Uber and pizzerias have one thing in common: They pick you up (Uber, physically) or (pizza, emotionally) when you need them most. The same can be said for booze delivery apps, which are increasingly common these days thanks to a market clamoring for on-demand convenience.
Like a Frankenstein combination of ride services and Grubhub, apps like Drizly, Instacart and Minibar make a night in that much easier. They tap into your local wine and spirits shop’s inventory, which means you can order delivery of ‘za and booze within minutes of each other. Let the party come to you.
Here, we’ve shopped available bottles across all three different apps, which have a growing presence throughout Chicago. With particular types of pizza in mind, say sausage or veggie, we looked for wines that would match.
But first, some caveats:
•The apps don’t have power over the inventory, which is dependent on their brick-and-mortars partners. Which means …
•… one minute, a wine may be in stock, and the next, it’s gone. Instead, pick a general style of wine over a specific bottle.
•”But they don’t have this vintage!” You’re drinking wine with pizza — vintage is not our major concern, so we are not listing it here. Wine can — and should — be as casual as beer.
The pizza: Sausage
The wine style: Dry sparkling
TRY: Gruet Methode Champenoise Brut Rosé ($17.99): The Gruet family has been making Champagne since the 1950s, but its American counterpart has exploded in popularity among the somm set and wine insiders. Hailing from New Mexico — yes, they make wine there — this traditionally crafted pinot noir rosé is as good as they get, with dry, sprightly bubbles that deliver a foamy, almost-Pop Rocks texture in the mouth. It almost tastes like blackberry preserves on toast — yum.
Pairing tips: Bubbles are great for richer meats, as they cleanse the palate between bites.
The pizza: Veggie
The wine style: Zesty whites
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TRY: Underwood Pinot Gris ($7.99 for 375 milliliter can): It may not look like much, but this canned wine is the equivalent of half a bottle. Inside yields a fresh, Oregon-grown sip, full of ripe citrus and fruit flavors — the can boasts “peach, grapefruit, and pear,” which is accurate. No, you can’t stick your nose in the can to fully enjoy the wine’s aromas, but this refreshing porch-pounder doesn’t take itself seriously and neither should you.
Pairing tips: Think of veggie pizzas like salads, which lighten up with a squeeze of lemon. Bright, high-acid white wines have the same effect but are obviously more fun.
The pizza: Neapolitan
The wine style: Light-bodied reds
TRY: Louis Jadot Beaujolais-Village ($13.99): Made by a storied wine producer using gamay, Beaujolais’ mainstay red grape, this wine exhibits all the hallmarks of the region’s classic reds. Served slightly chilled, this wine is ripe with red fruit and black pepper flavors, with structured acidity. This easy-drinking wine is a great value.
Pairing tips: The char of a wood-fired crust would marry well with this wine’s peppery notes.
The pizza: Bacon or spicy toppings
The wine style: Medium-bodied reds
TRY: Chronic Cellars Purple Paradise ($17.99): A blend of zinfandel, syrah, petite sirah and grenache from Paso Robles, Calif., this wine is like your tough-guy friend who is secretly a teddy bear — a bruiser on the outside but with a heart of gold. Intense aromas of smoke, coffee and leather give way to a plush palate of nutmeg, cinnamon and ripe cherries.
Pairing tips: Cured meats — bacon, salami — need a wine to stand up to their bolder flavors. California zinfandel blends offer the right balance of fruit and earthiness for this task.
The pizza: Deep-dish
The wine style: Sparkling red
Medici Ermete Concerto Lambrusco ($17.99): This fizzy red is just pure fun — dry, frothy bubbles give way to tart cranberry and rosemary flavors. Serve it chilled with saucy, cheesy deep-dish and you’re in for a treat.
Pairing tips: Beer and deep-dish are a disaster — you’ll be weighed down a few bites in. Lambrusco, on the other hand, offers a fizzy lift to the bricklike slice.
THE APPS
Drizly (via UnCorkIt, Streeterville)
Order minimum: $20
Delivery fee: $5, plus tax
Drizly offers a clean user interface, allowing users to buy wine, beer and spirits — even garnishes, when available. The company blog offers up recipe and party ideas, which is great if you’re planning an event. The order arrived 45 minutes after being placed, well within the “under 1 hour” promised by Drizly.
Minibar(via Rayan’s Fine Wine, Uptown)
Order minimum: $25
Delivery fee: $5, plus tax
Drizly and Minibar overlapped in inventory — both apps partnered with the same retailer. To conduct a fair experiment, we took advantage of Minibar’s scheduling option at a different location, which yielded a different selection of wines. Minibar offers a two-hour window for deliveries, and ours came in 10 minutes under the time frame. The order minimum was higher — a casual pizza night can get expensive fast, unless your friends chip in.
Instacart (via Plum Market, Old Town)
Order minimum: $0
Delivery fee:First delivery is free, then varies per order
Service fee: $2
Instacart is your own personal shopper at your fingertips — literally. Your shopper will fulfill your orders — even communicating via text if an item on your list is unavailable and can’t find an alternative. A nifty map lets you know when they’re on their way, and regular messages communicate ETAs every 20 minutes. Our order arrived well ahead of the predicted hour time frame.
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