Pizza Red

I thought that the Australian NV Pizza Red would be a fun Thanksgiving wine. For a $6 screwcap, it sounded casual and approachable for non-wine drinkers, and I dragged it along to the various gatherings. I didn't get around to opening it, so I saved it for leftovers. While my leftovers were awesome, the wine was a disappointment. It's a proprietary blend of red and white grapes. It's also sweet like a White Zin and is slightly fizzy. Not like in that touch of bubbles you get with some crisp whites, but rather like it's been blended with a little sparkling wine. In fact, it tastes exactly like what you would get if you mixed together leftover bits of red, white, pink, and sparkling wines in a blue plastic cup in the later stages of a party. And I say that with authority because I remember doing exactly that at the age of 20.

It may be great with pizza, but there's lots of $10 Chianti, Argentine Malbecs, and dry rosés out there that would make a better match.