Italy Done Right, From Piedmont to Sicily
East Larchmont Village · Los Angeles · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 7, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Antico Nuovo’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Antico Nuovo lands with the same intention as the room itself — considered, rooted, and not trying too hard. You flip through 200-plus bottles and immediately clock that someone who actually knows Italian wine built this list. It's not a Greatest Hits of Pinot Grigio and Chianti; it's a love letter to the regions that matter.
Piedmont and Sicily anchor the list with serious depth — we're talking Barolo and Barbaresco from Giacomo Conterno and Gaja sitting alongside Etna Rosso and Nero d'Avola from Arianna Occhipinti and Cos. That's not an accident; that's a sommelier with a point of view. Brunello di Montalcino adds Tuscan gravity, while France shows up through Burgundy and the Rhône to round things out without overreaching. The gaps are few: if you're hunting New World or anything outside the Italian-French axis, you're at the wrong restaurant — and honestly, that's fine.
Twenty to thirty by-the-glass options is generous for a restaurant of this size, and the price range of $14–$22 is reasonable for Los Angeles. With Haley James running the wine program, the glass pours reflect the same regional intelligence as the bottle list — expect Sicilian and Piedmontese options that you won't find at your average neighborhood Italian spot.
Arianna Occhipinti Nero d'Avola (Sicily) — $14-$22 by the glass
Occhipinti's natural-leaning Sicilian reds punch well above their price point — earthy, structured, and genuinely interesting. Getting this by the glass at Antico Nuovo's price range is a win.
Cos (Sicily)
Cos is one of Sicily's benchmark producers — amphora-aged, low-intervention, historically significant — and most tables will walk right past it to grab the Barolo. Don't. It's the kind of bottle that changes how you think about the island.
Gaja Barbaresco
Gaja makes extraordinary wine. It also carries extraordinary restaurant markup. At the top of the bottle price range here, you can drink exceptionally well elsewhere on this list without paying the Gaja premium. Save the Gaja for a special occasion — or buy it retail.
Giacomo Conterno Barolo + Wood-fired meats from the hand-cranked rotisserie
Conterno Barolo is built for exactly this: smoke, char, and serious protein. The wine's structure and tar-and-roses character cuts through rich rotisserie meat in a way that makes both the food and the wine taste like they were waiting for each other.
The Bottom Line
Antico Nuovo's wine list earns its Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence — this is one of the better Italian-focused programs in Los Angeles, run by someone who clearly cares. Send a friend here for wine without hesitation.
· Los Angeles · California small plates
If this four-wine snapshot is the full extent of AOC's current public-facing wine program, it doesn't come close to living up to the restaurant's wine bar billing. The pricing is fair and the Vinho Verde earns its spot, but four uniform options with no dish context and no visible deeper list is not what you go to a place called AOC expecting. Come for the reputation — just hope the full list is hiding somewhere.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Beverly Hills · Los Angeles · Italian Seafood
Marea Beverly Hills brings genuine depth and regional curiosity to a wine list that could have easily coasted on crowd-pleasing Pinot Grigio and overpriced Super Tuscans — and it didn't. The markups are high, as expected for this zip code, and without clearer intel on staff knowledge or specials programming, the full experience is harder to guarantee. But the list itself earns serious respect, and if you navigate it well — start with the Strasserhof, finish with the Rossese — you'll drink far better than most tables around you.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Proper
Beverly Hills · Los Angeles · Prime rib and steakhouse
Lawry's is a Los Angeles institution and the prime rib is genuinely the point — the wine list exists to support that experience, not steal the show. If you hit the weekday happy hour window between 5 and 6 PM, you might find the value equation improves considerably. Come for the beef, enjoy whatever Cab they pour, and don't expect the list to surprise you.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Occasional
Acceptable
West Hollywood · Los Angeles · Italian and French Café
Bottega Louie West Hollywood is a solid, reliable choice when you want wine that doesn't distract from the occasion — the room, the company, the cannoli. The Sunday half-price glass program is the single most compelling reason to choose this spot specifically for wine, and we'd encourage you to use it. Just don't expect the list to surprise you; this is a place that knows its audience and plays to them without apology.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Occasional
Acceptable
West Adams · Los Angeles · Italian pasta
Cento is a destination for the pasta first, and the wine list seems to know its supporting role without phoning it in. We'd want a verified menu in hand before steering you toward specific bottles, but the regional focus and the evident care in the room give us real confidence this isn't a place that treats wine as an afterthought. Go for the spicy pomodoro, ask what's pouring by the glass, and let the night unfold.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Los Angeles · French tasting menu
Mélisse is a destination for Champagne completists willing to pay fine dining prices for the privilege of choosing between four Philipponnat vintages or three Krug editions in a single sitting. But if you're hoping for a wine list that matches the ambition of a French tasting menu — with depth across regions and styles — the narrowness here will leave you wanting. Come for the bubbles, manage your expectations for everything else.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
· West Palm Beach · Italian
Sant Ambroeus Palm Beach is a reliable, if unambitious, wine experience — Italy and France, done cleanly, priced for Royal Poinciana Way. If you're here for the scene, the truffle pizza, and a glass of something Italian and uncomplicated, it delivers. Just don't come looking for value or discovery.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Newark · Italian
Five Corners has stocked four respectable Italian reds and essentially stopped there. Without pricing, pour options, or a list that can accommodate the full table, it's hard to call this a wine program — it's more like a wine shelf. Come for the Italian cooking; manage your expectations on the wine side.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Decatur · Decatur · Italian
Sotto Sotto is a genuinely Italian wine list in a city that usually settles for Italian-American approximations — the Timorasso, the Lambrusco di Sorbara, the Franciacorta all signal real intent. The glass program is accessible, markups are reasonable, and the bubbles section alone justifies a visit. If you want depth across all of Italy, you'll hit the edges fast at 68 labels, but what's here is well-chosen. Send a friend who likes to drink something they've never heard of.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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