Beer First, Wine Very Much Second
Scranton Area · Scranton · Italian / Brewpub · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 14, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Marzoni's Brick Oven & Brewing Co.’s wine list and gave it The Lazy List — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
You walk into Marzoni's and the house beers are front and center — which is fine, because that's clearly where the passion lives. The wine list feels like an afterthought stapled to the back of the menu, assembled more out of obligation than enthusiasm. Sixteen labels, mostly names you'd recognize from your local grocery store endcap.
The list is almost entirely composed of mass-market brands: Woodbridge appears four times, Robert Mondavi Private Selection twice, and Dark Horse, Blue Nun, and Riunite round out what amounts to a greatest hits of supermarket wine. There's no regional representation, no small producers, and nothing that suggests anyone curated this with any particular intention. The lone bright spot is the Charles Smith Velvet Devil Merlot, which at least signals someone looked beyond the Mondavi portfolio for five minutes. Italy is gesturally represented by Ruffino Chianti and Riunite Lambrusco, which feels appropriate for a brick-oven concept but lands more as checkbox than commitment.
Fifteen of sixteen wines are available by the glass, which sounds generous until you look at what's in the glass. At $7–$8.75 a pour, the pricing is honest and accessible, but the range tops out at Woodbridge and Ruffino — solid Wednesday-night casual, nothing more. No rotation, no seasonal additions, no sign that this list has changed in the last two years.
Charles Smith Velvet Devil Merlot — $8.75
It's the one wine on this list that actually tastes like someone made a deliberate choice. Velvet Devil is an easy-drinking, well-made Washington State Merlot that punches well above the Woodbridge tier. At under $9 a glass in a brewpub, it's the clear move.
Riunite Lambrusco
Nobody orders Lambrusco at a pizza place in Scranton, and that's a shame. It's slightly fizzy, a little sweet, and actually cuts through a cheesy brick-oven pie better than most reds on this list. Lean into it — it's more fun than the Cabernet.
Robert Mondavi Private Selection Bourbon Barrel Aged Cabernet Sauvignon
The gimmick is baked right into the name — literally. Bourbon barrel aging on a mass-market Cab is a marketing play, not a winemaking one, and the result is a heavy, slightly odd wine that feels out of step with pizza. Pass.
Ruffino Chianti + Brick Oven Pizza
Chianti and pizza is not a revelation, but it works here because it's supposed to. The Ruffino Lumina is light, acidic, and cuts through tomato sauce and melted cheese without getting in the way. Classic for a reason.
❌ The Bottom Line
Marzoni's is a brewpub that's very good at being a brewpub — order a house beer and enjoy the pizza. The wine list exists to serve guests who won't drink beer, not to give anyone a reason to seek it out.
Downtown fringe · Scranton · Brewery/Taproom with Pizza and Pub Fare
Mutant Brewing isn't a wine destination, and it doesn't pretend to be — but the all-Pennsylvania lineup from Maiolatesi is a genuinely thoughtful move for a taproom in Scranton. Come for the beer and the pizza, stay curious about the Sparkling Traminette.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Scranton Area · Scranton · Farm-to-Table / Wine Bar
Harvest isn't a destination wine list, but Wine Wednesday — 50% off every bottle — turns a steep-markup, crowd-pleaser program into a genuinely good deal worth planning around. Come hungry on a Wednesday and order the Rombauer without guilt.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
Downtown · Scranton · Italian-American Pizzeria and Restaurant
Alfredo's isn't a wine destination, but it's a pizza place with a functional, fairly priced list and one of the better midweek wine promotions we've seen in northeastern Pennsylvania. Show up on a Wednesday, order the Bonanza Cab at half price, and get a large pie — there are worse ways to spend a weeknight.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
Downtown · Scranton · New American
POSH isn't a destination wine list — it's a safe, slightly overpriced selection that leans on brand recognition over discovery. Come on a Wednesday, grab the Colombo rosé at half price, and you'll leave happy; show up any other night and you're paying full markup for wines you could find at the corner store.
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
Downtown · Scranton · Gastropub
Backyard Ale House is a solid beer destination that treats wine like a legal obligation rather than an opportunity. Order a craft beer, enjoy the bar scene, and save the wine for somewhere that actually cares.
Grocery Store
Gouge
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.