Red-sauce comfort with a honest Italian pour
South Champaign · Champaign · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 11, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Napoli's Italian Restaurant’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Napoli's doesn't try to impress you, and that's fine. It's a tight, Italian-leaning card that matches the room — checkered-tablecloth energy, red sauce on the stove, no pretense. You're not here to geek out on vintages; you're here to eat pasta and drink something that doesn't embarrass itself.
The list runs 20 to 40 bottles with a sensible focus on Tuscany, Piedmont, Veneto, and Southern Italy, plus a California lane for the table that always orders Cab. Chianti Classico anchors the Italian side, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo handles the budget-friendly red slot, and there are a few Barolo or Barbaresco bottles sitting at the top of the list for anyone feeling ambitious. It's not deep — you won't find esoteric producers or anything that requires a second look — but the geography is coherent and the bottles make sense for the food. The gaps are real though: no Sicilian reds, nothing from Campania, and the white selection leans heavily on Pinot Grigio delle Venezie without much else to choose from.
Six to ten pours by the glass in the $8–$14 range, which is reasonable for a mid-tier Italian spot in Champaign. Expect the usual suspects — Chianti, Pinot Grigio, probably a California red — with not a lot of rotation. It gets the job done for a weeknight pasta dinner without making you think too hard.
Montepulciano d'Abruzzo — $28
At the low end of the bottle range, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo punches above its price — dark fruit, earthy grip, food-friendly acidity. It's the honest workhorse of Italian reds and at this price point, it's the smartest bottle on the list.
Barolo
Most people dining at a red-sauce Italian spot in South Champaign are grabbing the Chianti and calling it a night. But if there's a Barolo sitting at the top of that bottle list, and you're splitting it with someone who appreciates structure and a wine that actually needs the food it's sitting next to — that's the move. It's probably $50–$60, which is not a steal, but it's the one bottle on the list with real ambition.
Pinot Grigio delle Venezie
Mass-market Pinot Grigio delle Venezie is the beige carpet of Italian wine. It's not offensive, it's just deeply unremarkable — and ordering it by the glass at $10–$12 when you could put that toward a bottle of Montepulciano is a missed opportunity every time.
Chianti Classico + Chicken Parmesan
Chianti Classico's bright acidity and cherry-tinged fruit cut right through the richness of the tomato sauce and fried chicken without fighting it. It's the classic reason this grape and this cuisine exist in the same sentence.
The Bottom Line
Napoli's isn't a wine destination, but it's not trying to be — the list is honest, the prices are fair, and the Italian bottles genuinely complement the food. Send a friend here for dinner without hesitation; just don't send them expecting to discover anything new.
South Champaign · Champaign · Farm-to-Table / American
Harvest Market Farmhouse is a perfectly fine neighborhood wine program that punches above its weight exactly once a week — on Mondays, when half-price bottles turn a predictable list into a genuinely good deal. The rest of the week, it's a reliable pour with fair markups, just don't come here looking for discovery.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
Downtown Champaign · Champaign · Diner / Cafe
Lazy Daisy has no business having a wine list this thoughtful, and that's exactly why it earns a Wild Card. Four bottles, zero pretension, and at least two genuinely interesting pours — we'd absolutely tell a friend.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Champaign · Champaign · Mexican
Fiesta Café is a genuinely fun spot for margaritas and big burritos, but the wine list is purely ceremonial — it exists so they can say they have one. Come for the drinks menu, not the wine list.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Champaign · Champaign · Steakhouse
LongHorn Champaign has a wine list that exists so you can say you had wine with dinner — not much more than that. If you're here for the steak, grab the J. Lohr and move on; if you came for the wine list, recalibrate your evening immediately.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Unknown · Champaign · Steakhouse
Texas Roadhouse is a perfectly good place to eat a steak and destroy a basket of rolls — just do yourself a favor and drink a beer or a bourbon instead. The wine list is grocery-store inventory at chain-restaurant markups, and no amount of country music can dress that up.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
North Prospect · Champaign · Steakhouse
Outback's wine program is a corporate afterthought dressed up in Australian branding, and Champaign is no exception. Order the Mollydooker if you must drink wine, but honestly, the cocktail menu will treat you better.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Chicago · Italian
il Carciofo is doing something genuinely rare: building a wine list that treats Italian regional variety as the main event, not the footnote. If you're tired of the same Pinot Grigio and Chianti Classico circuit, this is exactly where you should be eating dinner.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Bridgeport · Italian
This is a sleeper hit of a wine list — a neighborhood Italian spot that clearly cares about where its bottles come from and keeps the prices honest. If you have even a passing curiosity about southern Italian reds, 'A Vucchella is worth the trip.
Surprising Depth
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Naperville · Italian
Francesca's Passaggio is a dependable suburban Italian wine list — white-wine-heavy, Italian-accented, and priced on the steeper side, but with enough interesting bottles to reward a little menu exploration. Send a friend here if they want a pleasant, fuss-free dinner with a solid glass of something Italian; send a serious wine person elsewhere.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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