If I had a quarter for every time I heard an American wine professional, Italian-focused and otherwise, say that “Barbera is a great pizza wine,” I’d be a very rich blogger.

As part of my work for the Barbera d’Asti blog, I make a point of nearly constantly scanning the internets to see who is talking and thinking about (and drinking) Barbera d’Asti and what they are saying. During my weekly survey, I am always impressed by the tide of pizzeria that have one or more bottlings of Barbera d’Asti on their wine lists.

Now, I’m not talking about the restaurants that belong to the new wave of authentic (and pseudo-authentic) Neapolitan pizzerias that serve the “verace” style of Neapolitan pies, as many claim (sometimes falsely) in their marketing materials. No, I’m talking about the innumerable American pizzeria that dot the American urbanscape and countryside where you might as easily find a classic Margherita churned out of their ovens as you would a “Hawaiian” topped with pineapple and Canadian bacon or the all-American classic Pizza, the Pepperoni (a term that I write with a capital “P” because Pepperoni is by virtue of antonomasia the pizza that Americans know and love best).

Americans love their pizza and they love their creative toppings.
“Chicken and pesto” pizza may make an Italian’s stomach turn. But to Americans, it’s just one of the many new creative classics that they adore (btw if you don’t believe me that “chicken and pesto” pizza is a phenomenon in the U.S., just Google it; you’ll be amazed by what you find!). Italians traditionally eat their pizza only at dinnertime and generally paired with beer or soda pop. Americans eat their pizza at lunch and dinner and increasingly, they like to pair their pies with wine. In my view, this represents a totally untapped segment of the American restaurant market for Barbera d’Asti producers. And American wine professionals are ready for it:

If I had a quarter for every time I heard an American wine professional, Italian-focused and otherwise, say that “Barbera is a great pizza wine,” I’d be a very rich blogger.

And that, dear reader, will be the topic of my next post.

The post AN UNTAPPED MARKET FOR BARBERA D’ASTI; THE NON-ITALIAN PIZZERIAS appeared first on My Name is Barbera.