Masa and natural wine walk into a tasting menu
Northeast · Minneapolis · Modern Mexican tasting menu with masa-focused dishes · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed June 8, 2026
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Oro by Nixta reads like it was curated by someone who actually eats interesting food and drinks interesting wine — which is exactly what you want when you're about to work through a masa-forward tasting menu in Northeast Minneapolis. It's compact, maybe 30–40 bottles, but every selection feels intentional rather than filler. This is not the list of a restaurant that phoned it in.
The list leans hard into low-intervention and natural producers, with names like Bichi from Baja California, Ruth Lewandowski out of California, and Cacique Maravilla's field-blend Pipeño from Bio Bio, Chile — bottles you genuinely don't see at most restaurants in this city. Old World representation shows up via Do Ferreiro Albariño from Rías Baixas, the Schplink Grüner Veltliner from Austria, and Ameztoi's Txakoli Rosado from the Basque coast. There's a clear thread here: high-acid, lower-alcohol, food-forward wines that can actually keep up with masa and bright chili-driven sauces without bulldozing them. The gaps are real — no deep red options for those who want something with more grip, and the cellar depth is essentially nonexistent — but the curation more than compensates for the narrow scope.
Glass pours are estimated in the 6–12 range, running $14–$22, which is fair territory for this level of selection. The list rotates enough to reflect the seasonal tasting menu shifts, and you're likely to find at least one orange or pét-nat option by the glass on any given night. If you're doing the full tasting menu, committing to the by-the-glass route and letting the kitchen guide you course by course is genuinely the move here.
Bichi Listán (Mission) Tecate NV — $68
Yes, the markup is over 100%, but this Baja natural wine made from Mission grapes is nearly impossible to find at retail anywhere in the Midwest, and it's a perfect textural match for masa-heavy courses. At $68 for something this singular and this on-theme, it's the bottle that earns its keep.
Cacique Maravilla Pipeño País Bio Bio NV
Most people see 'Pipeño' and skip it entirely. That's a mistake. This Chilean field blend from old País vines is crunchy, light, and almost nervously acidic — it cuts right through rich corn-based dishes and makes you order another glass before you've finished the first. At $60 it's the least flashy bottle on the list and probably the most fun.
Schplink Grüner Veltliner Austria 2022
Grüner is a logical call with this food, and there's nothing wrong with the wine itself — but a 222% markup on an $18 retail bottle is the steepest math on the entire list. You're paying $58 for something you could grab at a good wine shop for less than twenty bucks. Order the Albariño instead.
Ameztoi Rubentis Txakoli Rosado Getariako Txakolina 2022 + Nixtamalized tostadas with rotating vegetable preparations
Txakoli Rosado has a spritz and a saline snap that acts like a palate reset button between each bite. Against the earthy, slightly smoky char of nixtamalized corn and whatever bright, acidic vegetable preparation is on the tostada that evening, it doesn't compete — it sharpens everything. One of the cleaner pairings on the menu.
🎲 The Bottom Line
Oro by Nixta is the rare tasting-menu spot where the wine list was clearly built to match the food rather than just justify bottle prices — and it mostly works beautifully. The markups sting in a couple of spots, but the curation is sharp enough that we'd send any curious eater here without hesitation.
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Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
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Acceptable
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Solid Range
Steep
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Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Basic Stemmed
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Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
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Acceptable
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Solid Range
Steep
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Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
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Acceptable
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