Italy-obsessed in the middle of Utah
Central City · Salt Lake City · Italian
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 5, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Stanza Italian Bistro & Wine Bar’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Walking into a multilevel Italian bistro in Salt Lake City with a dedicated wine bar isn't what you expect, and Stanza leans into that surprise. The list skews hard Italian — not just the boot's greatest hits, but producers most locals wouldn't recognize on a bet. It's a wine program with a point of view, which is rarer here than it should be.
Fifty-plus selections and nearly all roads lead to Italy, which is the right call for a place like this. The presence of Roncus Ribolla Gialla is the tell — that's a serious, skin-contact-adjacent white from Friuli that doesn't end up on many lists west of the Hudson. The Dolfo lineup covering Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Rosé suggests a relationship with a smaller importer rather than a big distributor just phoning it in. Gaps exist — we'd love to see more depth in southern Italy and a Nebbiolo or two — but what's here is curated with actual intention.
Specific by-the-glass counts weren't available during our research, but the Vosca Chardonnay DOC shows up as a pour option and it's a reasonable entry point into the list's Italian-first worldview. A program this focused on the old country should be rotating its glass pours to match — if they're not, that's the next thing to fix.
Vosca Chardonnay DOC — null
A DOC-designated Italian Chardonnay by the glass at a wine bar in SLC is punching above its weight class. Skip the California Chard reflex and let this one do its thing.
Roncus Ribolla Gialla
Ribolla Gialla from Roncus is a Friulian white that most diners will walk right past — which means more for you. It's textural, amber-leaning, and the kind of wine that makes you rethink what Italian whites can be.
Dolfo Merlot 2013
A 2013 Merlot showing up on a list without context or provenance explanation is a question mark. Without knowing storage history or why it's still sitting there, this is one to leave alone until you can ask someone who knows.
Dolfo Rosé 2016 + Rosemary Mascarpone Polenta
The richness of mascarpone polenta needs something with enough acid and structure to cut through it without fighting the herbs. The Dolfo Rosé's age gives it a little more weight than a young pink, making it a natural bridge to the dish's savory creaminess.
The Bottom Line
Stanza is doing something genuinely interesting with Italian wine in a market that doesn't always reward the effort. If you're tired of the same Pinot Grigio-and-Chianti circuit, this is your place — just come with questions and curiosity.
· Salt Lake City · Steakhouse
STK Salt Lake City has the bones of a wine program but none of the follow-through — three by-the-glass options and a bottle list built around brand recognition rather than quality. Order a cocktail, or spring for the Veuve if you want to feel good about what's in your glass.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Sugar House · Salt Lake City · Steakhouse and Seafood with Scandinavian/European Influences
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
Downtown · Salt Lake City · Seafood and Raw Bar
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
· Healdsburg · Italian
Ciao Bruto is running one of the smallest and most coherent wine lists in wine country, which is either audacious or brilliant — probably both. If you want a 200-label deep-dive, go somewhere else. If you want eight smart picks at prices that won't make you wince, this is the move in Healdsburg.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Geyserville · Healdsburg · Italian
Diavola earns its Wild Card badge because it's a wood-fired pizza joint that punches well above its weight on wine — sommelier on staff, regional focus, and a setting that practically demands you order a second glass. We can't give you the bottle-by-bottle breakdown until we get eyes on a current list, but the bones here are good enough to say: don't just order a beer and move on.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
· Healdsburg · Italian
Ca'Bianca is a genuinely lovely place to eat, and if the food lives up to its reputation for house-made pasta and classic Italian technique, a bottle of something from the list is absolutely worth ordering. We just can't tell you exactly which bottle to order yet — the wine program's specifics aren't publicly documented well enough for us to make a confident call. When in doubt, ask your server what's local and what they're excited about, and go from there.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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