Orlando's Old-School Italian with Serious Tuscan Depth
Dr. Phillips · Orlando · Northern Italian · Visit Website ↗
Updated September 2026
Reviewed February 27, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Christini's Ristorante Italiano’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Walking into Christini's feels like stumbling into a Florentine villa someone airlifted to Orlando — complete with strolling musician and roses for the ladies. The wine list matches the old-world ambition: 200+ bottles tilting heavily Italian, with a Piemonte and Tuscany section that could make a somm from Alba weep. This is the rare Orlando spot where the wine program isn't an afterthought to the theme park crowds.
The Italian focus is surgical — Barolo from Gaja and Pio Cesare, Super Tuscans like Ornellaia and Tignanello, and a Veneto section anchored by Masi's Amarone lineup. There's real depth in Tuscany, with multiple vintages of Brunello and serious allocations from top estates. The New World offerings (Napa, Mendoza) feel like polite gestures to tourists who need familiar ground, but the heart of this list beats in Northern Italy. A few glaring gaps: no natural wine, no orange wine, and the by-the-glass program feels like it was set in 2015 and never revisited.
Six options rotate through predictable Italian crowd-pleasers — think Chianti, Pinot Grigio, and the occasional Barbaresco. Prices run $14-$25, which is fair for stemware pours in white tablecloth territory, but the selection plays it way too safe for a list this deep. We'd love to see them rotate in some of those serious bottles by the glass, even at a premium. The stemware itself is proper — varietal-specific Riedel or Schott Zwiesel that signals they care.
Masi Costasera Amarone della Valpolicella — $110
At $110, this is drinking $40-50 above retail but still a steal for Amarone in a restaurant this fancy. Rich, raisined, built for veal — it's the move if you want to impress without dropping $300 on Barolo.
Castello Banfi Rosa Regale
It's a sweet, sparkling red Brachetto that most diners dismiss as dessert wine, but pair it with their tiramisu or panna cotta and you'll understand why Italians have been doing this for centuries. Under $60 and wildly fun.
Gaja Dagromis Barolo
At $300+, you're paying the Gaja tax in full. It's a beautiful bottle, but the markup here pushes it into 'only if someone else is paying' territory. Pio Cesare's Barolo is half the price and 80% of the experience.
Tignanello + Vitello con Funghi Morel e Aragosta
The Super Tuscan's Sangiovese backbone cuts through the richness of veal and morel mushrooms, while the Cabernet adds structure for the lobster. It's a power pairing for a power dish — both are splurges, but they earn it.
The Bottom Line
If you want serious Italian wine in Orlando, this is your spot — just brace for country club markups. The list has the depth and the staff knows their stuff, but the lack of innovation (no deals, no rotation, no risks) keeps it from perfection.
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Plays It Safe
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Winter Park · Orlando · Greek, Mediterranean
AVA MediterrAegean earns its Wine Spectator recognition by doing something genuinely rare in Florida: building a Greek-forward wine program with real depth and the staff to back it up. If you're eating here and not exploring the Greek section, you're missing the whole point.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Downtown Orlando · Orlando · French, Regional
The Boheme is the best wine list in the kind of restaurant Downtown Orlando needs more of — it's not groundbreaking, but it's honest, properly focused, and worthy of its Wine Spectator recognition. Send your friends here for a date night, order the Chablis to start, and resist the urge to default to Caymus.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
International Drive · Orlando · Brazilian Churrascaria
Texas de Brazil isn't a wine destination, but it's a smarter wine program than the I-Drive zip code would suggest, and Wednesday's half-price bottles make it a legitimate value play. Come for the meat, stay for the Achaval Ferrer.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
Grande Lakes · Orlando · Italian, Mediterranean
Primo is a resort restaurant that takes its wine list seriously enough to back it up with a real sommelier and a WS credential — which puts it well ahead of most hotel dining rooms. Pricing is what it is in this zip code, but the Italian backbone and capable staff make it a genuinely good wine dinner if you pick smart.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Lake Nona · Orlando · Japanese
Nami is the kind of surprise that earns its Wine Spectator badge — a Japanese restaurant in Lake Nona that treats French wine with genuine seriousness, backed by a knowledgeable staff member who can actually guide you through it. Markups keep it from being a steal, but if you're eating omakase anyway, ordering from this list is the right call.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Dupont Circle · Washington · Northern Italian
A list built around familiar California names, with a Chianti, a Rosso di Montalcino and a Pouilly-Fumé as the pivots away from them. Order the Duckhorn Cabernet with a steak, or the Saget La Perrière Pouilly-Fumé if you want something sharper, and ask the restaurant for prices and availability. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Back Bay · Boston · Northern Italian
Start with the $65 Ceretto white or $70 Borgoluce bubbles. For Barolo in a smaller format, ask about the $95 Paolo Scavino half bottle. These are posted-menu choices checked in September 2026, not an onsite tasting or assessment of service.
Mount Vernon · Baltimore · Northern Italian
Try Lavignone at $14 a glass or compare a $52 bottle if everyone wants the same red. Sotto Sopra makes that budget decision straightforward. Prices come from the posted menu checked in September 2026; availability can change, and this guide doesn't rate service or cellar conditions.
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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