Italy's Greatest Hits, With a Scottsdale Tax
Scottsdale · Scottsdale · Modern Italian · Visit Website ↗
Updated April 2026
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · March 16, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Fat Ox’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Fat Ox lands with the confidence of a restaurant that knows exactly who it is — modern Italian with serious money behind it. At 250-350 bottles deep, this is not a list assembled by someone who Googled 'Italian wine.' There's a sommelier in the building, and it shows.
The Italian spine here is legitimately impressive: Tignanello, Sassicaia, Gaja Barbaresco, Benanti's Etna Rosso — these aren't filler names, they're a credible tour of the peninsula from north to south. California and France fill out the edges without overpowering the Italian identity of the list. The inclusion of Donnafugata's Ben Ryé Passito di Pantelleria shows someone actually cares about the full Italian picture, not just the greatest-hits Tuscany reel. That said, the list skews heavily toward prestige bottles, so if you're hunting for under-the-radar value, you'll need to dig.
Twenty-five by-the-glass options is generous and earns real credit — that's enough range to drink well across a whole meal without committing to a bottle. The quality of what's available by the glass tracks with the bottle list, though the markup data suggests you'll pay a premium for the convenience. No evidence of a rotating or seasonal BTG program, which is a missed opportunity given the depth of the cellar.
Chianti Classico Riserva Querceto Tuscany 2011 — $30
At retail parity — yes, $30 for what it costs in a shop — this is the one bottle on the list where Fat Ox essentially forgets to charge you a restaurant tax. A Chianti Classico Riserva from a solid producer at this price in a room this nice? Order it before they notice.
Benanti Etna Rosso
Most tables at a place like this are reaching for Barolo or the Super Tuscans, which means the Benanti Etna Rosso gets overlooked. Nerello Mascalese from the slopes of an active volcano in Sicily is one of the most compelling red grapes in Italy right now, and it's criminally underordered at restaurants like this one.
Dolcetto Dogliani Luigi Einaudi 2018
At $70 on the menu against a $20 retail price, this is a 250% markup on a wine that — however lovely — is not a prestige bottle. Dolcetto is an everyday Italian red, and charging three and a half times retail for it is the kind of move that makes us reach for the cocktail menu instead.
Gaja Barbaresco + Bone-in Ribeye
Barbaresco's iron-fisted tannins and tar-and-roses aromatic profile were practically designed to meet a fatty, aggressively charred bone-in ribeye halfway. Gaja is the benchmark producer, and this pairing is the reason people spend money at restaurants like Fat Ox in the first place.
The Bottom Line
Fat Ox has the bones of a great wine destination — serious depth, Italian focus, a sommelier who clearly did the work — but the markup structure on too many bottles turns what should be a Rager into a pricey exercise in restraint. Come for the Chianti Classico Riserva, avoid the Dolcetto, and let the sommelier talk you into the Etna Rosso.
· Scottsdale · Restaurant
Anhelo is doing something quietly ambitious — a focused, considered wine list in a city that often settles for Caymus and a bucket of Whispering Angel. The markups aren't shy, but the curation is real, and the Sauternes library alone is worth a detour.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Old Town Scottsdale · Scottsdale · American
Frasher's isn't reinventing the steakhouse wine list, but it's doing the job with a Wine Spectator credential and a Wednesday half-price night that makes the steep markups a lot easier to live with. Send a friend here if they want a reliable California Cab with their red meat — just tell them to go on Wednesday.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
DC Ranch · Scottsdale · American, Small Plates
The Living Room isn't trying to reinvent wine — it's trying to make California Cab and Chardonnay feel like an event, and it mostly succeeds. Send your friends here for a comfortable, well-staffed wine experience; just remind them to drink the Duckhorn.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Scottsdale · Scottsdale · French
The Mick Brasserie is a dependable, well-staffed wine destination dressed up as a casual neighborhood spot — a genuinely rare combo in Scottsdale. The markups keep it from being a great deal, but the sommelier team and the quality of the list make it worth showing up for.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Scottsdale · Scottsdale · American, Steakhouse
STK Scottsdale is a reliable California wine destination — not a discovery, but a dependable one. If you're here for Wagyu and a bottle of Stag's Leap, you will not leave disappointed; just don't expect the list to surprise you.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Scottsdale · Scottsdale · Italian
Marcellino is doing something genuinely uncommon in Scottsdale — a disciplined, Italy-first wine program with real producers and a sommelier who clearly cares. Markups tip steep on the prestige bottles, but the depth of the list earns it a spot on your list if Italian wine is your thing.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Northside / Downtown edge · Iowa City · Modern Italian
Basta isn't a wine destination, but it doesn't need to be — it's a fun downtown Italian spot with a reliable-enough list and one of the best recurring happy hour deals in Iowa City. Show up between 4 and 6, drink the Soave, eat the pizza, and don't overthink it.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
Downtown · Flagstaff · Modern Italian
Teatro is the kind of wine program that punches so far above its weight class for a Northern Arizona mountain town that it borders on absurd. If you care about Italian wine, make the reservation.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Central Boca · Boca Raton · Modern Italian
Novello is a genuinely good wine list for Boca Raton — Italian-focused, with real depth at the top end — but the markups and the static glass program hold it back from being truly exciting. Go for the Amarone or the Super Tuscans; skip the Napa cult bottles unless someone else is paying.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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