Solid Italian-leaning list for pizza night
Downtown · Iowa City · Italian-American, wood-fired pizza and pasta · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 14, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Basta’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The list at Basta is tighter than you'd expect from a lively downtown spot — 37 labels, clean layout, and a clear lean toward Italian and California classics. It reads like someone made intentional choices rather than just calling up a distributor and saying 'give us the usual.' That's a decent start.
The backbone here is Italian and Californian, which tracks with the wood-fired pizza and pasta menu. You've got a Brunello from Elia Palazzesi sitting alongside Silver Oak Cab and Chateau Montelena Chard — it's not a deep list, but the hits are recognizable and mostly well-chosen. The Illahe Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley and the Majolini Franciacorta Brut add some welcome range beyond the obvious. Where it falls short is depth within those regions — there's no real exploration of southern Italy, no Barbera or Vermentino, and the Burgundy/Rhône crowd is left mostly out in the cold.
Eleven by-the-glass options at $8–$13 is a reasonable spread for a busy pizza-and-pasta joint. The range covers the bases — white, red, bubbly — without anything too adventurous. Rotation doesn't appear to be an active priority, which is fine for a neighborhood staple but won't keep wine-curious regulars coming back for something new.
Illahe Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, OR — null
Illahe punches above its price point consistently, and Willamette Pinot with wood-fired food is a genuinely smart combination. Worth seeking out on this list over the flashier California reds.
Majolini Franciacorta Brut, Lombardy, IT
Most people walk right past the Italian bubbly and order a cocktail. That's a mistake. Franciacorta is serious sparkling wine — Champagne method, Italian bones — and it belongs at a pizza table more than almost anything else on this list.
Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley
At $140, you're paying full trophy-wine markup for a bottle that retails around $65–$70. Silver Oak is a crowd pleaser, but this is the kind of name-recognition tax that eats your wallet alive. Save it for a place that's actually built around big Cabs.
Elia Palazzesi Brunello di Montalcino, Siena, IT + Wood-fired pizza with sausage and peppers
Brunello's Sangiovese backbone — high acid, firm tannin, earthy cherry — is made for rich, charred, pork-forward food. It's an indulgent call on a pizza night, but it works harder here than it would at a white-tablecloth Tuscan dinner.
✔️ The Bottom Line
Basta is a reliable wine stop for Downtown Iowa City — nothing groundbreaking, but a thoughtful enough list that you won't feel stuck drinking whatever the table ordered. Watch the markups on the name-brand bottles and lean toward the Italian and Oregon picks for the best bang.
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Order the margarita. Seriously. But if someone at the table insists on wine, the Barefoot pours are priced so close to retail that you're not getting hurt — just don't expect anything more than that.
Grocery Store
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Iowa City · Pizza / Italian-American
Pagliai's earns its legendary status in Iowa City as a pizza destination — the wine list, however, is an afterthought that nobody on staff or in the kitchen appears to think about much. Order a beer, order a soda, order another slice, and save the wine conversation for somewhere else.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Near Northside / Coralville border · Iowa City · Upscale American Steak and Chops
Iowa River Power is a perfectly respectable steakhouse wine list in a genuinely memorable room — but the list plays it too safe and prices too high to be anything more than serviceable. Send a friend here for the ambiance and the prime rib; tell them to pick carefully on the wine.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Northside · Iowa City · Diner / New American
Bluebird earns serious love for its food, but the wine list is pure filler — seven grocery-store bottles on a set-and-forget program. Order the biscuits and gravy, grab a coffee, and save the wine for somewhere that cares.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Iowa City · Pub
Micky's is a great Irish pub — for Guinness, whiskey, and a Reuben at midnight. The wine program is an afterthought dressed up as a menu section, and nobody on either side of the bar is pretending otherwise. Order the beer.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Iowa City · Contemporary American / Gastropub
One Twenty Six is an anomaly — a downtown Iowa City gastropub with a wine list that would hold its own in a Chicago neighborhood restaurant. The markups on trophy bottles get steep fast, but there's real depth here if you know where to look, and the French selections alone are worth the reservation.
Surprising Depth
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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