Our 2026 Fall Issue is Here!

At my house, Friday is always cooking them outdoors in our Ooni oven, heading out to a tried-and-true favorite (like Midnight Oil or St. Vito Focacceria in Nashville), or ordering in, I’m always hunting for the best pizza wine to go with it. To me, that’s a light, spritzy red, preferably chilled.

Pizza is a ritual (obsession?) for many in our country, but specifically here in the South, it’s taking new turns, thanks to a rising class of artisanal bread proteges who are putting the principals of flour, water, and yeast into their handcrafted pizzas. Associate editor Tate Jacaruso has gathered up a perfect combo of pizza stories from around the South, including a look at the state of Southern pizza from chef/instructor, author, and ’za authority Peter Reinhart.

As for the wine to go with it, there is plenty from right in our own backyard. But, as wine writer Lauren Mowery points out, there are also challenges facing our regional winemakers. Pick up a bottle from your favorite Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, or Maryland producer and support the work they’re putting into their vines.

I wish I could share a slice and glass of wine with Pati Jinich right now. I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing her inside her Maryland home for the profile and photo shoot. She proved to me that meeting your heroes can be a joy and a privilege—her charm, wit, and passion for Mexican food are as bright and infectious in person as they are on television. I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of her latest cookbook, Pati Jinich Foods of La Frontera, out in September—it comes packed with fascinating stories of the food and people that populate both sides of our
Southern border.

Enjoy all that plus a look at chef Melissa Martin’s new restaurant Saint Claire, a journey to a mountaintop temple in Western North Carolina for lunch, and a new take on country-fried lamb from a Naples, Florida. Or post up at your nearest pizza place for a slice and a glass of wine while you soak up the issue and settle in for a tasty fall.

What I’m Drinking:

Southerners influence the wine world far outside of the regions covered in our feature. A family of Louisiana brothers who relocated after Hurricane Katrina recently launched The Set, a selection of wines from Santa Rita Hills, California, that are drinkable and vivacious, made in the spirit of the South. Their PTG, a zippy pinot noir and gamay blend, might be my new favorite pizza wine.

Cheers,

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