For wine connoisseurs, paiing the right wine with a particular food is an acquired skill. Red wines complement red meats; white wines go well with white meats and cheese. But some foods, pizza included, don't fit either category. This is where 1983 Hoban grad Joe Zaucha, who owns JZ Wine Company, comes in.

"I came up with the concept of making a wine specifically blended to taste good with pizza," he said. "I am a self-employed broker, selling several brands from various wineries and importers to distributors."

Zaucha became involved in the business working at Koly's Wine Barrel, owned by Rich Koly of Hoban's Class of 1964. But it wasn't until eight years after college that he got a job for a local distributor. After working as a distributor and supplier, he founded his own company. Then last April, he developed the idea of a pizza wine.

To make his idea a reality, Zaucha contracted Las Vinas Winery in California to produce the wine. He is a broker of Baywood Cellars, one of the winery's brands.

"I had help from various people designing the label," Zaucha said, "and bought the right to use the pizza picture that is the focal point of the label.  I had a couple of different designers finish the design on the other three pieces."

By July, Zaucha decided to proceed with the project. The wine, called Pizza Vino, was in distributor warehouses Dec. 2. Pizza Vino is available as a cabernet sauvignon or pinot noir and sells for $8.99 a bottle.

Zaucha's venture was not without risks.

"There was a chance I could not sell the inventory," he said.  "I showed the package to a few distributors who were mildly interested. But without a firm commitment for an order, there was the risk I would end up having to sell the wine at or below my cost to get rid of it."

But because of his experience in the wine industry, Zaucha was confident he could make a profit.

Rose Zaucha, head of Hoban's math department and Joe's mother, tried Pizza Vino and liked it with pizza.

"We make our own pizza most of the time," she said. "With ours, it was very good."

So far, Pizza Vino has proved successful. Zaucha recently shipped the last of his first contracted production and reordered a load destined for six distributors in Ohio and Michigan.

"I hope to continue to grow until Pizza Vino is in all 50 states and perhaps several countries," he said. "Right now, three brokers are presenting Pizza Vino to various distributors around the country."

Rose Zaucha is proud of her son's entrepreneurship.

"I like it when people come up with an idea that has not been done, do a little research and follow through to a conclusion," she said.  "So this process with Joe's wine has been interesting to our family."