“Pizza wine” is a fairly common phrase in wine writer and wine seller circles. Often it’s used to describe affordable (usually sub-$20 or even sub-$15) red wines that can be used to wash down whatever pizza you’re eating.

I think that wine pairing is overrated on the whole, but I still think we can do better than that. This Suhru Wines 2019 Teroldego ($30) is the kind of wine that I personally like to drink with pizza. Yes, I know it’s a little more expensive than that stereotypical “pizza wine” but in my house, if we eat pizza, it’s on Friday night. I drink good wine on Friday nights.

After my post-work negroni, of course.

Suhru Wines is owned and operated by veteran Long Island winemaker Russell Hearn and his wife Susan. The “Su” from her name and the “Ru” from his are combined with the “H” from their last name in the middle.

There isn’t much teroldego on the North Fork and I have no idea how much teroldego there is in Australia, where Russell is from, I really like what he’s doing with the grape here on the North Fork (he also makes a Teroldego-Lagrein blend at Lieb Cellars).

Bright and fresh on the nose, there are red raspberry and blackberry fruit aromas with a sprinkling of Chinese Five Spice and a crack of black pepper.

It’s medium-bodied on the palate with fairly light tannins backed by fresh, food-friendly acidity. The fruit is very brambly with just a little plum in the back. It’s a little rustic at the edges, which is what I’m looking for with my pizza (which usually has onions and sausage and lots of pepper flakes).

Syrah isn’t always a good fit on the North Fork, so if that’s the profile you seek, check this wine out.

These northern Italian varieties show a lot of promise here on Long Island. I’m glad that this type of exploration and experimentation is still happening.

Producer: Suhru Wines
Region: North Fork of Long Island AVA
Winemaking: Nine months in French oak
ABV: 12.8%
Price: $30*
Score: 90 points
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* Review sample provided by the winery