Supper Club Swagger With Italian Wine Backbone
Midtown Manhattan · New York · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Updated June 2026
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 19, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Chazz Palminteri’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Chazz Palminteri arrives looking exactly like the room feels — ambitious, Italian-American, and a little bit Hollywood. Italy dominates, as it should, with names like Gaja and Biondi-Santi lending the list some serious credibility. This is a list built to impress a client dinner or a date who orders by the label.
Italy is the clear anchor here, with Barolo headlined by Gaja and Giacomo Conterno, Brunello represented by Biondi-Santi and Banfi, and Super Tuscans like Sassicaia and Tignanello doing their crowd-pleasing thing. The Chianti Classico Riserva selections fill in the mid-range nicely, which is where most tables should actually be drinking. California shows up with Stag's Leap and Jordan Cabernet, and there's a Burgundy Pinot Noir contingent that suggests someone put real thought into the French corner. The list runs 150-250 bottles — wide enough to have something for everyone, not deep enough to get lost in.
Twelve to eighteen options by the glass is a respectable spread for a Midtown Italian-American dining room, and the $12-$18 price range is honest for this zip code. We'd like to see more rotation and adventure in the glass program — right now it reads like a greatest-hits reel rather than a list with genuine curiosity. Still, you can find a solid pour here without committing to a bottle.
Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon — $45
Jordan is a reliable, crowd-friendly Napa Cab that often gets marked up mercilessly in Midtown. At the lower end of this list's price range, it's the move if you want California without the sticker shock of the bigger names.
Chianti Classico Riserva
Most tables here are reaching for the Sassicaia or the Brunello, which means the Chianti Classico Riserva selections get overlooked. These are food-first wines built for exactly the kind of bold, saucy Italian-American cooking on this menu — and they clock in well below the headline bottles.
Sassicaia
Sassicaia is a great wine. It's also one of the most recognizable labels in Italy, which means it gets marked up everywhere it appears. In a Midtown dining room catering to expense accounts, you can bet the margin here is punishing. Drink it at home where you paid retail.
Giacomo Conterno Barolo + Veal Chop
A proper Barolo from Giacomo Conterno — all tar, dried roses, and firm tannin — needs something substantial to stand up to it. The veal chop has the weight and the savory depth to meet it halfway, and together they do exactly what Italian food and Italian wine are supposed to do.
The Bottom Line
Chazz Palminteri is a reliable Italian wine destination for Midtown — not groundbreaking, but earnest enough to earn its Wine Spectator credential. Come for the Barolo and the veal chop, skip the trophy bottles, and leave before the markup on the Super Tuscans starts to sting.
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.
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