“A meal without wine is like a day without sunshine“
Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (The Physiology of Taste, 1825)
A good bottle of wine on a table accompanyng the meal at an Italian family dinner is as popular as a wood-fired oven in a Neapolitan pizzeria.
If you visit regions in Italy, but also Spain and France to name a few, the idea of having local wine with local food is well established and is something you can truly engage in good company. Also, cooking with wine has been around for centuries. Even the Romans and the Greeks used wine to cook dishes such as garum, a fermented fish sauce that was also used as medicine and in cosmetics. By the way, it did not smell so good as it was left to ferment in the sun for several months!
Not just wine, though, has a strong connection with gastronomy. Many beverages do, too. Among them, beer stands out as an extremely food-friendly beverage. In Italy most likely you will be offered a beer to go with your pizza, though wine used to be more common. Spirits like rhum (great with dark chocolate) and tequila (awesome with fish tacos) are just some examples.
A great dish deserves a great drink that matches it and delivers a great experience. My hope is that through this website you will start to appreciate more matching food and drinks, as well as learn about many delicious less-known indigenous grape varietals.
Salute!