Italy in a bottle, pasta on the plate
Lower East Side · New York · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Updated June 2026
Reviewed April 19, 2026
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 West · New York · Russian-American
The Russian Tea Room treats wine as an afterthought dressed up in Champagne flutes — five famous labels at punishing prices with no range, no by-the-glass program, and no apparent curiosity about wine beyond what looks impressive on a table. Go for the spectacle, order the caviar, but don't come here expecting a wine list.
Grocery Store
Gouge
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· New York · Restaurant
David Burke Tavern's list is a Chardonnay lover's comfort zone with a solid sparkling section propping up the top — but the narrow focus and steep pricing mean you're paying for familiarity, not discovery. Send a friend here if they want California whites and a glass of Champagne; send them somewhere else if they want to explore.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· New York · Restaurant
Corima's wine list is proof that ten well-chosen bottles beat a hundred thoughtless ones every time. If you care about what's in your glass, this place is worth your attention.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
West Village · New York · American
Cecchi's is first and foremost a bar, but the wine list is more serious than the neon and noise suggest. Steep markups are the main ding — but if you know what to order, there's real pleasure here.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Acceptable
SoHo · New York · Steak House, Small Plates
The Corner Store is a reliable, well-credentialed wine list doing exactly what a good SoHo steakhouse should — France and California, done with intention, in a room that makes you want to order another bottle. Just watch the markup on the big Bordeaux names and let the Rhône or Burgundy side show you a better time.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Tribeca · New York · American
Farra is punching above its weight class for a neighborhood wine bar, and the Wine Spectator nod is earned — just know that the serious bottles come with serious prices, and the no-sommelier setup means you're doing some of the navigating yourself. Worth it for anyone who knows what they want; potentially overwhelming for those who don't.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Varietal Specific
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
West Toledo / Reynolds Corner · Toledo · Italian
There's one reason to come here for wine: Thursday. Half-price bottles on a standing weekly basis is a genuinely good deal, especially on the Santa Margherita. Any other night, the markups are steep and the list doesn't justify them.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
West Toledo/Monroe Street · Toledo · Italian
Carrabba's Toledo isn't a destination for wine — but it's not an embarrassment either. The Ruffino Chianti Classico alone earns its keep, and if you stick to the Italian side of the list, you'll drink reasonably well without drama.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
La Jolla · Chula Vista · Italian
Marisi is a reliable Italian wine list with genuine ambition hiding behind a steep markup structure — the producers are right, the regions are right, but you'll pay for the privilege. Go for the Produttori Barbaresco and the Pre-Phylloxera Barbera, and you'll leave satisfied.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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