Pizza's Great, Wine List Forgot To Try
Downtown · Duluth · Italian-American and Pizza · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 12, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Sammy's Pizza & Restaurant – Downtown Duluth’s wine list and gave it The Lazy List — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
You open the menu at Sammy's and the wine section is basically a grocery store endcap — Cavit, Sutter Home, Yellow Tail. It's not offensive, it's just completely phoned in. The pizza, by all accounts, is the reason people are here, and the wine list knows it.
Ten to twenty bottles covering Italy, California, and Australia sounds reasonable until you see the actual names: Cavit Pinot Grigio, Sutter Home Merlot, Yellow Tail Shiraz. These are mass-market, supermarket-shelf producers with zero distinction between them. There's no regional depth, no small producers, no nod to anything interesting — just the cheapest recognizable labels a distributor rep could push through the door. For a restaurant that does Italian-American food, you'd hope for even one actual Italian table wine worth talking about, but that's not what's happening here.
Four to eight pours in the $7–$12 range, which is at least priced honestly for what you're getting. Don't expect any rotation or seasonal thinking — this list has almost certainly been the same since the Obama administration. If you need something in a glass with your pizza, you can get it; just set expectations accordingly.
Cavit Pinot Grigio — $7
At the low end of the glass price range, Cavit is an inoffensive, crisp pour that at least makes some sense alongside a thin-crust pizza. It's not exciting, but at $7 you're not losing the argument.
Yellow Tail Shiraz
Nobody comes to a Duluth pizza joint expecting an Australian Shiraz, which is exactly why it might work — it's fruit-forward enough to hold up against a heavier meat pizza and it's priced like a house pour. Low bar, but clears it.
Sutter Home Merlot
Sutter Home Merlot is the wine equivalent of a participation trophy. It exists, technically, but there is no scenario in which you should choose it over a cold local beer on this menu.
Cavit Pinot Grigio + Thin-crust specialty pizza
Cavit's light body and neutral acidity won't fight with a thin-crust pizza the way a heavier red might. It's not a revelation, but it's the least likely to get in the way of a pie you actually came here for.
❌ The Bottom Line
Sammy's is a Duluth institution and the pizza earns its reputation — the wine list is just not the point, and the restaurant isn't pretending otherwise. Order a beer or grab the cheapest glass pour, eat the pizza, and be happy.
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Crowd Pleasers
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Basic Stemmed
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Basic Stemmed
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Crowd Pleasers
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Acceptable
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Solid Range
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Crowd Pleasers
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Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
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