Super Tuscans in an Atlantic City Institution
Midtown · Atlantic City · Upscale Italian · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed July 21, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Cafe 2825’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Cafe 2825 reads like someone raided an Italian trophy cabinet — Gaja, Sassicaia, Ornellaia, Tignanello all in one place, inside a reservations-only dining room on Atlantic Avenue. It's a genuinely surprising flex for a city better known for buffets and blackjack. The Italian backbone here is serious, even if the overall program has some real gaps.
About 115 labels deep, this list leans hard into Italian prestige with a particular love of Bolgheri and the Super Tuscans — Sassicaia, Ornellaia, and Antinori's Tignanello and Solaia are all present and accounted for. Piedmont gets proper respect too, with Gaja's Barbaresco and the single-vineyard Sori Tildin showing up alongside the Gaja 'Restituta' Brunello di Montalcino. California makes a cameo through Peter Michael 'La Carriere' from Knights Valley, and the Champagne shelf has Louis Roederer Cristal and Dom Perignon for the big-spender crowd. The gap is everywhere else — no Spain, no Germany, minimal France outside of bubbly, and by-the-glass options remain a mystery.
We couldn't pin down the full by-the-glass program from the available data, which is itself a yellow flag — a strong glass pour selection is usually front and center on a menu worth bragging about. If the pours mirror the bottle list, you'd hope to see something from Tuscany or Piedmont rotating through, but without confirmation we can't make that call. Come with a plan to buy a bottle.
Tignanello, Antinori, Tuscany — null
Pricing wasn't available, but Tignanello is the most accessible entry point into the Super Tuscan tier here — a Sangiovese-Cabernet blend that consistently overdelivers relative to the glamour names around it on this list. If you're splitting a bottle with the table and want something that punches above casual, this is your move.
Peter Michael 'La Carriere', Knights Valley, Sonoma
It sticks out on an otherwise Italy-dominant list, which means most tables at Cafe 2825 are going to skip right past it. That's a mistake. Peter Michael's Chardonnay from Knights Valley is one of California's most serious whites — restrained, mineral-driven, nothing like the butter-bomb Chardonnay reputation it might unfairly inherit by association.
Dom Perignon
Dom Perignon at a restaurant in Atlantic City is going to carry a markup that belongs in a Vegas high-roller room. You're paying for the bottle on the table moment, not the wine in your glass — Cristal is at least a more interesting conversation if you're going trophy bubbly, but even that's a steep ride.
Gaja Barbaresco, Piedmont + Cacio e pepe prepared in a cheese wheel
Barbaresco's high acidity and earthy complexity cut right through the fat and salt of a proper cacio e pepe. The tableside cheese wheel presentation deserves a bottle-level moment, and Gaja delivers exactly that — structure and elegance that match the drama of the dish.
The Bottom Line
Cafe 2825 is not a wine destination in the traditional sense, but it has no business having a list this good for Atlantic City — and that's exactly the point. If you're already coming for the tableside pasta experience, spend a little extra on a Super Tuscan and lean into it.
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Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
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Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Occasional
Acceptable
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Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
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Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Plays It Safe
Steep
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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Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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