deVine Table

There are many advantages to eating in. For one thing, we can substitute anything we like! For another, we can open any bottle in the house without paying a 50% or greater markup. It’s also a heck of a lot cheaper overall than I imagined.

When the hubby and I eat out, he always makes comments about how inexpensive the raw cost of ingredients must be for foods like pizza or pasta. He is an accountant after all! So, I did a little experiment and broke down the cost of homemade pizza for the two of us and compared it to what we paid the last time we went out for pizza in Seattle.

Turns out that the cost of ingredients for one pizza crust is just thirty six cents! Here’s how it breaks out:

$9.84 for 1 homemade Proscuitto Pizza topped with Mozzarella, Asiago, Proscuitto, and Roma tomatoes

VS.

$14.00 for 1 Proscuitto Pizza at a Seattle Pizzeria

AND

$5.24 for 1 homemade Veggie Pizza with Mozzarella, Asiago, Zucchini, Onions

VS.

$15.00 for 1 Veggie Pizza at a Seattle Pizzeria

The cost of the homemade pizzas was used calculating the price of a batch of homemade pesto (I prefer it to tomato sauce), veggies from the local farmers markets, and other ingredients from local grocery stores including the Ballard Market and Trader Joe’s.

Now, take into consideration that we like to include a salad as part of our meal and a bottle of wine.

$30.02 is the cost for the 2 homemade pizzas described above, a bottle of $12.95 Sangiovese, and green salad.

$69.00 is the cost for 2 pizzas, a bottle of Sangiovese, and a large salad we shared at a local pizzeria…BEFORE tax and tip.

I have to admit, I didn’t think the savings would be quite that high. Look at that, though. That’s a compelling argument for eating in and gathering around the table at home! In fact, having friends over for pizza night is a great way to spend time together. Everyone gets her favorite toppings, and any tools you need (pizza peels, etc.) will pay for themselves fairly quickly. And did we mention you’ll save a ton of dough on the wine? Sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun!

Wine Pairing

Wineries in Washington state are producing more and more Italian varietals that are great for pizza night. One such example is Waving Tree Winery. Terrence and Evelyn Atkins are the charming couple behind the winery. I recently visited them at their winery in the Gorge to taste their massive lineup. Here are their winning pizza wines:

Waving Tree Sangiovese Estate 2008 – the vines are near 10 years old and starting to reflect more of the true varietal characteristics. This red wine offers flavors of cherries followed by spice notes.

Waving Tree Barbera Estate 2007 – this wine has the lively acidity Barbera is known for, helping it to cut through the fattiness of cheese and stand up to the acidity in typical pizza toppings like tomatoes. Delivers flavors of chocolate, raspberry, and wood shavings.

I also enjoyed the pizzas above with a dry French Rosé. The acidity of the wine along with its fruitiness is a nice contrast to the saltiness of Proscuitto. Next time, I’m trying some Lambrusco with our pizza. Do you have a favorite pizza wine?

Related posts:

1. Salami and Wine Pairing Party
2. Wine and Cheese Pairing
3. Food and Wine Pairing Suggestions from Jeffrey Saad
4. A Birthday Wine Dinner
5. Pairing Wine with Potato Chips

Tags: Barbera, Lambrusco, Rosé, Sangiovese, Washington wine, Waving tree winery

This entry was posted on Friday, July 8th, 2011 at 11:01 pm and is filed under Entrees, Red Wine, Rosé Wine, Sparkling Wine, Vegetarian, Wine Pairings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.