Pizza joint hiding a serious wine nerd list
Fairfax · Los Angeles · Italian / Pizza · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · August 14, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Jon & Vinny's Fairfax’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
You walk in expecting a crowd-pleasing pizza list — Montepulciano, maybe a Chianti — and instead get hit with Corsican whites, Austrian field blends, and Burgundy premiers crus sitting next to a $22 volcanic Campanian red. This is not that list. Whoever built this had opinions, and we're here for it.
Fifty labels sounds modest until you start reading them. There's genuine range here: natural-leaning Italian oddities like the Agnanum Sabbia Vulcanica Vino Rosso and Angiolino Maule's Masieri Bianco sit alongside serious Burgundy from Benjamin Leroux and Berthaut-Gerbet, Basque-country Artadi, Baja's Bichi, and even a fizzy Glera from Bisson for the table that can't commit to still wine. The Burgundy section alone — with two Leroux bottles and two Fixin premier crus from Berthaut-Gerbet — would be at home in a dedicated wine bar. The Beaujolais and Loire selections are equally sharp, and the list skews heavily old-world without ignoring California entirely (Brij's SLO Coast Chardonnay earns its seat).
By-the-glass specifics weren't available during our visit, which is honestly the one real frustration here — a list this interesting deserves a strong glass program to match. If they're pouring even a fraction of what's on the bottle list by the glass, you should be asking your server what's open. Don't sleep on it.
Agnanum Sabbia Vulcanica Vino Rosso 2023 — $22
Agnanum farms ancient Piedirosso vines on volcanic soils on the slopes of Vesuvius. This wine is the kind of thing you'd pay $45 for at a wine bar — mineral, earthy, and electric — and it's $22 here. Order it without thinking.
Berthaut-Gerbet Les Clos Fixin 2023
Fixin is Burgundy's perpetually overlooked northern neighbor, which means premier cru bottles from a producer this serious get priced like village wine. Most tables at a pizza spot will walk right past it. Their loss.
Benjamin Leroux 1er Cru La Piece Sous Le Bois Meursault 2021
Leroux is a fantastic producer and this is a real wine, but $280 for a Meursault at a casual Italian-American spot is a tough ask — especially when there are so many compelling options on this list under $100. Save the big Burg spend for a table that's actually set up to give it the attention it deserves.
Bisson Glera Vino Frizzante 2024 + Margherita pizza
A lightly sparkling, low-intervention Glera is basically built for a hot, cheese-pulling slice. The bubbles cut the fat, the fruit stays out of the way, and the whole thing stays effortless. It's the move.
The Bottom Line
Jon & Vinny's is doing something genuinely unusual: a wine list with real curatorial vision at a place where you're also ordering garlic bread. Send your wine-curious friends here and tell them to ignore the price anchors and dig into the $22–$60 range — that's where this list really earns it.
Los Feliz · Los Angeles · New American and Middle Eastern
Kismet earns its Wild Card badge because it's doing something genuinely interesting with its wine program inside a casual Los Feliz storefront — Slovenia and natural wine in a room full of freekeh fritters and Persian-style rice is a specific point of view, and we respect it. We can't quote you bottle prices or name specific pours from here, so go in curious, ask the staff what's on, and trust that someone in that room knows what they're talking about.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Los Angeles · French Mediterranean
The Little Door is punching above its weight for a 27-bottle list — the Old World focus is genuine, the by-the-glass breadth is impressive, and the pricing mostly plays fair. We'd send a friend here specifically to drink by the glass and work through the more offbeat picks like the Ruche or the Forge Cellars Riesling.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Los Angeles · Pizza and Natural Wine
Pizzeria Sei earns its Wild Card badge because it's doing something genuinely uncommon: running a natural-wine program inside a pizza-obsessed, no-frills room on Pico Blvd without making either the pizza or the wine feel like an afterthought. We can't give you specific bottle recommendations until we get a verified list in hand, but if you trust the kitchen — and most people do — extending that trust to the wine program is a reasonable bet.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Beverly Hills · Los Angeles · Steakhouse
What we can document at Mastro's Beverly Hills is a narrow, Napa-centric selection that plays zero risk and offers zero surprise — which is a defensible choice for a power-steakhouse crowd, but not one we can enthusiastically endorse to wine lovers. The seven wines on record are all from a single event page, so the full list is almost certainly broader; but until we have more to work with, our honest advice is to know what you want before you sit down, because the list isn't going to inspire you.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Occasional
Acceptable
· Los Angeles · Italian
Osteria La Buca is running one of the more quietly ambitious wine lists in LA — fair prices, genuine Italian depth, and enough natural and obscure producers to keep things interesting across 54 bottles. If you care about what's in your glass and want an Italian restaurant that doesn't treat wine as an afterthought, this is worth your attention.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Venice · Los Angeles · Italian-American
Ospi keeps it tight and keeps it fair — 13 wines, honest markups, and enough Italian backbone to match the menu without turning into a wine bar that forgot to serve food. If you're after depth or discovery, you'll outgrow this list quickly, but for a relaxed Venice dinner where you just want something good in your glass without overthinking it, the Cascina Barbera or the Montepeloso will do exactly what you need.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Truckee · Italian / Pizza
Zano's wine list is the restaurant equivalent of a reliable friend — it won't surprise you, but it won't let you down either. Fair prices, familiar producers, and a local wine cameo from Truckee River Winery give it just enough personality to earn a pass. If you're skiing in Truckee and need a bottle of Rombauer Chardonnay with your margherita, this is your spot.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Princeton · Italian / Pizza
LaScala's Fire Princeton offers a functional, crowd-friendly wine list that does the job without making any bold moves. The by-the-glass selection is genuinely broad and pricing stays reasonable at the lower end, but markups on recognizable names like Kim Crawford and Veuve Clicquot are steep enough to notice. Send a friend here for a casual pizza night — just point them toward the Vermentino or the Prosecco and away from the big-name bottles.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Princeton · Italian / Pizza
Nino's is almost certainly a solid neighborhood pizza spot, but the 'Wine Bar' tag is doing a lot of heavy lifting on a list this thin and this anonymous. If you're here for a slice and something to wash it down, you'll survive — but don't come expecting anything beyond the basics. Order the Lambrusco if you're feeling Italian, or just get a beer.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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