A good pizza is really an amazing thing. A crust that has a slight crunch but is soft on the inside, a sauce that packs flavor but isn’t too sweet, and the right amount of the right cheeses forms a practically perfect serving of tasty goodness.

Beer has long been a standard accompaniment with pizza, but what about wine? The truth is, the perfect slice pairs extremely well with plenty of different varietals and blends, and you don’t have to spend much to find a good match.

Barbera

I prefer lighter, acidic red wines with pizza. Acidic wines are generally food-friendly, and though we often talk about acidity in white wines, there are plenty of reds that fit the bill as well. Barbera is a great example (and is quickly becoming one of my favorite Italian reds). Grown most famously in Northern Italy, in the Piedmont region, Barbera is fresh and lively, has a full, rich taste, but feels light-bodied and is relatively inexpensive compared to its highbrow cousin, Nebbiolo.

My go-to Barbera at the moment is Indigenous Selections Barbera del Monferrato. The acidity is well-balanced, with delicious red fruit flavors of plum, cranberry, and raspberry, along with earthy tobacco and leather. This one could really go with just about any red sauce pizza, be it plain or with meat toppings.

Look for wines labeled Barbera d’Alba, Barbera d’Asti, or Barbera del Monferrato. I’ve found that these regions produce the good stuff.

Beaujolais

The Beaujolais region of France is not anything like the stuffy, pretentious, elite regions of Bordeaux or Burgundy. It is decidedly not fancy, and that is reflected in the wines’ prices — so prepare yourself for bargains. Beaujolais wine is made with the Gamay grape, leading to light-bodied, easy-drinking wines. Easy-drinking wine — with an easy weeknight dinner — sounds perfect.

The Maison Louis Jadot Beaujolais-Villages 2011 is an inexpensive, easy to find wine. It’s light, refreshing, and fruit-forward, with plenty of strawberry and raspberry flavors, a little minerality, and soft tannins. Drink this one with your everyday sort of pizza, out on the deck, just before the sun goes down.

Chianti

Of course, we really should mention Chianti, the famed Sangiovese-based wine from Tuscany. The region is broken up into smaller sub-regions, with names like Chianti Rufina, Chianti Colli Aretini, and Chianti Classico. Chianti Classico is the premier designation. These wines are refined, elegant, and expensive. Don’t bother forking over a lot of cash; opt for a non-Classico sub-region instead.

The 2009 Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi Nipozzano Riserva Chianti Rufina is one of my favorite Italian wines. The nose is downright awesome, very aromatic, with berries, leather, earth, herbs, a little menthol, and cranberry. This is the wine you want to drink with a pizza from a wood-fired oven, with a really, really well-flavored sauce, with oregano sprinkled on top. This wine is almost too good to have with pizza, so do yourself a flavor and splurge on a few bottles to enjoy with some elegant pasta dishes as well.

Bubbles?

Yes, it’s not out of the question to have sparkling wine with pizza, especially if it’s a heavy pie. The bubbles in sparkling can help cut through all that dough and cheese. Blanc de noirs, sparkling wine made with Pinot Noir grapes, can be particularly good. Even though the wine is white, Blanc de noirs often exhibit light red fruit flavors that match well with the tomato sauce.

Pizza is such a versatile food that the list of appropriate wine pairings is much longer than this. Try a sweeter wine to counter a spicy pizza, a Cabernet Franc with veggie toppings, or a dry Riesling with white pizza.

Next time you put in a call for a large pie, put the beer back in the fridge. Swirl, sniff, sip.