InGrano Restaurant and Events

Walking into a neighborhood Italian spot in Highlandtown, you don't expect to find Sancerre wine dinners and Burgundy nights on the events calendar — but here we are. The list isn't sprawling, but it's clearly the work of someone who actually cares, not a generic import from a corporate beverage consultant. That alone puts InGrano ahead of most of its zip code.

The 80-to-150-bottle range skews toward France and Spain with a few Southern Hemisphere entries filling in the gaps, and it mostly holds together with a coherent point of view. You'll find Christian Lauverjat's Sancerre sitting next to a Vina Otano Rioja Reserva 2017, which tells you the list leans classical without being stuffy about it. The Domaine Armelle et Bernard Rion Burgundy entry is the most interesting thing here — that's a serious Nuits-Saint-Georges producer and a name you don't stumble across at pasta joints. The Chile section is lighter and feels a bit tacked on, but it handles the value-seeker without embarrassing anyone.

Fifteen by-the-glass options at $12–$33 is a genuinely generous spread for a neighborhood restaurant of this size. The Thibaut-Janisson Extra Brut NV is a strong opening move — a Virginia sparkling wine that punches above its category and makes for a smart, local-ish pour. We'd like to see more rotation here, but what's on offer reflects the same thoughtfulness as the bottle list.