Dante
Italy's full boot, deep in Nebraska
Old Market · Omaha · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 1, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
You open the wine list at Dante and realize this isn't a pizza joint that throws a few Chiantis on the menu to check a box — this is a genuine Italian wine program with 85 bottles and the restraint to not put a single non-Italian wine on it. It's focused, confident, and a little unexpected for Omaha. The sommelier on staff isn't just a title; someone clearly built this list with a point of view.
Selection Deep Dive
Every major Italian region gets a seat at the table here, from a nerdy 2007 Ioppa Vespolina out of Piedmont to a Paolo Bea 'Santa Chiara' Bianco that most Italian restaurants wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole. The Montepulciano d'Abruzzo section alone shows more range than most city restaurants — Agriverde, Villa Fasini, and Saggio all represented across multiple vintages and price points. There's real depth in the mid-tier, with bottles like the Cigliuti 'Compass' Barbera d'Alba and the Baracchi 'Smeriglio' Syrah suggesting someone is paying attention to producers, not just regions. The list does skew older on some bottles, which is either a feature or a bug depending on how you feel about cellared Italian reds.
By the Glass
By-the-glass specifics aren't fully documented, but with a sommelier running the show and an 85-bottle list, the pour program is almost certainly more than a token four options. We'd expect to find a rotating selection that tracks the bottle list — expect Montepulciano and Barbera to anchor the reds. Ask the staff what's open; they'll know.
2013 Saggio Montepulciano d'Abruzzo — $38
At $38 a bottle, this is your workhorse Italian red of the night — earthy, rustic, honest. It's the kind of wine you order a second bottle of without guilt, and it holds its own against a wood-fired anything.
2007 Ioppa Vespolina
Vespolina is the Piedmontese grape that nobody orders because nobody's heard of it — which means you get to look smart and drink something genuinely interesting. A 2007 with some age on it at a Nebraska pizza restaurant is a minor miracle. Order it before someone else figures it out.
2015 Aia Vecchia 'Lagone'
Listed at $80 against a retail of around $35, this is a 129% markup on a bottle that's not remotely hard to find. There are better values all over this list — don't let a familiar-sounding Tuscan blend be the reason you overpay.
2011 Talosa Vino Nobile di Montepulciano + Neapolitan wood-fired pizza
Vino Nobile has the acidity and earthy tannins to cut through char and tomato without bullying the pizza into submission. The 2011 Talosa has enough age to be integrated and smooth — it's the kind of red that makes a simple Margherita taste like a full evening.
Thursday & Sunday — Half-priced bottles available all day Thursday and all day Sunday. This changes the value calculation significantly — plan accordingly.
🎲 The Bottom Line
Dante is the rare Midwestern restaurant where the wine list actually matches the ambition of the kitchen — Italian-only, deep, and staffed by someone who cares. The markups sting on a few bottles, but Thursday and Sunday half-price nights flip the math entirely, making this a destination worth planning around.
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