Tony Mitolo identifies as “Oztalian”.
With his family, he runs the picturesque Pizzateca in McLaren Vale in SA wine country. And the term is his way of expressing how much his Italian heritage and Australian upbringing intermingle.
“I’ll be happy if I get it into Urban Dictionary,” says Mitolo.
“It’s like when people ask why we don’t use San Marzano tomatoes here,” he explains. “Because nonna and nonno didn’t. It’s that celebration, that mix of Italy and Australia.”
One of the country’s best pizzerias, Pizzateca has been making its own wine and sugo since it opened in 2016. Plus, liquid-gold chilli honey, which adorns its pizza de resistance – the salami-starring Diablo (I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it for six years).
Of course, diners started asking if they could buy the wine, the sugo and the honey to-go. “Back in the day I’d go to the kitchen and ask if they had any extra,” Mitolo says. “How did I cost it? I don’t even know. It was a real cottage industry-type thing.”
Slowly he started selling it a little more formally from the restaurant. But now there’s a new, dedicated online store for it all, called Oztalia, which delivers across Australia. The clever branding – by Voice Design – features big, bold, baroque Italian lettering on green-and-gold labels, with Aussie flora and fauna in the background.
As well as the aforementioned products, you can shop jars of eggplant, green tomato, a combination of the two, and green olives – all swimming in oil. The site offers serving suggestions, too.
There are half a dozen wines to choose from, including three Italian varietals (beautifully fragrant barbera, robust montepulciano and the “Italian Stallion” nero d’avola), as well as shiraz, grenache and shiraz-grenache blend. Coming soon is a zesty limoncello, an if-you-know-you-know scenario for anyone who’s been to Pizzateca (it more often than not appears at your table, unordered, at the end of your meal).
There’s also merch that encapsulates the essence of Oztalia, such as a T-shirt emblazoned with both “Ciao” and “G’day”.
Oztalia delivers nationwide, with free shipping on orders over $150. Need to stock up on wine? Buy any 12 bottles ($330) and use the code “Broadsheet” at the checkout to get a free, limited-edition Ciao G’day T-shirt; just add it to your cart beforehand.
