The business model of Pizza Fusion (a nationwide franchised chain) is green to the core – green right down to the recycled blue jeans used for wall insulation, green right down to the organic red tomato sauce used in the pizzas, green right down to the hybrid delivery vehicles, green right down to the bamboo pizza peels (those paddle shaped things used to slip the pies in and out of the oven).
So, what about the wine list at such a place, in particular, the newly opened location in San Luis Obispo? Owner Brandon Borene admits that “to get the doors open,” he took the path of least resistance, offering organic labels that he could easily source, but “I knew I was going to get questions about carrying local wines.”
Borene also definitely wanted to carry Central Coast wines, and Pizza Fusion encourages its franchisees to source locally whenever possible. As a result, Borene recently reworked the wine list, working with his distributor – J&L Wines in Paso Robles – to find sustainably grown Central Coast wines that also hit the price point needed for a casual pizzeria. Not surprisingly, two SIP™ certified labels handily made the grade: Castoro Cellars and Laetitita Vineyard and Winery.
You’ll have your chance to taste the wines from those labels at the upcoming Earth Day Food and Wine Festival on April 18, where they’ll be among the 100-plus booths of other SIP™ and sustainably grown wines, as well as many other Central Coast restaurants and food producers – including Pizza Fusion. Tickets to this typically sold out event are going fast, so don’t snooze and lose!
