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 by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · February 11, 2026
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.
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Choose your courses, then choose your glasses. Bacchanalia's posted pairings give you concrete options: Carl Loewen Riesling at $24 with crab, or Ca' La Bionda Ripasso at $27 with duck. Ask which suggestions match tonight's menu before committing to the wine bill.
Midtown · Atlanta · Southern European
Start with the $14 Vostinic-Klasnic Ikons if you want to explore beyond familiar grapes, or the $16 chilled La Galoche Gamay if that's your lane. Lyla Lila's posted glass list makes trying something different a one-glass decision, not a whole-bottle commitment.
· Atlanta · New American
Siren has a wine list that punches above its weight in a few key areas — particularly the by-the-glass whites and the Champagne bottle program — but the markup structure means you're spending real money to access it. If you're the kind of diner who wants to order Furmint on a Tuesday night in Atlanta, this is one of the few places that makes that possible, and that alone earns it a spot on the shortlist.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Atlanta · Regional Italian
Make Monday your bottle night at Indaco: half off bottles priced up to $100, then $50 off above that. Ask for the current bottle list before choosing; the discount has a ceiling, even if your wine budget doesn't.
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NAM Kitchen is doing something genuinely unexpected: running a thoughtful, fairly priced 68-label wine list inside a Vietnamese restaurant, anchored by a strong sparkling section and some legitimately food-smart white wine choices. If you're the kind of person who wants a real glass of wine with your bún bò Huế, this is worth knowing about.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Atlanta · Steakhouse
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Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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.
· Ithaca · Northern Italian
Mercato is a well-regarded local staple with the right regional instincts — Italian roots, Finger Lakes ambition, and a warm room that earns its reservations. We'd feel comfortable sending a friend here for a solid bottle of wine with dinner, but we'd tell them to ask questions at the table, because we can't yet confirm the specifics behind the list. Worth a visit; worth a deeper look once a full wine list is in hand.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Paso Robles · Paso Robles · Northern Italian
Buona Tavola is a genuinely good restaurant wine list in a town surrounded by great wine — it respects the local terroir, prices fairly, and makes smart Italian connections on the menu. Send your friends here and tell them to skip the Justin.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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