Tuesday nights alone are worth the trip
Downtown Vancouver · Vancouver · Italian Bistro · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · June 29, 2026
RagingWine reviewed La Bottega’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Walking into La Bottega, you're immediately reminded that this place can't quite decide if it's a restaurant, a wine shop, or a deli — and honestly, that's the charm. The wine list lands with 103 labels and a range that stretches from Walla Walla Cab to Hungarian Tokaji to a Monastrell from Alicante, and you start to realize the person who built this list actually gives a damn. It's the kind of list that rewards you for looking past the first page.
The Italian and Pacific Northwest anchors are strong — Zenato Valpolicella, Marchesi Di Gresy Barbaresco, Cristom and Crowley representing Oregon with real seriousness, and Leonetti Cellars flying the Washington flag. But what separates La Bottega from a predictable Italian spot is the reach: Bordeaux grands crus, Barossa Shiraz from Yalumba, a 1966 Colheita Port, and newer additions from India (Sula) and South Africa (Kumusha) that signal a list still actively evolving under new ownership. The gaps are mostly in natural wine and lighter-style reds, but the depth in prestige bottles is genuinely impressive for a Main Street bistro in Vancouver, WA. There's something here for the person who wants a $28 Spanish Monastrell and something for the person celebrating a milestone with a $485 Saint-Émilion.
Nine options by the glass is modest for a 103-bottle list, and we'd love to see that number climb given the depth in the cellar. The Jeio Prosecco Superiore Valdobbiadene at $16 anchors the pour program well, and the price ceiling of $16 keeps things accessible. Rotation and curation of the glass list isn't well-documented, but with a sommelier on staff, we're giving the benefit of the doubt that it moves.
Enrique Mendoza La Tremenda Monastrell 2021 Alicante — $28
A $28 bottle of serious Spanish Monastrell from one of Alicante's most reliable producers is the quiet overachiever on this list. Dark, earthy, built for food — and a steal relative to everything else on the menu. On a Tuesday, you're taking this home for $14.
Broadbent Gaia Vinho Verde NV Portugal
At $25, this is the wine most people will scroll past while hunting for a big red. Don't. Vinho Verde at a table full of Italian food is a genuinely great call — bright, low-alcohol, cuts right through rich dishes. Broadbent's Gaia is a cut above the grocery store Vinho Verde crowd.
Chateau Montelena Chardonnay 2023 Napa Valley
At $177, you're paying a significant restaurant premium on a wine that retails well under $100. Montelena is a great producer, but this is the kind of marquee name that restaurants lean on to juice the check. The Crowley or Cristom Chardonnay half-bottles give you better Oregon terroir storytelling for less money.
Marchesi Di Gresy Barbaresco Martinenga 2020 + Agnello e Lenticchie
Barbaresco and lamb is not a new idea, but it's a correct one. The Martinenga vineyard produces a Nebbiolo with the kind of iron-and-rose tension that mirrors the earthiness of lentils and doesn't get steamrolled by the lamb. At $126 it's a splurge, but this is the pairing you tell people about.
Tuesday — Tuesday Wine Nights, 4–9 PM: 50% off all wine bottles under $50 and $25 off bottles over $50.
The Bottom Line
La Bottega is punching well above its weight for a downtown Vancouver bistro — a sommelier-driven list with real range, global ambition, and the best recurring wine deal in the city on Tuesdays. Markups on the trophy bottles are steep enough to sting, but there's enough value in the mid-tier to make this a genuinely exciting place to drink.
· Vancouver · Italian / Wine Shop
La Bottega is a Wild Card in the best sense: a café-deli-wine-shop in a city not known for serious wine, pouring Arnot-Roberts and Dönnhoff by the glass at fair prices. If you're in Vancouver, WA and want a genuinely good pour with your lunch, this is your spot.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Vancouver · Seafood / Steak
Line & Lure clears the casino restaurant bar by a comfortable margin — fair prices, a thoughtful white wine program, and a Royal Tokaji that earns genuine respect. We'd send a friend here for a pre-dinner glass without hesitation, as long as they stick to the whites.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Vancouver · Latin / Contemporary
DOSALAS is a tequila bar with a wine list that's doing the minimum — decent regional picks, steep markups, and no real surprises. Drink the Albarino or the Tempranillo and save your wine ambitions for a dedicated wine spot.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Vancouver · New American
The Hammond isn't a destination wine list, but it punches above its weight for a craft bar — especially if you love Pacific Northwest reds. Send a friend here, point them toward the Oregon section, and tell them to skip the cocktails.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Vancouver · American / Wine Bar
Uptown Barrel Room isn't trying to be a destination wine list, and it doesn't need to be — it's a solid neighborhood wine bar with fair prices, good enough options, and the rare commitment to making everything available by the glass. Send a friend here for a casual weeknight pour without hesitation.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Vancouver · Pacific Rim / Hawaiian
Tommy O's wine list isn't going to make you cancel your dinner reservation somewhere else, but it's an honest, no-nonsense selection that covers the basics at what appears to be reasonable prices. Send your friends here for the food and a decent pour — just don't expect to geek out over the list.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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