Pairing the right wine with pizza is one thing—and a wonderful thing. Pizza Wine, a wine specifically made for pizza, is something a little different. And Connecticut pizza lovers can only find it (for now) at New Haven-style icon Modern Apizza.
The debut of Pizza Wine on Modern’s menu also extends a cause that the pizza company’s owner, Bill “Billy” Pustari, has supported for years: feeding parents whose children are in the hospital.
Pizza Wine, made with grapes from New York’s Lake Erie region, is the creation of co-founders Liz McDonnell and chef Robert Andreozzi. Their sparkling red is now available at Modern’s State Street location, with the company expecting to add more Connecticut restaurants and retailers.
According to a press release, the wine’s acidity balances the tomato sauce, and the bubbles pair with fats like cheese and pepperoni.
Pizza Wine says it will donate 10% of all its Connecticut sales during its first month in the state to Feeding Families Foundation. The nonprofit helps provide meals for caregivers of hospitalized children around the U.S.
Through the foundation’s Local Food Fare Program, Pustari has been donating pizzas each week to families at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital—without bragging about it. But as PMQ previously reported, that quiet commitment ended up drawing attention earlier this summer, when a Modern Apizza customer’s request for Pustari’s personal phone number turned into a $26,000 gift to Feeding Families.
New Haven Pizza Club founder Michael Pollack arranged the donation from Rob and Stacey Bland; the amount reflected the estimated value of Modern’s weekly pizza contributions up to that point.
Pollack also helped bring Pizza Wine to Connecticut. And he and the New Haven Pizza Club have helped grow Feeding Families’ connection to the local pizza community.
“When Pizza Wine reached out about Connecticut, New Haven was the obvious place to start,” Pollack said. “Pizza is such a big part of this city’s identity, but it’s also become a really powerful way for our community to come together and give back. Bringing Pizza Wine to Modern—and having a portion of the first month’s sales benefit Feeding Families—felt like a pretty perfect fit.”
