Small list, big swings for Scranton
Downtown · Scranton · Italian (wood-fired pizza and pasta) · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 14, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Bar Pazzo’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
Seven labels is not a lot — but the seven Bar Pazzo chose tell you something. This isn't a list built by a distributor's rep on autopilot. There's an Alsace crémant, a natural wine from the Basque Country, and a Vinho Verde sitting alongside an Amarone. Someone here is paying attention, even if the list is thin.
The range is genuinely surprising for a wood-fired pizza spot in downtown Scranton. The San Cassiano Amarone della Valpolicella 2018 anchors the Italian end with something serious, while the Herrigoia Vino de Lanciego (a Rioja-adjacent Basque red) and the Pessoa da Vinha Terroir Vinho Verde signal a willingness to go off the beaten path. The Tricoli AZ Tricoli suggests at least a passing interest in natural wine, and the Domaine Christophe Hipp Alsace Crémant Extra Brut is a genuinely thoughtful bubbles option that most restaurants in this tier skip entirely. The gaps are real — no depth by producer, no vintage backup — but for a seven-bottle list, the hits land.
By-the-glass specifics aren't confirmed, so we can't tell you exactly what's pouring at the bar on a given night. Given the compact list size, it's likely a rotating subset of the bottle list — ask your server what's open. The Crémant and Vinho Verde are exactly the kind of wines that beg to be poured by the glass, so fingers crossed.
Pessoa da Vinha Terroir Vinho Verde — Unknown
Vinho Verde with a 'Terroir' designation means you're getting something above the standard fizzy quaff — mineral, bright, and light enough to cut through pizza grease without disappearing. At a $$-priced Italian spot, this is almost certainly the most food-friendly bottle on the list at the lowest cost of entry.
Herrigoia Vino de Lanciego
Most diners scanning this list will default to the Amarone and miss this entirely. Vino de Lanciego sits in the Rioja Alavesa zone of the Basque Country — structured enough to hold up to red sauce, but with a rustic edge that makes it more interesting than a standard Rioja. It's the kind of wine that makes you look it up after dinner.
San Cassiano Amarone della Valpolicella 2018
Not because it's bad wine — it isn't. But Amarone is a heavy, late-night-in-the-cellar kind of wine, and ordering it with a wood-fired margherita is like wearing a tuxedo to a cookout. It's also almost certainly the most expensive bottle on this list. Save it for a different occasion; there are better fits for the food here.
Domaine Christophe Hipp Alsace Crémant Extra Brut + Arancini
Fried risotto balls need something that cuts through the richness and resets the palate — and an extra brut Crémant d'Alsace does exactly that. The fine bubbles and dry finish work like a pressure wash between bites. It's also just a fun thing to order and makes you look like you know what you're doing.
The Bottom Line
Bar Pazzo won't win any awards for list length, but the seven bottles they chose punch well above their weight for a casual Italian spot in downtown Scranton. If you're willing to let go of the familiar and trust the list, there's a genuinely good night of wine drinking here.
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Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Scranton Area · Scranton · Farm-to-Table / Wine Bar
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Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
Scranton Area · Scranton · Italian / Brewpub
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Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
Downtown · Scranton · New American
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Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
Downtown · Scranton · Italian
Sambucca is a perfectly decent Italian restaurant where wine is clearly an afterthought — steep markups on recognizable grocery store labels, no specials, no depth. Order the pasta, maybe a glass of something bubbly to start, and don't look at the wine list too hard.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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