“It was a real group effort,” said Bristol native Alaina Andreozzi of Pizza Wine, a light, sparkly red, sold by the can and meant to pair perfectly with pizza. “We were spending a lot of time together, drinking wine and eating pizza.”

‘We’ being her four Pizza Wine collaborators, beverage director Jesse Hedberg of Pizza Marvin, Bristol resident Liz McDonnell of the now-closed Fortnight Wine Bar, branding professionals Christiana Guzmán and Andreozzi, and Robert Andreozzi (Alaina’s brother) of Pizza Marvin.

Pizza Wine launched initially as an exclusive at Pizza Marvin; recently the team signed on with distributor Wine Wizards which will allow for distribution within the state of Rhode Island. In addition to placement at Pizza Marvin, Pizza Wine is available at Courtland Club, Campus Fine Wines, Mother Pizzeria, Mission, Thames Street Kitchen, and Grapes & Gourmet.

Only just recently placed in Newport, that expansion marks the start of a new relationship between Providence and Newport: two cities with a shared love of food and dining that offer very different Ocean State experiences. This was part of the reason why the team felt so strongly about making the move into Newport within their first year.

“We wanted to create a brand that could celebrate experiences across Rhode Island,” said Alaina.

Pizza Wine was and is a concept first.

“It’s common to describe a certain type of wine as a pizza wine, so as a brand it just clicked and made sense,” said Alaina. It also made sense for McDonnell, who, as the co-owner of the former Fortnight Wine Bar, saw just how overwhelming wines can be for the uninitiated. “Pizza Wine is more mood and food specific,” she said. “It’s accessible.”

The wine itself is produced by James Davids and Marissa Stashenko of Anchor & Hope, a craft winery in Rumford, from DeChaunac grapes sourced from the Finger Lakes region of New York.

The team remains laser-focused on placing their one product in restaurant and retail establishments throughout Rhode Island. Expansion outside the state, and developing additional products, can wait for now.

“Rhode Island is so small, our reach already feels massive,” jokes Alaina. “We are staying focused and intentional, and not getting ahead of ourselves.”