The Chain That Actually Tries With Wine
Unknown · Charleston · Italian-American · Visit Website ↗
Updated July 2026
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · March 28, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Carrabba's Italian Grill’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
Walk in expecting a laminated two-pager and you get something a little more considered. The list runs 40-plus bottles with a clear Italian lean — Chianti, blends from Veneto, a nod or two to California — and the prices won't make you flinch. It's not exciting, but it's not embarrassing either.
California and Italy split the real estate pretty evenly, with New Zealand sneaking in via the obligatory Kim Crawford. The Italian side is the more interesting half — Banfi Chianti Classico Riserva, Ruffino Ducale, and the Allegrini Palazzo Della Torre are legitimately solid picks that punch above a chain's typical ambition. California fills the gaps with J. Lohr, Coppola Diamond, and the usual suspects. The Gaja Ca' Marcanda Promis at the top of the list is a genuine surprise — it's the one bottle here that makes you do a double-take and wonder how it ended up next to Dark Horse Cab.
Twelve to eighteen options by the glass, priced between $6.79 and $16.59, which is honest for this market. You're mostly choosing between Chloe Pinot Grigio, Kim Crawford, and Ecco Domani Merlot — competent, forgettable, and exactly what the table next to you is probably drinking. Rotation appears nonexistent; this list was set and left alone.
J. Lohr 'Seven Oaks' Cabernet Sauvignon — $27
Seven Oaks is a reliably well-made Paso Robles Cab that typically retails around $16-18. At $27 a bottle you're paying a fair markup and getting a wine that drinks well above its price point — dark fruit, soft tannins, no rough edges. Best bottle deal on the list.
Allegrini 'Palazzo Della Torre' Red Blend
Most tables will order the Chianti or drift toward a California Cab. Skip both and go here. This Veronese blend — Corvina-dominant with a ripasso-style treatment — brings dried cherry, tobacco, and a savory depth that the rest of the list can't match. It reads expensive and it isn't.
Dark Horse Cabernet Sauvignon
This is a $10 grocery store bottle. Whatever they're charging for it here, you're overpaying. It exists to fill a price point, not to impress anyone. Spend a few dollars more and land the J. Lohr instead.
Banfi Chianti Classico Riserva + Chicken Bryan
The sun-dried tomato and lemon butter sauce on the Chicken Bryan has enough acidity and richness to clash with a heavy red, but Chianti Classico Riserva's bright cherry fruit and food-friendly acid cut right through the butter and echo the tomato. It's the most Italian thing you can do at this table.
The Bottom Line
Carrabba's isn't a destination for wine, but it's not a disaster either — the Italian selections show some genuine care, the pricing is fair, and a couple of bottles here would hold up at a much fancier table. If you're eating here anyway, don't default to the Merlot; there's better on this list.
East End · Charleston · Italian
Polcari is doing more with wine than most Italian restaurants its size in this market, and the Italian-focused list is a genuine asset. Just know the markups are real, and you'll want to spend a minute with the list rather than defaulting to the first thing you recognize.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Kanawha · Charleston · Steakhouse
Regency Morton's wine list is exactly what the room promises: polished, predictable, and priced for special occasions rather than value seekers. Send a friend here if they want a reliable Cab with their steak — just tell them to skip the Caymus and not to expect any surprises.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Unknown · Charleston · Italian
Pallotta's isn't a wine destination, but it's a dependable neighborhood Italian that won't gouge you on glass pours and gives you enough options to drink reasonably well with dinner. Watch the bottle markups on anything mid-tier and you'll be fine.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Unknown · Charleston · Unknown
The Cellar Door is doing more than most restaurants in this market, and the Wednesday half-price bottle program alone is worth building a dinner around. It's not a destination wine list, but it's a reliable one — and that Filliatreau Chenin Blanc earns its spot on any serious short list.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
West Side · Charleston · American Fine Dining
High Thyme is the best wine list in the room by a wide margin — the room being Charleston, West Virginia, but still, credit where it's due. Come on a Monday, grab the En Route Pinot at half price, and order the duck.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
Unknown · Charleston · Wine Bar & Bistro
Chambers is doing something genuinely worthwhile for the Charleston, WV wine scene: a real list, real staff knowledge, and a clear point of view. It won't blow the doors off a seasoned wine traveler, but as a neighborhood wine bar, it's the kind of place you'd actually send a friend — especially if that friend would otherwise be drinking house Merlot out of a cavernous goblet somewhere else.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Ocean Casino Resort · Atlantic City · Italian-American
Superfrico is a reliable wine program in a setting designed to get you to spend money — and it mostly delivers without being a total shakedown. Send a friend here for a fun night, not a wine education.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Downtown / Broadway · Saratoga Springs · Italian-American
Come to Wheatfields for the house-made pasta — it earns its reputation. But the wine list is a lazy lineup of commercial brands at steep markups, and no one on staff is going to steer you toward anything interesting. Grab a glass of Prosecco during happy hour (50% off Monday through Friday, 3-7pm) and redirect your wine energy somewhere else in town.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Occasional
Acceptable
Broadway · Idaho Falls · Italian-American
This is the wine list equivalent of unlimited breadsticks — comforting, familiar, and not something you'd brag about to anyone. Come for the pasta, order a cocktail, or bring your own bottle if they'll let you.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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