Fort Wayne's Most Serious Italian Wine Room
Fort Wayne · American, Italian · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 14, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Amoré Italian Steak & Seafood’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
Walking into Amoré, the wine list feels like it means business — 150-plus bottles anchored by Italian heavyweights and California classics, which is exactly what you'd want from a candlelit Italian-American steakhouse on Pearl Street. This is not a restaurant that threw a wine list together; there's a sommelier on staff and a fresh Wine Spectator Award of Excellence to prove it. For Fort Wayne, that's genuinely impressive.
The list leans hard into its two strengths — Italy and California — and doesn't apologize for it. On the Italian side, you're looking at Antinori Tignanello, Gaja Barbaresco, Marchesi di Barolo Barolo, Masi Amarone della Valpolicella, and Banfi Brunello di Montalcino: a who's-who of the peninsula's greatest hits. California holds its own with Caymus Cab, Far Niente Chardonnay, and Stag's Leap Wine Cellars in the lineup. The gaps show up outside those two lanes — if you're hunting Burgundy, Rhône, or anything from the Southern Hemisphere, you're mostly out of luck. But for the cuisine being served, the focus is defensible and well-executed.
With 12 to 20 pours on offer, the by-the-glass program is more generous than most spots at this price point. We'd expect the Italian reds to dominate the pour list, which is the right call when veal osso buco and beef carpaccio are on the menu. Rotation details are thin, but with a sommelier steering the ship, there's reason to think the glass list gets thoughtful attention.
Marchesi di Barolo Barolo — $65
Barolo from a solid, well-distributed producer at a steakhouse in Indiana is not something you take for granted. If it's priced anywhere near the lower end of the bottle range, it's the move — especially alongside the filet or osso buco.
Masi Amarone della Valpolicella
Most tables here will gravitate toward the Caymus or Tignanello, which means the Masi Amarone gets overlooked. That's a mistake. Amarone's dried-grape intensity and long finish make it one of the most compelling wines on a list like this, and it's still underordered at American restaurants relative to how good it is.
Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon
Caymus is everywhere, and it's marked up everywhere. You're almost certainly paying a significant premium for a bottle you can find at any wine shop. With Stag's Leap and actual Italian reds on the same list, there's no reason to default to the familiar label.
Antinori Tignanello + Veal Osso Buco
Tignanello's Sangiovese-Cabernet blend has the structure to stand up to braised veal shank and the earthy, savory complexity to echo the dish's depth. This is the pairing that justifies ordering a nicer bottle.
The Bottom Line
Amoré is the best wine list in Fort Wayne by a comfortable margin, and the Italian selection alone earns a visit from anyone who takes the stuff seriously. Markups run steep, so budget accordingly — but the bones are here for a genuinely great wine dinner.
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Crowd Pleasers
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
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Acceptable
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Deep & Eclectic
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Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
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Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
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Grocery Store
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Rotating Cast
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Acceptable
Austin · Austin · American, Italian
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Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Active Program
Proper
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Crowd Pleasers
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Steep
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Acceptable
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