the North Shore of Long Island, and I ping-pong back and forth between my two places. So for me, one of the most important things was the ability to easily drive back and forth between them. The UES, with its proximity to the Triboro (RFK) Bridge gives me that. I also like that the UES is a little quieter than other places in NYC.? We are missing the trendy places, but I’m OK with that. It feels very neighborly, especially when I’m walking my Shetland Sheepdog (miniature Collie) Dixie.?? For neighborhood eats, I really like 83 ? Italian Restaurant and Jacques Brasserie for a burger and fries!?

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One more question. What is your most unusual food and wine pairing??

I once had homemade Fried Chicken with Sauternes, the French dessert wine. No one could believe that I wanted to try it, but it was AMAZING!? Try it yourself, you will thank me!?

Thanks again, Steve!?

It is always a pleasure dining and participating in your group.?Manhattan Fine Wine & Dine”.?

It was my pleasure!!? #wine#redwines#pizzalover#ues#italianfood#neighborhood#manhattan

#foodie#datenightideas #datenight#restaurantues

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