Canton's quiet secret keeps surprising you
East Canton / Oakwood · Canton · Upscale American Bistro / Fine Dining · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 15, 2026
RagingWine reviewed The Bistro of Oakwood’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
Walking into a neighborhood bistro in Canton, Ohio and finding a 2015 Austrian Mehofer and a Schiava from Trentino on the list is a genuine surprise — the kind that makes you do a double-take. This isn't a list built by committee or populated from a distributor's top-sellers sheet. Someone here actually cares.
The list runs 40-80 bottles and punches well above its zip code. The focus leans Old World — Austria and northern Italy show up with intention, not accident. Mehofer from Austria and the Cembra Cantina di Montagna Schiava from Trentino DOC are the kinds of bottles you'd expect to find at a natural wine bar in a major city, not a cozy bistro tucked into East Canton. That said, the list is small, and the gaps are real — don't come expecting depth across Burgundy or a lengthy Iberian section. What's here is chosen well; there just isn't a lot of it.
Eight to fourteen pours by the glass at $11-$12 is genuinely fair for this market — no complaints on price. The range isn't enormous, but if the same curatorial sensibility that picked the Schiava extends to the glass program, you're probably in decent shape. Rotation details are hard to confirm, so ask your server what's open.
Cembra Cantina di Montagna Schiava, Trentino DOC 2016 — $42
Schiava is one of the most food-friendly, underpriced grapes in all of Italy — light-bodied, low tannin, slightly smoky red fruit. Finding it at a bistro in Ohio at this price point is the kind of thing wine nerds quietly celebrate.
Mehofer, Austria 2015
Austrian whites don't get the credit they deserve in American dining rooms. Mehofer is a small, quality-focused producer and a 2015 vintage has had real time to develop. Most tables will skip past this one — that's their loss.
House pour by the glass
Without knowing the specific house pour, the safer play at $11-$12 a glass is to spend up to the Schiava or the Mehofer. Generic house selections at bistros this size rarely justify even a modest pour price when there are actual interesting bottles within reach.
Cembra Cantina di Montagna Schiava, Trentino DOC 2016 + Pan-seared scallops
Schiava has the delicacy and brightness to complement scallops without bulldozing them — it's one of those rare light reds that actually works with seafood. The slight earthiness in the wine plays off a good sear without fighting the ocean-sweet character of the scallop.
🎲 The Bottom Line
The Bistro of Oakwood is doing something quietly interesting in a market where most lists coast on Meiomi and Josh. If you're in Canton and want a real wine with dinner, this is where you go.
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Basic Stemmed
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Crowd Pleasers
Steep
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Grocery Store
Steep
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MIA
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Crowd Pleasers
Steep
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Solid Range
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Basic Stemmed
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Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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