House Sangria Is The Whole Story
· Anaheim · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · October 15, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Carolina's Italian Restaurant’s wine list and gave it The Lazy List — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Carolina's Italian Restaurant is less a list and more a single sentence. Four entries, one pour option, and most of them are just volume discounts on the same house sangria.
There's no real selection to dive into here. The entire wine program consists of a $5 glass deal and three iterations of house sangria priced by bottle count — one bottle at $12, two for $20, three for $25. That's it. No varietal wines, no regions, no Italian bottles to match the cuisine, nothing that suggests anyone thought about wine beyond having something to sell alongside a pasta dish.
One glass option: a $5 wine deal. What wine? Unknown. It's priced to move, not to impress. If you're budgeting, it does the job, but don't expect anything interesting in your glass.
The Bottom Line
This is not a wine destination. Carolina's Italian clearly leads with food and treats wine as an afterthought — there's no Italian bottle, no varietal diversity, and no sign anyone consulted a wine list when building this program. If you want sangria at a low price point, you're covered. If you want wine with your Italian dinner, bring your own or drink water.
· Anaheim · Hawaiian Fusion
Roy's Anaheim brings a legitimately solid wine list to a tourist-adjacent market that usually settles for far less effort. The markup structure leans steep — especially on recognizable Champagne labels — but the depth of by-the-glass options and the presence of producers like Raats and Leeuwin Estate show a program with real taste. If you're in Anaheim and you want a glass of something worth drinking, this is where you go.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Anaheim · Italian / Pizza
Marri's punches above its weight for a pizza spot — the Italian selections are genuine, the prices are honest, and the list doesn't insult you. We'd send a friend here without hesitation, especially if they order the Valpolicella.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Anaheim · Seafood / Steak
McCormick & Schmick's Anaheim won't impress anyone who thinks about wine for more than thirty seconds, but the prices are fair and the Wairau River is a legit pour. Order the Sauvignon Blanc, eat your seafood, and don't overthink it.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Anaheim · Southern / American
House of Blues Anaheim does a lot of things — live music, big crowds, Southern comfort food — and wine is clearly not one of them. Order the cocktail, enjoy the show, and save your serious bottle for somewhere that actually cares.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Anaheim · Wine Bistro / Californian
California Vintage is a genuinely fun concept — all-BTG everything, a solid California-forward list, and a format built for grazing and experimenting. Just watch the markups: the top half of this list gets expensive fast, and the value is almost entirely at the entry level.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Anaheim · Anaheim · Wine bar / small plates
Colony Wine Merchant is the Wild Card Anaheim didn't know it needed — a thoughtful, fairly priced list with genuine international reach tucked into a city better known for theme parks. If you're in the area and want a real glass of wine, this is the move.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Kahala · Honolulu · Italian
Arancino at The Kahala is doing something genuinely unusual for a hotel-adjacent Italian restaurant in Hawaii — it's built a list around obscure Northern Italian producers that most diners won't recognize, and that's exactly the point. Markups are on the steeper side and we can't vouch for glassware or staff knowledge from the available data, but the wine selection itself earns respect. If you know your Nebbiolo from your Barbera, this list rewards attention.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Overland Park · Italian
Brio Overland Park's wine list is a functional, crowd-pleasing program that won't offend anyone and won't excite anyone either. If you're here for a work dinner or a low-stakes birthday, you'll find something drinkable — just go in with measured expectations and maybe steer toward the Italian bottles before defaulting to the California heavyweights.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · New Haven · Italian
Villa Lulu is a genuinely appealing Italian restaurant with food worth showing up for — Branzino Puttanesca and Squid Ink Linguini are the kind of dishes that deserve a decent Sicilian white alongside them. The wine program has the right regional bones, but until they put a real list online, we're recommending the restaurant with a side of cautious optimism on the wine. Ask your server what's on by the glass, and keep an eye out for that half-price wine promotion if it's still running — unconfirmed, but worth asking about.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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