Il Mulino New York

The list arrives looking every bit as polished as the room — 200-plus bottles, heavy Italian accent, California heavyweights sprinkled in for the crowd that orders by brand name. Wine Spectator handed them an Award of Excellence in 2025, and you can see why: this isn't a neglected afterthought stapled to the back of a menu.

Italy is the clear focus here, and it delivers where it counts — Sassicaia, Tignanello, Gaja Barolo, Banfi Brunello, Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva, and Amarone della Valpolicella give you a legitimate tour of the peninsula's greatest hits. California shows up with Caymus, Silver Oak, and Opus One, which tells you exactly who the clientele is and what they're willing to spend. The list doesn't venture much beyond those two regions, so if you're hunting for Burgundy, Rhône, or anything from the Southern Hemisphere, you'll be disappointed. What's here is well-chosen; what's missing is depth beyond the comfort zone.

Twelve to twenty options by the glass in the $14–$22 range gives you real choices, which is more than most upscale Italian spots bother to offer. The range follows the bottle list — Italian stalwarts and California classics — so you're not getting anything adventurous, but you're also not stuck with house plonk. The rotation appears static rather than seasonal, which is fine until it isn't.