Attempt #58 - Vineria Wine Shop

Menu

The Venue

264 Blairs Ferry Rd NE

Cedar Rapids, IA 52402

(319) 373-6141

Many in Cedar Rapids have known about this little wine shop for years, but from my experience, not many have ventured inside. The owner of 13 years, Jose Miguel Reyes, gutted one of the rooms six months ago and added in a wine bar serving personal pizzas. Check their Facebook website because on certain nights the pizza is $3 off before 6pm (Wednesday was for sure at the time of writing this post). The shop was clean, with new furniture on the lounge area. While waiting, you can tour the wine racks in the connecting room and view the selection of imported beers, cheeses, and meats. The lounge/bar area often hosts events such as movie screenings and wine tastings apart from its normal everyday operations. Our experience with the staff was that they very nice, and accommodating. I called ahead and made sure they would have room for a ten person group.

You can check out the website at http://www.vineriawineshop.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Vineria-Wine-Shop-95012545884/.

The Pizza

Diavola ($14)

Chicago Style: No

Crust Thickness: Thin

We had eight participants so we ordered five 12” pizzas. They only offer one crust at 12”.

Margherita – Mozzarella, Tomato Sauce, Fresh Basil, $11.00

Diavola – Mozzarella, Tomato Sauce, Fresh Basil, Spicy Sausage, $14.00

Capricciosa - Mozzarella, Tomato Sauce, Mushrooms, Laquercia, Prosciutto, Artichoke Hearts, $16.00

The Spanish - Mozzarella, Tomato Sauce, Fresh Basil, Spanish Chorizo, Butternut Squash, $16.00

Three Meats - Tomato Sauce, Prosciutto, Sweet Italian Sausage, Tuscan Salami, $19.00

Three Meat ($19)

The Verdict

Capricciosa ($16)

The pieces were triangular-shaped and they came out warm. We were delighted by the freshness and high quality of the toppings. The dough and sauce in made in house, and the stone oven gave the crust a thickness so it did not become soggy. One participant commented on the positive difference that real mozzarella cheese made. One way to tell is that it comes in a chunk, not shredded, which is why the pizza was uneven. I enjoyed the sauce, but I would have enjoyed a little bit more of it. On the plus side, the Spanish chorizo was a delicious meat that is not too commonplace around Iowa! If you enjoy a glass of import or domestic wine and love pizza, then Vineria's is your place to be!

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.
Overall 8.50

Cheese 9.63

Margherita ($11)

Sauce 8.63

Topping 9.00

Crust 8.36

Venue 9.13

Favorite The Spanish

The Spanish ($16)

Slice from Pizza (Marg.)