Aiona

The wine list at Aiona doesn't play it safe just because the kitchen is Italian. You open it expecting a wall of Chianti and Barolo and instead find Greek Agiorgitiko, South African blends, and Loire Chenin Blanc sharing space with Piemontese sparklers. It's a confident move, and it mostly lands.

Seventy-five labels is serious business for a restaurant of this size, and the range here skews international in the best way. Italy still anchors the list — Paolo Scavino's Sorriso, Andreola's Dirupo Prosecco, and Torre a Cona's Crociferro give you solid Old World footing — but the curators clearly wanted more. Galician Albariño from Lagar de Fornelos, Santorini Assyrtiko from Estate Argyros, and Gros Ventre Chenin Blanc from California's Central Coast round out a white wine section that refuses to be boring. On the red side, Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir and Stonestreet Cabernet represent Northern California with some authority, while La Rioja Alta's Viña Alberdi Crianza and La Cabotte Colline from the Rhône keep the Old World honest. The bottle ceiling climbs to $2,100, with serious California sparklers like Roederer Estate l'Ermitage and Domaine Carneros Le Rêve sitting at the high end — not cheap, but justified.

Eighteen pours by the glass is genuinely impressive, and the range mirrors the ambition of the full list rather than dumbing it down. You can sip Veuve Fourny Grands Terroirs Champagne at $28, which is steep per glass but fair for what's in the bottle, or grab the Andis Wines Harvest Widow at $14 if you want something local and low-stakes. The glass selection rotates across sparkling, rosé, white, and red categories with enough variety that a table of four could each go somewhere completely different and all be happy.