Atlanta's Most Serious Wine List, Full Stop
Sandy Springs · Tasting Menu · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · September 30, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Bacchanalia’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The beverage journal lands with the kind of intentionality that most Atlanta restaurants don't bother with — 68 labels curated with a point of view, not just a distributor's recommendation sheet. Sparkling, white, rosé, and red by-the-glass sections each read like someone actually thought about what belongs there. This is a list built for a tasting menu context, and it shows.
Bacchanalia's list skews global and curious in the best way — you've got Carl Loewen's Herrenberg Kabinett Riesling from the Mosel sitting next to Peay Vineyards' coastal Sonoma Chardonnay, and Clos Cibonne's Tibouren rosé from Provence sharing space with Pieropan's La Rocca Garganega from Soave. The bottle list runs from $42 to $930, which is a serious ceiling but also signals a real cellar program underneath. The inclusion of both alcohol-free options — Prima Pave Blanc de Blancs and Oddbird GSM — reflects genuine hospitality thinking, not an afterthought. Gaps are hard to find when the list is this deliberate.
Thirty-five by-the-glass options is an extraordinary number for any format, let alone a tasting menu restaurant — most places in this tier push the pairing program and leave BTG as a short afterthought. Here, the glass list is essentially its own program: you can open with Etienne Calsac Extra Brut at $32/glass or Raventos i Blanc Blanc de Blancs at $20/glass, work through the whites, and land on Luigi Giordana Cavanna Nebbiolo at $30/glass without ever touching the bottle list. That kind of flexibility at a tasting menu format is rare and worth noting.
The Bottom Line
Bacchanalia's wine program is doing something genuinely difficult: running a 35-option by-the-glass list with real range and intention inside a tasting menu format, priced at levels that don't feel punitive. The $20 Raventos and the $24 Carl Loewen Riesling are the kind of pours that make you trust the people who built this list. If you're eating in Atlanta and care about what's in your glass, this is the room.
Sandy Springs · Sandy Springs · Italian
Cibo e Beve has a functional, crowd-pleasing wine list that serves its room well — but the markup on some bottles is hard to ignore, and the depth of Italian regionality you'd hope for at an Italian restaurant just isn't there. Grab the Gavi or the Verdicchio by the glass and call it a solid night.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Sandy Springs · Sandy Springs · New American
Local 3 is doing something genuinely unusual for a neighborhood New American in Sandy Springs: building a white wine program with range and intellectual honesty, priced fairly enough that you will not feel punished for exploring it. If you are remotely curious about wine, this list rewards you. Send your friends here and tell them to order by the glass.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Sandy Springs · Sandy Springs · Contemporary American
Atlas runs one of the most ambitious by-the-glass programs in the Atlanta metro — 48 options with genuine depth, from grower Champagne to Sicilian Nerello to serious Burgundy. The markup is real and the pricing at the top end gets aggressive, but there are legitimate values buried in the list for anyone willing to look past the Dom Pérignon. If you care about wine and find yourself in Sandy Springs, this is where you go.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Sandy Springs · Sandy Springs · Steakhouse and Wine Bar
Fleming's Sandy Springs does exactly what a national steakhouse wine program should do — broad coverage, fair markups, and enough by-the-glass options that no one at the table is stuck. It's not a destination list, but the Pascal Jolivet Sancerre at $18/glass and the Abadía de San Campio Albariño at $15 are genuine finds. Send a friend here if they want reliable and well-poured; don't send them if they're hunting for discovery.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Sandy Springs · Steakhouse
Kevin Rathbun Steak's by-the-glass program is a legitimate effort in a category — steakhouses — where most restaurants phone it in. The pricing skews steep at the top end and there's no evidence of active wine events or rotation keeping things fresh, but the range is real and a few picks like the Long-Depaquit Chablis and Lachini Pinot Noir punch above their weight. Come for the steak, but don't just default to the house Cab — there's more here if you look.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Sandy Springs · Steakhouse
Kaiser's Chop House has a wine list that won't embarrass the restaurant, but it won't excite anyone either. If you're sticking to what you know — Duckhorn Chardonnay, a big California Cab — you'll be comfortable here. For the curious diner, the Brittan Basalt Block Pinot and the Naveran Cava are worth hunting down. Just don't expect the list to surprise you.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Carlsbad · San Diego · Tasting Menu
Lilo is the kind of place that earns a Wild Card badge not because it's rough around the edges, but because nobody expects to find this level of polish — Michelin star included — in Carlsbad. The France-and-Champagne wine focus is a smart, committed match for the seafood tasting menu, and the intimate counter format means you're likely getting attentive, knowledgeable service on the wine side. We'd recommend calling ahead if you want to explore outside the pairing format, but if you're going for the full experience, lean into the Champagne and don't look back.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Buford Highway Corridor (Chamblee) · Atlanta · Tasting Menu
The Alden pairs a $175 seven-course tasting menu with a $95 wine journey through Slovenia, Portugal, the Loire, and beyond. Michelin-recommended and unlike anything else on the Buford Highway corridor.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Seasonal Rotation
Proper
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
List Variety
Markup
Glassware
Staff
Specials & Deals
Storage & Temp
