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 →
Take Vibe Match and we’ll tell you what to order here.
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.
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Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
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Seasonal Rotation
Proper
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Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
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Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
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Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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