La Grotta

La Grotta stocks over 400 labels with an Italian focus that goes well beyond Chianti and Pinot Grigio. The list digs into Piedmont with serious Barolo and Barbaresco depth, covers Tuscany with Super Tuscans and Brunello, and ventures into southern Italian regions that most Atlanta restaurants ignore entirely. If you want to drink Italian wine with Italian food in Atlanta, there is La Grotta and there is everywhere else.

Open since the early 1980s, La Grotta is Atlanta's Italian fine dining anchor. The Buckhead location has the kind of old-world warmth that cannot be manufactured. Handmade pasta, veal, and seafood preparations that have been refined over four decades. The service staff has been here long enough to know which wines age well in this cellar and which are drinking perfectly right now.

Skip the familiar and ask the staff to guide you into the southern Italian section. Sicily, Campania, and Puglia produce wines that pair brilliantly with La Grotta's menu and cost significantly less than the Piedmont selections. The by-the-glass options rotate and often feature wines the buyer is excited about, which is always a good sign.