As a member of the Cultivar Wine Bloggers club, I receive quarterly shipments of their outstanding wines to pair with my recipes. This month I took things outdoors with grilled pizza and the 2014 Cultivar Rutherford Sauvignon Blanc. 
If you told me I could only grill one thing for the entire summer, my pick would be pizza. I might miss the grilled vegetables, maybe the meats, and most definitely the fruits, but having grilled pizza in front of me with the smoky, slightly crisp crust and the bubbly cheese would make it all better.
We only just began grilling pizzas a few years ago and it was love at first slice. Since then I’ve experimented with different whole grain crusts and garden-fresh toppings as well as the best way to cook it.
While I’m a huge fan of the traditional with tomato sauce and mozzarella, I also like to step out of the box with some more original combinations.
When I received my Cultivar Wine Bloggers shipment a couple weeks ago, it contained the crisp and summery, 2014 Cultivar Rutherford Sauvignon Blanc. I wanted something different to pair it with, thinking of grilled pizza. When I consulted my husband, he suggested a seafood on the pizza, maybe scallops.
It all came together from there. A simple, flavorful garlic and basil sauce, sweet scallops, shallots, a handful of spicy arugula and finally a combination of shaved parmesan and asiago cheeses.
As described in the tasting notes, the wine has slightly acidic notes while being fruity and a little grassy. With the pizza being with balanced sweet seafood and garlic alongside peppery, slightly bitter greens, the pleasant acidity of the wine didn’t take over too much. It paired up very nicely.
You can use any type of pizza dough you’d like with this pizza. I’m always experimenting with flours and sugars for my dough and below is the dough I used for this pizza. It’s whole grain with a bit of cornmeal, making it on the hearty side.
The options with grilled pizza are endless so don’t be afraid to play with this one a little. Switch out the seafood, add a variety of greens, get creative with cheeses. As long as you end up with a slice and a glass of wine it makes for the perfect summer meal.
- 1 cup water, heated to about 110 degrees F
- 1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
- 2 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 4 to 5 tablespoons warm water
- 1/2 teaspoon fine ground sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- Extra olive oil to coat the bowl
- 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 8 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1/4 cup packed fresh sweet basil leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon fine ground sea salt
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lb. petite sea scallops or bay scallops
- 1/8 teaspoon fine ground sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 large shallot, sliced
- 2 cups arugula
- 4 oz. parmesan cheese, shaved
- 4 oz. asiago cheese, shaved
- Olive oil for the grill
- To make the pizza dough, stir the yeast and sugar into the warm water. Let sit until the yeast blooms, about 5 minutes.
- Add the flour, cornmeal and 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the bowl of a mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Turn to low. Slowly pour in the yeast and increase to medium.
- Add 4 to 5 tablespoons of water, until the dough comes together and is smooth. It should not be dry and crumbly, but also not too sticky. Mix in the the 1/2 teaspoon of salt and dried basil.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 60 to 90 seconds, until a smooth ball forms. Coat the mixing bowl (or another large bowl) with olive oil and place the ball of dough in the bowl. Cover with a clean dish towel and let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
- To make the sauce, heat the 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic. Cook stirring often for 10 minutes. You want to garlic to soften and brown slightly.
- Transfer the garlic to a small food processor, add the 1/3 cup of olive oil, fresh basil and salt. Puree until all ingredients are combined and a salad dressing-like sauce is formed. Set aside.
- Preheat the grill to 400 to 450 degrees F.
- Prepare the scallops by heating the 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the scallops and cook just until they turn opaque and tender, 3 to 4 minutes depending on the size. Transfer to a plate covered in a paper towel to drain in liquid. Sprinkled with the salt and pepper. Once cool enough to handle you may want to slice or chop the scallops if they are large.
- Punch down the dough, knead back into a ball and cut it into 4 equal pieces. Roll each to your desired thickness. I roll them to make about 10 inch pizzas. Pierce each with a fork in several places.
- Brush the grill with olive oil and place the pizza dough on the grill. Close the lid and let cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until the underside is browned. Remove from the grill and place each on a baking sheet or plate so that the grilled and browned side is facing up.
- Top each pizza with an equal amount of the garlic pizza sauce, scallops and sliced shallot. Return to the grill and cook for about 3 minutes until the bottom of the crust is browned, the toppings are warmed the and shallots shrivel just a little.
- Immediately after removing the pizzas from the grill, top each a 1/2 cup of arugula and an equal amount of each cheese. Slice and serve warm.
Disclosure: I’m required to disclose a sponsored partnership between our site Fake Food Free and Cultivar Wine. I have been compensated in exchange for this post in the form of product. All opinions presented are my own. I receive wine from Cultivar Wine as a member of the Cultivar Wine Bloggers group.
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Sauvignon Blanc is a beautiful pairing with a light white pizza. I must have been riding your wave length becasue I have a pizza post up too.
Looks delicious! Thanks for sharing.
Velva
Thanks, Velva! I just checked out your pizzas. Love the flavor combos! I’m a huge pizza fan!
I LOOOOVVEEE sauvignon blancs in general, but yes it does sound perfectly paired with this! This unique pizza topping combo – awesome.
They are such a great choice for summer!
never thought to put scallops on pizza. 😀 yum yum yum! how do you make sure they don’t get overcooked?
They work well! I made sure they were just barely cooked when in the pan and then the finished up on the pizza on the grill.