Supper Club Swagger With Italian Wine Backbone
Midtown Manhattan · New York · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Updated November 2026
Reviewed April 19, 2026 · How we review
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.
Midtown · New York · French Brasserie
La Grande Boucherie earns its place as a reliable stop for wine in Midtown, especially if you're leaning French. The glass list is genuinely wide and has some smart picks buried in it — the Fleurie and the Wiemer Riesling both punch above their price points. Markups trend steep as you climb the bottle list, so your money works hardest in the by-the-glass section. If you're here for the brasserie experience, the wine program holds up its end of the deal.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· New York · Steakhouse
BLT Prime's wine program is glass-only, which limits your options if you came for a big bottle moment, but the pricing is honest and the selection is more thoughtful than most steakhouses bother with. If you're keeping it casual and ordering by the glass, you can drink well here without feeling taken advantage of — and that's not nothing in this city.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· New York · Restaurant
The Palm Midtown is not where you'd expect to find Puzelat and Ruth Lewandowski sitting next to each other on a wine list — which is exactly what makes it worth a second look. Six bottles is a short menu, but all six are defensible picks at prices that don't insult you. If you're in the mood to trust the list and not overthink it, this works.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Murray Hill · New York · Classic American Steakhouse
Wolfgang's is a reliable steakhouse wine experience in the sense that you know exactly what you're getting: a list built around the bottle you already know, priced for the room you're sitting in. If you're here to close a deal over a Porterhouse for Two, the wine list will do its job without embarrassing anyone — but it's not going to surprise you, and it's almost certainly going to cost more than it should. Go in with eyes open and a strong second-choice red in mind.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· New York · Mediterranean
Zaytinya's wine list is a rare thing in New York: a focused, regionally coherent program that commits hard to Greek and Eastern Mediterranean varieties without making you feel like you need a flashcard to order. The by-the-glass selection alone — 18 options, all under $18, featuring producers most wine lists wouldn't touch — makes this worth visiting even before the food arrives. If you eat here and order a Cabernet, that's on you.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
SoHo · New York · Italian
A long bottle list with Italian, Burgundy and Champagne sections, fronted by a 22-wine glass page. For a glass, try the Skerk Orange Wine from Friuli at 25/95, and for a bottle on a lighter budget, the Volpaia Vermentino at 60; upstairs in the café, the labeled list pours Palistorti di Valgiano's orange Tuscan blend at Glass $22. Confirm prices before you order, because the site's Upstairs Café dinner menu and the beverage PDF do not match. This unrated guide covers the posted wine lists, not service, storage or markups.
· Dacula · Italian
Antonetas isn't a wine destination, and it isn't trying to be — it's a family-friendly neighborhood Italian with a wine list that covers the basics and stays out of the way. If you're after a solid glass of something red with your Lasagna in a no-fuss setting, you won't be disappointed. Just don't show up expecting to geek out over the list.
Plays It Safe
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Alpharetta · Italian
Crust is a solid neighborhood Italian spot where the wine list is a supporting player, not the headliner — and that's fine. Come for the rigatoni alla vodka and garlic knots; order a glass of whatever red they're pouring and don't overthink it. We'd send a friend here for dinner without hesitation, just not for the wine list alone.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Marietta · Italian
Vespucci's isn't a wine destination, but it doesn't pretend to be — and that honesty is refreshing. The one move that earns real respect here is the Monday half-price bottle deal, which turns an ordinary weeknight into a genuinely good value. Show up on a Monday, order the Eggplant Parmigiana, grab a bottle at half price, and you've had a solid dinner without thinking too hard about it.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
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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