Upper East Side's Italian Wine Fortress
Upper East Side · New York · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 8, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Bella Blu’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Bella Blu hits like a greatest-hits album of Italian and California wine — Gaja, Biondi-Santi, Sassicaia, Kistler all in one place, and it's not even trying to show off. This is a list built by someone who actually cares, not a hotel beverage manager padding margins. Wine Spectator handed them a Best of Award of Excellence in 2025, and walking through these pages, you understand why.
Three to four hundred bottles anchored in the two regions that matter most here: Italy and California. On the Italian side, the Barolo section alone is worth the visit — Giacomo Conterno, Bruno Giacosa, and Gaja sitting side by side, plus Brunello representation from Biondi-Santi and Poggio di Sotto for when you want to spend the evening in Montalcino without leaving Lexington Avenue. Super Tuscans get their own real estate too: Sassicaia, Ornellaia, and Tignanello are all present, which is the Italian trifecta most lists only partially pull off. California holds its own with Ridge, Stag's Leap, and Kistler rounding out a program that clearly has a point of view.
Twenty to thirty options by the glass puts Bella Blu well above average for the Upper East Side, where most Italian spots phone it in with six Pinot Grigios and a house Chianti. Prices run $12–$25 a glass, which is honest for this zip code. We'd love to see more rotation to keep regulars guessing, but the core selection is genuinely good.
Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon — $45–$65 (bottle estimate)
Ridge consistently punches above its price tier in California Cab, and in a list that leans toward Sassicaia-level spending, it's your anchor to sanity — serious wine without the serious damage.
Poggio di Sotto Brunello di Montalcino
Most tables here reach for the Biondi-Santi name recognition, which means Poggio di Sotto — one of Montalcino's most precise, age-worthy producers — often gets overlooked. Don't be that table.
Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon
Caymus is fine wine, but it's also on every list in every city at a price point that reflects its marketing budget more than its terroir. With Dal Forno Romano and Giacomo Conterno on the same list, this is the safe choice for people who aren't really looking.
Allegrini Amarone della Valpolicella + Caesar Salad followed by Pizza
Hear us out — Amarone's dried-fruit intensity and earthy depth play surprisingly well against a table that starts with the richness of a proper Caesar and moves into the char and salt of their pizza. It's a big wine for a meal that earns it.
The Bottom Line
Bella Blu is one of the better Italian wine lists in a city with no shortage of competition — sommelier Giuseppe Di Benedetto has assembled something that rewards serious exploration. Markups aren't shy, but the depth and the care behind this program make it worth opening your wallet a little wider than usual.
NoHo · New York · Italian
Il Buco has one of the most compelling Italian wine lists in New York City — deep, principled, and staffed by people who actually care. The markup is real, so budget accordingly, but this is a room worth splurging in.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Downtown · New York · Steakhouse
STK Downtown is a place where people order Champagne to celebrate, not to drink — and the wine program is built accordingly. If you're here for the vibe and someone else is paying, pop the Dom and enjoy it; if you actually care about what's in your glass, you're in the wrong room.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Midtown · New York · Upscale Seafood & Steakhouse
Three happy hour wines do not a wine program make. Ocean Prime is a place you eat well and drink safely — but if wine is a priority, this list will let you down before the bread basket arrives.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Occasional
Acceptable
Midtown · New York · Steakhouse
STK Midtown is a great place to see and be seen, but the wine list is there to pad the check, not to excite you. If you're here for the experience, lean on the cocktails or grab a glass of Bonanza at the bar — don't expect the bottle list to reward any real curiosity.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Midtown West · New York · Russian-American
The Russian Tea Room treats wine as an afterthought dressed up in Champagne flutes — five famous labels at punishing prices with no range, no by-the-glass program, and no apparent curiosity about wine beyond what looks impressive on a table. Go for the spectacle, order the caviar, but don't come here expecting a wine list.
Grocery Store
Gouge
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· New York · Restaurant
David Burke Tavern's list is a Chardonnay lover's comfort zone with a solid sparkling section propping up the top — but the narrow focus and steep pricing mean you're paying for familiarity, not discovery. Send a friend here if they want California whites and a glass of Champagne; send them somewhere else if they want to explore.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Healdsburg · Italian
Ciao Bruto is running one of the smallest and most coherent wine lists in wine country, which is either audacious or brilliant — probably both. If you want a 200-label deep-dive, go somewhere else. If you want eight smart picks at prices that won't make you wince, this is the move in Healdsburg.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Geyserville · Healdsburg · Italian
Diavola earns its Wild Card badge because it's a wood-fired pizza joint that punches well above its weight on wine — sommelier on staff, regional focus, and a setting that practically demands you order a second glass. We can't give you the bottle-by-bottle breakdown until we get eyes on a current list, but the bones here are good enough to say: don't just order a beer and move on.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
· Healdsburg · Italian
Ca'Bianca is a genuinely lovely place to eat, and if the food lives up to its reputation for house-made pasta and classic Italian technique, a bottle of something from the list is absolutely worth ordering. We just can't tell you exactly which bottle to order yet — the wine program's specifics aren't publicly documented well enough for us to make a confident call. When in doubt, ask your server what's local and what they're excited about, and go from there.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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
