In the final segment of my summer wine and food pairing, we’re going to end with my favorite: Pinot Noir. I had the misconception that red wine couldn’t be as refreshing in the summer, but I was wrong. I could drink Pinot Noir all the time, but especially with this easy pesto and sun dried tomato pizza. My girlfriends Sara, Monica and I went wine tasting at Peace Water Winery in Carmel, Indiana and tried rosé, sauvignon blanc and pinot noir all paired with a bite to eat.
Pinot Noir 101
My friend Monica works at Peace Water and told us a little about their Pinot Noir. When describing the wine she said, “It has a medium body to it so it has a ton of flavor and depth to it that is hard to find in normal Pinots! Ours comes from the Russian River Valley area, which gets more fog in the mornings and evenings. The fog is the key to a good Pinot because the grapes are extremely delicate and the fog helps the grapes develop to create an amazing wine!”
The fog is the key to a good Pinot because the grapes are extremely delicate and the fog helps the grapes develop to create an amazing wine!
My favorite Pinots have cherry, raspberry and vanilla flavors. The beautiful thing about Pinot Noir is that it pairs well with so many dishes. Whether you’re drinking it on it’s own as a casual glass of wine with girlfriends or pouring a glass for dinner, you really can’t go wrong.
Pairing
While talking with Monica about what to pair with Peace Water’s delicious Pinot, we decided a pesto pizza with mozzarella and sun dried tomatoes was an ideal meal for summer. This pizza was the easiest meal to make – just purchase pre-made pizza dough from your favorite pizza store or grocery store (I love Trader Joe’s packaged dough). Spread pesto on the dough, maybe even homemade from your overflowing basil garden, then top with sliced mozzarella cheese and sun dried tomato. Bake and enjoy immediately. The gooey cheese and savory flavors balance deliciously with the Pinot Noir, making for a light and easy summer meal.
The girls and I had a blast hanging out at the winery for the afternoon. It makes me want to dress up every Sunday and get together for wine and snacks. I hope you’ve enjoyed the series and learned a little bit more about rosé, white wine and red wines. It was so fun bringing this new series to the blog over the course of the summer to share a little bit about three favorite wines.
- Store bought pizza dough
- Flour to roll out dough
- Pesto
- Mozzarella cheese
- Sun dried tomatoes
- Salt and pepper
- Preheat oven to temperature specified on pizza dough directions.
- Roll out dough using flour and a rolling pin into size specified on package.
- Place dough onto baking sheet.
- Spread generously with pesto, depending on size.
- Slice mozzarella cheese into thin 1/4″ slices. Place on dough over pesto.
- Scatter sun dried tomatoes on top of mozzarella.
- Season with salt and pepper. Bake according to package directions until cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Cut and serve immediately.
Thanks for following along with my summer series! Thank you to Monica and Sara for being my dates on this lovely Sunday at Peace Water Winery.
Love food. Love self. Love life.
Gabriela
Photography by Leah Trib Productions / Styled by Simply Audree Kate
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I love this pizza… but not nearly as much as I love you.