Waikiki hides a surprisingly serious wine list
Waikiki · Honolulu · Italian Pizza / Wine Bar · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · August 18, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Appetito Craft Pizza & Wine Bar’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Take Vibe Match and we’ll tell you what to order here.
Wingman Metrics
A craft pizza spot in Waikiki with 63 labels and 16 by-the-glass options is not what you expect to find between souvenir shops and resort buffets. The list opens with a legitimate sparkling section — Billecart-Salmon Rosé sitting next to a Naveran Cava — which immediately signals someone actually thought about this. It's not a destination wine program, but it's well above the tourist-trap baseline.
The list leans Italian where it counts — Antinori's Bramito Chardonnay, a Banfi Chianti Classico, and the Pian Della Vigne Brunello di Montalcino anchor the program with some real credibility. Outside of Italy, things get more mainstream: Elouan Pinot Noir, Bonanza Cab, and Sea Sun Chardonnay are solid enough crowd-pleasers but won't surprise anyone. The Aniello Pinot Blanco and Contrade Negroamaro are the two picks that show genuine range — southern Italian varieties that most pizza joints wouldn't bother with. The bottle list tops out at $499, suggesting at least one or two serious bottles tucked in, though the Brunello at the glass level already sets the ceiling high.
Sixteen pours is a strong by-the-glass count for a pizza spot, and the pricing runs $13–$20 — reasonable for Honolulu, where everything costs more. The Pian Della Vigne Montalcino at $20/glass is the standout: that's a legitimate Brunello producer and a pour that earns its price. The sparkling options — Cava, Prosecco, and a Brut Rosé — make the by-the-glass section especially useful for anyone who wants to open with bubbles and pivot to red.
Antinori Bramito Chardonnay — $18/glass
Bramito is the entry point to the Antinori Cervaro ecosystem — a serious Umbrian Chardonnay with oak handled right. At $18 a glass in Waikiki, where a mediocre hotel Chardonnay costs the same, this is the obvious move.
Aniello Pinot Blanco
Most people at a pizza spot are reaching for the Pinot Grigio or the Prosecco. The Pinot Blanco at $17 is the smarter pick — more texture, more personality, and it's the kind of wine that makes you feel like you discovered something. You basically did.
Bonanza Cabernet
At $18/glass, Bonanza is a budget-tier Caymus side project that retails for around $20 a bottle. You're paying a steep per-glass premium for a wine designed to be a cheap weeknight cab. Go literally anywhere else on this list.
Banfi Chianti Classico + Margherita pizza
Sangiovese and tomato sauce are a textbook Italian match — the acidity cuts through the cheese, the earthy fruit echoes the basil. Banfi's Chianti Classico is reliably built for exactly this situation, and at $16 a glass it doesn't require a second thought.
The Bottom Line
Appetito is the Wild Card of Waikiki — a pizza and wine bar that quietly punches above its tourist-strip surroundings with fair pricing, a Brunello on the glass list, and enough Italian depth to make the wine worth ordering. Send a friend here and tell them to skip the Bonanza.
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Kaimukī Storeroom is doing the bare minimum in quantity and the maximum in quality — three bottles, all bangers, prices that won't make you do sad math on your phone. If you're a natural wine person stuck in Honolulu wondering why every list is the same, come here first.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Fête is quietly running one of the most interesting wine programs in the state of Hawaii, and most people eating there probably have no idea. If you care at all about what's in your glass, this is worth the trip.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Pai's wine list won't impress anyone counting bottles, but it will surprise anyone counting countries — seven wines, six regions, zero filler. If you trust the kitchen's tasting menu, trust whatever pairing the list is built around.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Honolulu · Honolulu · Wine Bar / New American Small Plates
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Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Proper
Waikīkī · Honolulu · Modern Steakhouse
StripSteak Waikīkī pulls off something genuinely rare: a hotel steakhouse wine program worth paying attention to, built almost entirely around an extraordinary by-the-glass selection. The prices reflect the zip code, but if you're eating steak in Waikīkī anyway, this is the room to do it in.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Merriman's Honolulu delivers a wine list that punches above the typical Hawaii resort-area offering — genuinely good producers, a clever small-format section, and enough variety to reward a curious drinker. The pricing skews steep and the list won't surprise anyone, but you won't be embarrassed ordering here either.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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