Nostrana
Natural Italian Soul in a Pizza Palace
Southeast Portland · Portland · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 10, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
Walking into Nostrana's vaulted, lantern-hung room, you half expect the wine list to be an afterthought propped against a wood-fired pizza menu. It isn't. The list skews Italian and earnest, with enough natural wine credibility to signal that someone here actually cares.
Selection Deep Dive
The Italian backbone is the real story — Friuli and Emilia-Romagna natural producers sit alongside Sicilian bottles and Central Italian reds like Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, giving the list a regional specificity that most Italian-American spots in this city completely ignore. Tuscany shows up too, which keeps the conventionally-minded diner comfortable. The Willamette Valley Pinot Noir inclusion is a smart local nod that doesn't feel forced — this is Portland, after all, and it earns its spot. The Rhône Valley presence rounds things out, though it's clearly a supporting player rather than a focus.
By the Glass
With 10 to 16 options by the glass, you have enough to work through a whole meal without committing to a bottle — rare and worth noting. The glass program leans into the same Italian natural wine identity as the bottle list, which means you're not just pouring house Chianti on autopilot. Rotation appears limited, so don't expect the pours to shift dramatically season to season.
Montepulciano d'Abruzzo — $38
Central Italian Montepulciano at this price point is a consistent overachiever — rustic, food-friendly, and built for exactly the kind of wood-fired, hearty cooking Nostrana puts on the table. It's the move.
Friuli Natural White
Most tables at Nostrana are ordering Pinot Noir or Chianti, which means the Friuli natural whites are largely flying under the radar. These are textural, slightly funky, and genuinely interesting — perfect against a plate of seasonal pasta.
Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
The local Pinot is a perfectly fine pour, but you're at an Italian restaurant with actual Italian natural wine on the list. Ordering a Willamette Pinot here feels like going to a ramen shop and ordering the burger.
Sicilian Red + Wood-fired thin-crust pizza
Sicilian reds — typically Nero d'Avola or Nerello Mascalese — carry enough acid and earthy grip to cut through char and fat without steamrolling the toppings. It's the most natural pairing on the menu and nobody's fighting you for it.
🎲 The Bottom Line
Nostrana isn't a wine destination in the way a dedicated wine bar is, but it's doing something genuinely interesting with its Italian natural wine focus inside a room that could easily get away with doing nothing. Send a curious friend here — just point them toward the Italian side of the list.
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