Pizza and red wine, what a lovely pair! With a sizzling, juicy, freshly baked pizza, your mouth craves a good wine. There's pizza for every taste, and vegan pizza might already be familiar to you.
But what are vegan wines—after all, wine is made from grapes, right? The trick is that during production, animal-derived fining agents have traditionally been used to clarify the wine. Wine is cloudy after fermentation, and it's usually clarified unless it's a so-called natural wine.
The fining agent works like a magnet, gathering the tiny particles in the wine, and once removed, the wine is beautifully clear. If the agent is animal-derived, it means that from a vegan perspective, a tiny trace of it might remain in the finished wine. The requirement for veganism is therefore the use of plant-based fining agents. Wines suitable for vegans are often clearly labeled, so grabbing a vegan bottle is fortunately made effortless. So what kind of vegan red wine would pair well with vegan pizza? Let's take a look!
A charming vegan red wine to accompany any pizza is Matsu El Picaro, a handsome medium-bodied wine. The Matsu range also includes two other wines: Matsu El Recio and Matsu El Viejo. The Matsus come from vines of different ages, and each has its own character. The wine label features either a younger or more mature winemaker, distinguished by the age of the vines and the length of oak aging. For those who fall for the Matsus, there are several options. For pizza, we especially recommend El Picaro, who tips his hat when meeting good food. So what kind of fellow are we dealing with here?
Matsu El Picaro
Matsu El Picaro is an uncomplicated, medium-bodied gentleman with a twinkle in his eye. The smooth-talking El Picaro is an easy-going, versatile wine that, in addition to dining, also has skills on the social drinking side, as one would hope from a pizza night companion. This social butterfly enjoys and entertains happily in the company of cheeses, meats, and small savory bites as well. The grape used in this lovely Spanish wine is Tempranillo, sourced from vines about 90 years old. His homeland is in the Toro wine region in northwestern Spain, in the Duero River valley.
You can find price and product information here.
So the red wine situation is sorted, but on the food side, people are still asking what goes on that vegan pizza? On top of a completely plant-based pizza, a whole array of juicy and flavorful vegetables naturally fits. For those used to meat and other enthusiasts, there are also really meaty options for toppings. Vegan versions are also made of sausages and, for example, kebab meat!
The smoky and meaty flavor was guaranteed this time by Vöner acting as "kebab meat" and the ever-lovely bacon made by Vantastic Foods from Vegekauppa. Gold & Green's Smoked BBQ-marinated pulled oats also work well for this purpose. Chicken pizza lovers should try Vöner Curry strips, which are used like chicken.
Cheeses have also been veganized quite extensively. These pizzas featured SimplyV shredded cheese available at Vegekauppa, which is the plant-based twin sister of emmental. If Vegekauppa isn't nearby, nutritional yeast flakes mixed into oat cream also make proven good "cheese" for pizza topping.
You can also leave out the cheese entirely if you wish and replace it with a drizzle of cooking oil on the pizza, which also lightens it nicely. For sauces added to pizza, like BBQ sauces or mayonnaise, there are of course corresponding vegan versions. If anything is certain, it's that impressive and delicious pizza is in store!
In the company of the courteous Mr. Matsu El Picaro, juicy pizzas will surely taste great all week long. Enjoy your meal!
