Solid Italian Anchor in an Unlikely Wine Town
Howland/Greater Youngstown · Youngstown · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Updated August 2026
Reviewed July 17, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Leo's Ristorante’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Leo's lands exactly where you'd expect from a well-run neighborhood Italian — familiar names, a few Italian standouts, and prices that won't make you choke on your bread. It's not trying to be anything it isn't, which is actually kind of refreshing. You can navigate this list without a translator or a finance degree.
Fifty-five labels covers more ground than it sounds: Tuscany shows up strong with multiple Chianti Classico bottlings (La Sala, Castello Banfi, Rocca Della Macie), plus a Pio Cesare Barbera d'Alba and a Castillo Banfi Rosso di Montalcino that anchor a respectable Italian section. California brings the crowd-pleasers — Caymus, Belle Glos, Ridge Zinfandel, Migration — while Oregon gets a nod via Stoller Dundee Hills and Willamette Valley Vineyards. The Domaine Skouras Moschofilero is the one true curveball on the list, a Greek white that nobody at the table will expect but many will enjoy. Gaps exist in natural wine and anything from Southern Italy beyond Abruzzo, but for Youngstown, the depth here is genuine.
Four by-the-glass options is lean — borderline too lean. We don't have the full pours listed, but with a 55-bottle list behind the bar, there's no good reason to keep the BTG program so tight. If you're not committing to a bottle, you may feel cornered fast.
La Sala IL Torriano Chianti Classico Superiore DOCG — $89
This is the pick if you're going all-in on an Italian dinner. Chianti Classico Superiore from a solid Florentine estate at a price that reflects the restaurant's otherwise restrained markup approach — this drinks like a serious bottle without asking you to take out a second mortgage.
Domaine Skouras Moschofilero
Nobody at this table ordered it last time, and that's the problem. Moschofilero from Greece is floral, bright, and cuts through rich tomato sauces and cream-based pastas in a way that Pinot Grigio simply doesn't. It's the most interesting white on the list and almost certainly the most ignored.
Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio
At $49, you're paying a premium for a label that became famous in the '90s and hasn't done much to earn that reputation since. There are better, more interesting whites on this list for the money. Santa Margherita is what you order when you haven't looked at the list.
Pio Cesare Barbera d'Alba + Classic pasta with tomato-based sauce
Barbera's naturally high acidity and low tannin make it a workhorse with tomato-forward Italian cooking. Pio Cesare is one of the better names in Piedmont doing it — this pairing is textbook and earns every bit of that $52 ask.
The Bottom Line
Leo's isn't destination wine drinking, but it's doing the honest work of a good neighborhood Italian — fair prices, real producers, and enough Italian depth to make the food and wine feel like they belong together. Send a friend here without hesitation.
· Youngstown · Winery Restaurant
The Vineyards at Pine Lake earns its Wild Card badge by being something genuinely uncommon in Ohio: a lakefront winery restaurant with enough range in its house lineup — from a Syrah Reserve to a Gewürztraminer — to reward actual curiosity rather than just Instagram backdrops. If you're expecting a global wine list, look elsewhere; if you're up for exploring what a Northeast Ohio winery can actually do, this is a solid afternoon or evening well spent.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Youngstown · Italian enoteca-style
Yosteria is the kind of wine list that makes you recalibrate your assumptions about mid-sized Rust Belt cities — this is serious, specific Italian regional stuff at prices that don't punish you for being curious. If you care about drinking well and off the beaten path, you should be making a trip to Youngstown.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Boardman · Youngstown · Italian
Antone's isn't a wine destination, but it's not trying to be — the list is fair-priced and honest, which is more than you can say for a lot of places charging twice as much for the same bottles. Send a friend here for dinner without hesitation; just tell them to skip the White Zin.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Boardman · Youngstown · American tavern with steakhouse, bar, pizza, seafood, barbecue, and pub fare
Blue Wolf Tavern earns its reputation as a great neighborhood spot, but the wine list is an afterthought and everyone involved seems to know it. Stick to the bar menu — the cocktails and beer selection will serve you far better than two grocery-tier pours ever will.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Occasional
Acceptable
Austintown · Youngstown · Italian
Salvatore's isn't a wine destination, but it's a perfectly functional neighborhood Italian spot where the wine won't embarrass you and Wednesday's half-price bottle deal is genuinely worth planning around. Send your parents here; just steer them away from the Woodbridge.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
Liberty/Belmont Corridor · Youngstown · Italian Steakhouse
Station Square Ristorante is the wine list Youngstown doesn't know it has — deep Italian selections, prestige California anchors, and 450+ bottles that would turn heads in any city. The markups are real and there's no dynamic specials program to soften them, but if you're willing to invest in a bottle of Barolo or a Super Tuscan, this place delivers.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
SoHo · New York · Italian
A long bottle list with Italian, Burgundy and Champagne sections, fronted by a 22-wine glass page. For a glass, try the Skerk Orange Wine from Friuli at 25/95, and for a bottle on a lighter budget, the Volpaia Vermentino at 60; upstairs in the café, the labeled list pours Palistorti di Valgiano's orange Tuscan blend at Glass $22. Confirm prices before you order, because the site's Upstairs Café dinner menu and the beverage PDF do not match. This unrated guide covers the posted wine lists, not service, storage or markups.
Locust Point · Baltimore · Italian
An Italian list that leads with Campania, then works region by region through the rest of Italy. Start with the La Passera Greco di Tufo at 50 for white or the Terredora Aglianico at 48 for red, and if you want Chianti, the Banfi Riserva is 45. Prices come from the wine list linked as "Wine List 24" and post no unit, so confirm what is available. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
· Naperville · Italian
Piccolo Buco is a Cooper's Hawk restaurant wearing Italian clothes, and the wine list makes no attempt to hide that. If you're already a Cooper's Hawk member and enjoy their wines, this is a comfortable, predictable experience with fair glass pricing and decent variety within the brand. If you came hoping for a Sicilian white or a Piedmontese red to go with your pasta, you're in the wrong place — order a cocktail.
Grocery Store
Fair
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.
List Variety
Markup
Glassware
Staff
Specials & Deals
Storage & Temp
