Italy's full boot, deep in Nebraska
Old Market · Omaha · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 1, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Dante’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
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.
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 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.
South Central Omaha · Omaha · Steakhouse, American
The Drover is a steakhouse that knows what it is and serves a wine list to match — safe, California-forward, and priced for a special occasion whether you wanted one or not. Send a friend here for the ribeye; tell them to pick Jordan and skip the Caymus tax.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Aksarben Village · Omaha · American Comfort Food
Beacon Hills is a genuinely warm neighborhood spot with food worth coming back for — the wine list, unfortunately, is an afterthought dressed up as a choice. Come on a Monday when bottles are half price, order the Claret, and enjoy the pot roast.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Occasional
Acceptable
Westroads / Central Omaha · Omaha · Steakhouse
Saltgrass Omaha is a reliable wine stop for steak night, not a destination for wine nerds. Order the Jordan, skip the Caymus markup, and enjoy your beef.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Old Market · Omaha · Brewpub / American
Upstream isn't a wine destination, but it earns real credit for maintaining a 100-bottle list with fair markups and a Monday half-price program that's genuinely generous. If you're here for the beer, great — but don't let that stop you from ordering a bottle of Au Bon Climat.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
West Omaha · Omaha · American with Northwestern, Hawaiian and seafood influences
Twisted Cork is doing something genuinely unusual — a coherent, Northwest-focused wine program in a landlocked city, built around food that actually earns it. The markup inconsistencies are real and the Columbia Crest pricing is embarrassing, but Wine Monday at 50% off bottles resets the math considerably — go on a Monday and this list gets a lot more interesting fast.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
West Omaha · Omaha · Italian
Vincenzo's is not a wine destination — it's a neighborhood Italian where the pasta is the point and the wine list plays a supporting role with zero ambition. Come on a Tuesday, grab the Santa Margherita or the Decoy at half price, and let the list do its job without asking it to do more.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
· Laredo · Italian
Johnny Carino's Laredo isn't trying to be a wine destination, and the list makes that abundantly clear. If you're here, go on a Sunday or Wednesday, grab that half-price Albertoni, and keep your expectations parked firmly at 'Italian chain in Laredo.'
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
· Toledo · Italian
Rosie's is doing what a neighborhood Italian restaurant should do with its wine list — keeping prices honest, leaning into Italian varietals, and giving you enough by-the-glass options that everyone at the table finds something. It's not pushing any boundaries, but it's not trying to either, and that's perfectly fine.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Gilbert · Gilbert · Italian
North Italia Gilbert is a chain that does the bare minimum of interesting things — and sometimes that's exactly what you need on a Tuesday in Gilbert. The Italian regional whites are the real reason to open this list; everything else is serviceable.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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