Hail this Cab: A fancy wine for pizza night

Canvasback Cabernet Sauvignon is a fancy wine for pizza night. It probably should be reserved for a steak or grilled seafood. However, sometimes you just can’t beat fancy wines with comfort food.

The first time I opened Canvasback was a complete mistake.

I grabbed a bottle from our wine rack for a playdate. Kids running around, adults standing around the kitchen island, attempting conversation while getting interrupted 409,000 times by kids at our feet. They ordered pizza, I brought the wine. I tasted it and thought, “wow! This is a good one!”

The look on my husband’s face when his eyes made contact with the open bottle indicated I’d selected the wrong bottle to bring to our friend’s house. “Oh, how nice! Canvasback!” He said in a mildly amused, surprised tone… and explained that it’s not exorbitantly expensive, but just a small production wine and difficult to find. We had two bottles, and he thought we’d save it for a nice dinner. Instead we enjoyed ours with pizza and friends and kids at our ankles. Better than a fine dining experience, right?

Last week on vacation at our favorite restaurant in Hilton Head, Red Fish, we found a bottle of Canvasback on the shelves of their wine shop. The food and atmosphere at Red Fish make it one of our favorites to visit – but the best part is the wine selection. The restaurant doubles as a wine shop, with a fantastic selection of wine for purchase. For a $10 corkage fee, you can choose any bottle in the shop to enjoy over dinner. How cool is that? It makes me want to open up the same concept in Myrtle Beach, except I’d hate to run a restaurant. The hours are evil.

Give it a Swirl

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You’ll pay about $40

Tasting Notes Canvasback is as smooth as a late night DJ’s voice, elegantly balanced with with black cherries and smoky undertones. Pair it with pizza or the melt-in-your-mouth Asian inspired sea bass with wasabi drizzle and soba noodles like Red Fish serves. (OMG.)  Invite your cool friends, throw on a jazzy playlist, and wear something classic like a white collared shirt, elegant long necklace, and skinny jeans to match your suave wine companion. Wine Enthusiast rates it a 92, which is like an A-.

Have it delivered Wine.com will deliver Canvasback to your doorstep!

Read next Wine Night In is a weekly series with wine recs. Try this rosè or the wine Zac Brown band makes.