Utah's Most Italian Wine List You've Never Heard Of
Downtown · Salt Lake City · Italian (regional Molise-inspired, contemporary) · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed June 13, 2026
Wingman Metrics
Walking into Caffé Molise, you don't expect to find Di Majo Norante on the wine list — but here we are, in downtown Salt Lake City, at a restaurant that actually knows what Molise is. The list is not long, but it earns its keep by going places most Utah Italian restaurants wouldn't bother.
The list leans hard into central and southern Italy, which tracks given the restaurant's regional identity. You've got Cetamura Chianti for the Tuscany crowd, Barco Reale di Carmignano for the people who know better than to just order Chianti, and Passamante Salice Salentino pulling duty for the south. The real signal that someone here cares: Di Majo Norante Sangiovese, a producer from actual Molise — a region so obscure even most Italian wine geeks have to pause. That's not an accident. The gaps are real though: no depth on Piedmont, no white wine producers worth calling out by name, and the list stops well short of what a true Italian specialist would carry.
By-the-glass specifics weren't available when we visited, so we can't tell you exactly what's pouring or at what price. What we can say is that the bottle list gives enough range that the glass program should have something worth ordering — push your server toward the Italian reds and you're likely in good shape.
Di Majo Norante Sangiovese 2021 — null
This is a producer doing serious work in one of Italy's most overlooked regions. You're not paying a prestige premium because almost nobody knows the name, but the wine punches above its weight. Order it before the restaurant figures out they can charge more.
Barco Reale di Carmignano 2019
Carmignano is Tuscany's best-kept secret — a tiny appellation that blends Sangiovese with a touch of Cabernet, producing something more complex and structured than most Chiantis at twice the price. Most tables here will order the Chianti and never know this exists.
Cetamura Chianti 2022
Perfectly decent entry-level Chianti, but when Barco Reale di Carmignano and Di Majo Norante Sangiovese are on the same list, there's no reason to default to the safe pick. This is the wine you order when you haven't looked at the list carefully.
Passamante Salice Salentino 2022 + Grilled meats
Salice Salentino is Negroamaro country — dark, earthy, with enough grip to stand up to char and fat. The restaurant's grilled meats need something with backbone, and this delivers without overwhelming. It's a southern Italian wine doing exactly what it was born to do.
🎲 The Bottom Line
Caffé Molise is doing something genuinely uncommon in Salt Lake City: building a wine list with an actual point of view. It's not a deep list, but it's an honest one, and the Molise-region nod with Di Majo Norante alone makes it worth a look.
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Kimi's earns its reputation as one of Salt Lake City's better nights out, and the wine program has real bones — a sommelier, a thoughtful Italian-leaning list, and proper glassware. Just go in knowing the markups are aggressive on the bubbles, anchor yourself to the Riesling if you're watching the spend, and let the room do the rest of the work.
Solid Range
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Occasional
Proper
9th & 9th · Salt Lake City · Middle Eastern
Mazza isn't a wine destination, but it's doing something genuinely interesting by building a list around Lebanese producers that actually belong on the table with this food. If you're in Salt Lake City and want to drink something you won't find anywhere else in town, this is worth a detour.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Salt Lake City · Japanese and Sushi
Takashi is a great restaurant with a wine list that's just along for the ride — functional, safe, and a little overpriced relative to what you get. Go for the sushi, order the Cloudy Bay or the Oregon Pinot, and don't expect the wine program to keep pace with the kitchen.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Market Street Oyster Bar is a reliable spot for wine if you calibrate your expectations accordingly — this is a crowd-pleaser list built for a crowd-pleaser room, and it mostly delivers. Send a friend here for oysters and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, not for a wine education.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Cottonwood Heights · Salt Lake City · Seafood and Steakhouse
Market Street Grill Cottonwood is a dependable neighborhood anchor with a wine list that does exactly what it needs to — nothing more. Send a friend here for the oysters and the Sonoma-Cutrer; just don't send them expecting to discover anything new.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Salt Lake City · Seafood and Steakhouse
Market Street Grill is a solid, dependable restaurant that deserves a more adventurous wine list — the oyster program alone could support something far more interesting than what's here. Come for the seafood, order the Sonoma-Cutrer, and don't spend too much time staring at the bottle list hoping it changes.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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