Italy in a bottle, pasta on the plate
Lower East Side · New York · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Updated September 2026
Reviewed April 19, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Forsythia’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Walking into this snug Lower East Side spot, the wine list feels like it was written by someone who actually loves Italian wine — not just checked a box. It's tight, purposeful, and doesn't try to be everything to everyone. That restraint is refreshing.
The list clocks in somewhere between 150 and 250 bottles, but the real story is the editorial discipline: Barolo from Piedmont, Brunello di Montalcino, Chianti Classico, Amarone della Valpolicella, and some genuinely interesting northern pours like Alto Adige Pinot Grigio and Sardinian Vermentino. This isn't a greatest hits compilation — there's a through-line here, a point of view. The gaps you'd expect from a focused Italian list (no sprawling New World section, no token Champagne hedge) are features, not bugs. Wine Spectator handed them an Award of Excellence starting 2025, and it's easy to see why.
Ten to twenty by-the-glass options puts them in solid territory for a room this size. Sommelier Julianny Gomez clearly curates the pours with intention — expect something from the north and the south, a red worth lingering over, and at least one white that won't embarrass itself next to a plate of pasta. Rotation details weren't pinned down, but the program has the bones of someone who pays attention.
Vermentino (Sardinia) — $12
Sardinian Vermentino is chronically underpriced relative to how much pleasure it delivers — herbal, saline, bright — and at the low end of this list's entry point it's a steal before your pasta even arrives.
Pinot Grigio (Alto Adige)
Most people hear Pinot Grigio and mentally check out. Alto Adige's version is a different animal — crisp, mineral, with real structure. It's the bottle that makes guests stop mid-sip and ask what they're drinking.
Amarone della Valpolicella
Amarone is a magnificent wine in the right context, but at a restaurant built around delicate pasta dishes, dropping top dollar on something this big and brooding is fighting the food. Save it for a winter steak dinner somewhere else.
Chianti Classico + Agnolotti with short rib and butter
Chianti Classico's bright acidity and earthy cherry cut straight through the richness of butter-tossed short rib — it's the kind of pairing that feels inevitable once you try it.
The Bottom Line
Forsythia is a small room doing a focused thing extremely well — if you want a deep dive into Italian wine alongside some of the better pasta in the city, this is absolutely worth the reservation. Send your friends here, but tell them to let Julianny steer.
Midtown · New York · French Brasserie
La Grande Boucherie earns its place as a reliable stop for wine in Midtown, especially if you're leaning French. The glass list is genuinely wide and has some smart picks buried in it — the Fleurie and the Wiemer Riesling both punch above their price points. Markups trend steep as you climb the bottle list, so your money works hardest in the by-the-glass section. If you're here for the brasserie experience, the wine program holds up its end of the deal.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· New York · Steakhouse
BLT Prime's wine program is glass-only, which limits your options if you came for a big bottle moment, but the pricing is honest and the selection is more thoughtful than most steakhouses bother with. If you're keeping it casual and ordering by the glass, you can drink well here without feeling taken advantage of — and that's not nothing in this city.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· New York · Restaurant
The Palm Midtown is not where you'd expect to find Puzelat and Ruth Lewandowski sitting next to each other on a wine list — which is exactly what makes it worth a second look. Six bottles is a short menu, but all six are defensible picks at prices that don't insult you. If you're in the mood to trust the list and not overthink it, this works.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Murray Hill · New York · Classic American Steakhouse
Wolfgang's is a reliable steakhouse wine experience in the sense that you know exactly what you're getting: a list built around the bottle you already know, priced for the room you're sitting in. If you're here to close a deal over a Porterhouse for Two, the wine list will do its job without embarrassing anyone — but it's not going to surprise you, and it's almost certainly going to cost more than it should. Go in with eyes open and a strong second-choice red in mind.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· New York · Mediterranean
Zaytinya's wine list is a rare thing in New York: a focused, regionally coherent program that commits hard to Greek and Eastern Mediterranean varieties without making you feel like you need a flashcard to order. The by-the-glass selection alone — 18 options, all under $18, featuring producers most wine lists wouldn't touch — makes this worth visiting even before the food arrives. If you eat here and order a Cabernet, that's on you.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
SoHo · New York · Italian
A long bottle list with Italian, Burgundy and Champagne sections, fronted by a 22-wine glass page. For a glass, try the Skerk Orange Wine from Friuli at 25/95, and for a bottle on a lighter budget, the Volpaia Vermentino at 60; upstairs in the café, the labeled list pours Palistorti di Valgiano's orange Tuscan blend at Glass $22. Confirm prices before you order, because the site's Upstairs Café dinner menu and the beverage PDF do not match. This unrated guide covers the posted wine lists, not service, storage or markups.
· Dacula · Italian
Antonetas isn't a wine destination, and it isn't trying to be — it's a family-friendly neighborhood Italian with a wine list that covers the basics and stays out of the way. If you're after a solid glass of something red with your Lasagna in a no-fuss setting, you won't be disappointed. Just don't show up expecting to geek out over the list.
Plays It Safe
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Alpharetta · Italian
Crust is a solid neighborhood Italian spot where the wine list is a supporting player, not the headliner — and that's fine. Come for the rigatoni alla vodka and garlic knots; order a glass of whatever red they're pouring and don't overthink it. We'd send a friend here for dinner without hesitation, just not for the wine list alone.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Marietta · Italian
Vespucci's isn't a wine destination, but it doesn't pretend to be — and that honesty is refreshing. The one move that earns real respect here is the Monday half-price bottle deal, which turns an ordinary weeknight into a genuinely good value. Show up on a Monday, order the Eggplant Parmigiana, grab a bottle at half price, and you've had a solid dinner without thinking too hard about it.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
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