Zagat's Former No. 1 Italian in Atlanta with 80+ Bottles and Half-Price Sundays
Roswell · Atlanta · Northern Italian · Visit Website ↗
Updated August 2026
Reviewed February 11, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed di Paolo Italian Kitchen’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
di Paolo's wine list runs 80+ bottles and reads like a sommelier's tour of Italy with carefully chosen New World counterpoints. Piedmont is the anchor: G.D. Vajra Barolo ($89), Furina Grimaldi Barolo ($120), Bruno Giacosa Dolcetto d'Alba ($72), Luigi Giordano Barbaresco ($82), Bava "Libera" Barbera d'Asti ($58). Tuscany brings Ciacci Piccolomini Rosso di Montalcino ($60), Grattamacco Rosso Bolgheri ($79). The Veneto section includes Zenato "Ripassa" Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore ($72) and Corte Rugolin "Crosara de le Strie" Amarone Classico 2016 ($120). American selections include Cristom Mt. Jefferson Cuvée Pinot Noir ($95), Faust Cabernet from Napa ($120), and Ridge Zinfandel from Paso Robles ($88). Most bottles land $40 to $88, genuinely fair for this caliber.
Every Sunday night, di Paolo offers 50% off all bottles of wine $100 and under. G.D. Vajra Barolo for $44.50. Zenato Ripassa for $36. Cristom Willamette Pinot for $47.50. These are cellar-worthy wines at prices below most retail shops, served alongside handmade pasta. Sunday is the hardest reservation of the week. Book well ahead.
Executive chef Darin Hiebel (Best Chefs America) runs a kitchen where every pasta is hand-rolled each morning, mozzarella is pulled daily, and the bread sticks are baked fresh. Zagat named di Paolo No. 1 Italian in Atlanta four consecutive years. The Pappardelle con Coniglio (braised rabbit, Castelvetrano olives, shaved Grana Padano) is the signature. At the bar, Zack is one of the best bartenders in Atlanta, routinely called out by name in reviews. His Old Fashioneds are worth the trip alone, and he guides wine selections without pretension. Bar seats fill fast with regulars.
A strip-mall Northern Italian kitchen that has been making everything from scratch for 30 years, with an 80+ bottle wine list featuring Barolo, Barbaresco, Amarone, and Brunello at fair markups, plus half-price Sundays that turn serious Italian wines into steals. The kitchen, the list, the bar, and the deal all align. Worth the drive to Alpharetta.
Sunday — 50% off all bottles $100 and under
The Bottom Line
di Paolo is a 30-year-old scratch Italian kitchen in a strip mall with an 80+ bottle wine list, half-price Sundays that make Barolo affordable, and one of the best bartenders in Atlanta behind the bar. Zagat's former No. 1 Italian for a reason.
Brookhaven · Atlanta · New American/Southern
Roc South is a genuinely fun restaurant — the food sounds great and the vibe is undeniable — but the wine program doesn't give us enough to work with or get excited about. Until there's a verifiable list with real producers and fair pricing, let the bartender guide your evening instead.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Atlanta · New American/Southern
Park 82 has a wine list in the same way a gas station has a wine selection — technically present, practically limiting. If you're a Pinot Noir devotee who doesn't mind paying restaurant markup for bottles you've seen at Kroger, you'll survive. Everyone else should probably lead with cocktails and ask what's on tap.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Atlanta · Asian
Tabla's wine list punches above its weight for an Asian restaurant in Atlanta. The white-heavy, aromatic-focused selection makes genuine sense with the food, pricing at the entry level is fair, and the BTG depth is real. We'd send a friend here for wine without hesitation — just order the Grüner first.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Atlanta · Other
MCK isn't trying to be a wine destination — it's a bar and restaurant with a list built for toasting and crowd comfort. The sparkling program punches above the list's weight, the by-the-glass selection is generous, and the markups on still wines are steep but not outrageous. Send a friend here if they want Champagne and something easy to sip; send them somewhere else if they're chasing a wine experience.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Atlanta · Gastropub/Tavern
Blue Moon Brewery & Grill is a beer bar first, second, and third — the wine list exists so your friend who doesn't drink beer doesn't feel stranded. If that's the situation, the Cava at $9 or the Elouan Rosé at $10 are perfectly fine. But if wine is the reason you're going out, go somewhere else.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Atlanta · Thai
Pink Lotus has built a wine list that takes its cues from the food — acid-forward, bubbles-heavy, and genuinely curious — which is more than most Thai spots in town bother to do. Markups are fair, the by-the-glass selection is wide, and there are real finds here if you look past the Dom Pérignon showpiece bottles at the top. If you're eating Thai in Atlanta and you want something interesting in your glass, this list deserves your attention.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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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