Italian backbone with a few smart surprises
Downtown · Providence · Italian
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 10, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Bellini’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
The list reads like it was built by someone who actually likes Italian wine — not just someone who Googled 'Italian wine list template.' There's a clear regional backbone here, anchored in Tuscany and the north, with enough American and French selections to keep the table from mutinying. It's upscale without being pretentious, which is about right for downtown Providence.
Italy rightfully dominates — you've got Antinori's Tenuta Guado al Tasso Vermentino, Rocca delle Macie Chianti Classico, and the Cipriani Prosecco doing honest work across the list. The French presence is lean but deliberate: Gosset Grand Réserve and Château Peyrassol Commanderie show someone made real choices. The American contingent is more interesting than expected — Belle Pente Yamhill-Carlton Pinot Noir and Mathiasson Linda Vista Chardonnay are legitimately good producers that you don't often see on an Italian restaurant list. The gaps are in the south of Italy and anything remotely obscure — no Nerello, no Aglianico, no natural wine energy — but for what it is, this is a coherent list.
Twelve to sixteen pours is a generous program for a restaurant this size, and the spread across sparkling, white, rosé, and red is balanced. At $14 entry-level, you're not getting gouged on the low end — the Angeline Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon Prelius both sit there as honest house-tier options. The $32 ceiling with the Gosset gives the list some ambition without going full expense-account.
Vermentino Antinori 'Tenuta Guado al Tasso' 2020 — $20
Antinori's coastal Bolgheri estate makes some of the best Vermentino in Italy, and $20 a glass is a fair pour for a producer at this level. Bright, saline, and food-friendly — it belongs on this list and it's priced like they actually want you to order it.
Pinot Noir Belle Pente 'Yamhill-Carlton' Oregon 2017
Belle Pente is a small, serious Willamette Valley producer that most people at an Italian restaurant will walk right past in favor of the Chianti. Their Yamhill-Carlton Pinot has real depth and a few years of age on it — $18 a glass for a 2017 from this producer is genuinely good news.
Champagne Gosset 'Grand Réserve Brut' NV
Gosset is a great house and the wine is excellent — but $32 a glass is where the markup finally catches up. A bottle of Grand Réserve retails around $60-65, so you're paying full restaurant math here. Order a glass if someone else is paying, or ask if they have it by the bottle.
Chianti Classico Rocca delle Macie Toscana 2019 + Osso buco
Sangiovese and braised meat is not a revolutionary idea, but Rocca delle Macie's bright acidity cuts through the richness of the osso buco while the earthy cherry fruit mirrors the dish's depth. At $14 a glass, this is the easiest call on the menu.
The Bottom Line
Bellini isn't trying to be a wine destination, but it's doing the work — fair prices, a few genuinely interesting producers, and an Italian-forward list that earns its place on Westminster Street. Send a friend here for dinner and tell them to order the Vermentino.
· Providence · Restaurant
Mare Rooftop is a great place to watch the sunset with a cold glass of Whispering Angel — and that's about the ceiling of its wine ambition. If you're here for the view and the vibe, lean into it; if you showed up hoping for a thoughtful wine experience, you're in the wrong place.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Providence · Italian (modern trattoria)
Sarto's wine list is a credible, Italy-focused program that earns its place in a serious Italian kitchen — just go in knowing the markups lean steep and the list doesn't reward wandering outside the boot. Order the Vermentino, eat the pasta, and you'll leave happy.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Federal Hill · Providence · Italian-American
Joe Marzilli's Old Canteen is a Providence legend for its food and its history, not its wine list — which reads like something assembled in 1994 and never reconsidered. Come for the veal cutlet and the nostalgia, but don't let the wine list talk you into spending $48 on a Kendall-Jackson.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
East Side · Providence · American Brasserie (French-Influenced)
Red Stripe isn't a wine destination, but it's not pretending to be one either. Fair prices on recognizable bottles in a lively room that actually makes you want to stay for another glass — that's a respectable thing to get right.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Providence · Providence · Upscale American Steakhouse with Seafood
The Capital Grille Providence is a well-oiled machine with a wine program that earns more respect than most chains deserve — the depth is real, the staff knows the list, and the Generous Pour event is a legit reason to show up. The markups are steep and the soul is corporate, but if someone else is expensing dinner, you could do a lot worse.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Seasonal Rotation
Proper
Downtown Providence · Providence · Seafood
Hemenway's is the rare seafood institution that earns its reputation on the wine side too — the sommelier presence is real, the French whites are well-chosen, and the list is built with actual intention. The markups are real and the BTG program could use more energy, but if you're eating raw bar in Providence, you could do a lot worse than starting with a glass of Fèvre Chablis here.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
· Atlanta · Italian
Bici's wine list won't knock you sideways, but it's honest, Italian-focused, and fairly priced — a reliable partner to the food. We'd send a friend here and tell them to skip the Sauvignon Blanc and go straight for the Greco.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
East Parkway / Elks Plaza · Gatlinburg · Italian
The Best Italian's wine list does exactly what it needs to do: keep casual diners happy, not drain wallets, and get out of the way of the garlic knots. We wouldn't drive to Gatlinburg for the wine, but if you're already there and want something decent with dinner, you'll be fine.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Vail Village · Vail · Italian
La Nonna brings a legitimately serious Italian cellar to a town where most restaurants are content to coast on their ski-town captive audience — and that deserves real credit. The markups are steep across the board, but the bones of the list are strong enough that the right bottle makes the whole evening.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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