Italy's Greatest Hits, Cellar-Deep and Serious
Nob Hill · San Francisco · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Updated April 2026
Reviewed April 5, 2026
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Acquerello lands in your hands like a small novel — 2,000-plus selections, organized with the kind of care that tells you someone here actually cares. This is a Grand Award list that earned it, not one that coasts on the credential. The Piedmont and Tuscany sections alone could occupy a serious drinker for an entire evening just reading.
Piedmont is the undisputed anchor: Giacomo Conterno Monfortino, Bruno Giacosa Falletto, Bartolo Mascarello, Gaja Barbaresco — the murderers' row of Nebbiolo is all present and accounted for. Tuscany runs just as deep, with Biondi-Santi Brunello, Sassicaia, Solaia, and Fontodi's Flaccianello holding down the Sangiovese and Super Tuscan flanks. California isn't an afterthought either — Ridge Monte Bello and Harlan Estate give domestic drinkers something worth the detour. Champagne rounds it out with Krug and Salon on the shelf, which signals that whoever built this list wasn't cutting corners anywhere.
The by-the-glass program runs roughly 15 to 25 options and rotates with the kind of intention you'd expect from a sommelier like Anka Batsukh, who clearly isn't just spinning bottles on autopilot. Don't expect pours from the trophy shelf here — that's what the bottle list is for — but the glass options give you a legitimate on-ramp to the cellar's personality. If you're undecided, ask Anka; that's not a throwaway suggestion.
Dom Pérignon Vintage 2015 — $325
In a room where Screaming Eagle clocks in at $2,800 and Monfortino hits $950, a bottle of Dom Pérignon 2015 at $325 is practically the house deal. It's still a splurge in the real world, but relative to the company it's keeping on this list, it's one of the more reasonable ways to drink at this level.
Vietti Barolo Castiglione 2020
Everyone at the table is scanning for Conterno and Giacosa, and Vietti gets overlooked as a result. That's a mistake. The Castiglione is Vietti's most accessible Barolo and at $225 it's one of the few ways you drink serious Piedmont at this address without committing to a mortgage payment.
Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon 2020
At $2,800 a bottle, you're not paying for the wine — you're paying for the story you get to tell. Screaming Eagle is a status pour dressed up as a wine selection. With Ridge Monte Bello 2018 sitting on the same list at $420, there's simply no argument for going there.
Fontodi Flaccianello 2019 + Cappellacci with Pumpkin and Amaretto
Flaccianello is pure Sangiovese grown to its absolute ceiling — savory, iron-edged, with enough acid to cut through the richness of the pumpkin filling while the wine's dark fruit plays off the amaretto's bittersweet note. It's the kind of pairing that feels inevitable once you've had it.
Monday — Half-price wine night every Monday — one of the best reasons to eat out on a Monday in San Francisco. Same serious list, half the bottle price.
🔥 The Bottom Line
Acquerello is the real thing — a serious Italian wine program in a room that takes both the food and the bottle equally seriously. The markups will sting if you're not prepared, but Monday's half-price night is one of the best deals in San Francisco dining, full stop.
Nob Hill / Van Ness Corridor · San Francisco · American Steakhouse
House of Prime Rib is one of San Francisco's great dining institutions and the wine list knows its assignment — California Cabs to drink with California beef, no fuss. It won't thrill anyone looking for adventure, but it won't embarrass anyone either, and for a night built around tableside carving and Yorkshire pudding, that's probably enough.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Noe Valley · San Francisco · Sardinian Italian
La Ciccia is the rare neighborhood restaurant where the wine list is genuinely part of the experience, not an afterthought stapled to a food menu. If you care about Italian wine — especially anything off the beaten Tuscany-Piedmont path — you should be making reservations here.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Seasonal Rotation
Proper
SoMa · San Francisco · Steakhouse with Japanese influence
Alexander's is a serious wine destination dressed up as a steakhouse — the list is deep, the staff knows it, and the room supports it. Just go in eyes open: this is a splurge-or-go-home situation, and the markups reflect exactly where you are.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Embarcadero · San Francisco · Steakhouse, American
EPIC Steak is a reliable, well-executed steakhouse wine program that earns its stripes with real depth, a sommelier who cares, and a few smart curveballs buried in the list. The markups will sting, but if you know where to look — and now you do — there's genuinely good drinking to be had with that view.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Occasional
Proper
Embarcadero · San Francisco · Seafood, Coastal American
Waterbar is doing the work — a genuinely broad list with smart coastal instincts, fair happy hour pricing, and a dessert wine program that most full-service wine bars would envy. Send your friends here; just make sure they stay through dessert.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Occasional
Proper
Mission District · San Francisco · Californian-Mediterranean
Foreign Cinema is doing something most San Francisco restaurants aren't — pairing a genuinely thoughtful, terroir-driven wine list with an atmosphere that could've easily gotten away with phoning it in. The markups sting a bit, but the selection earns the trip.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
West Toledo / Reynolds Corner · Toledo · Italian
There's one reason to come here for wine: Thursday. Half-price bottles on a standing weekly basis is a genuinely good deal, especially on the Santa Margherita. Any other night, the markups are steep and the list doesn't justify them.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
West Toledo/Monroe Street · Toledo · Italian
Carrabba's Toledo isn't a destination for wine — but it's not an embarrassment either. The Ruffino Chianti Classico alone earns its keep, and if you stick to the Italian side of the list, you'll drink reasonably well without drama.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
La Jolla · Chula Vista · Italian
Marisi is a reliable Italian wine list with genuine ambition hiding behind a steep markup structure — the producers are right, the regions are right, but you'll pay for the privilege. Go for the Produttori Barbaresco and the Pre-Phylloxera Barbera, and you'll leave satisfied.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.