Solid Italian Anchor in an Unlikely Wine Town
Howland/Greater Youngstown · Youngstown · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Updated August 2026
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 17, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Leo's Ristorante’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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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.
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
Boardman · Youngstown · American Grill
StoneBridge is a neighborhood bar and grill that serves food, not a restaurant that takes wine seriously — and two labels confirms that. Order a cocktail or a beer and have a good time; just don't come here expecting anything from the wine list.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Greater Youngstown Area · Youngstown · American-Italian Winery Bistro
L'uva Bella is the kind of place that earns your respect by not pretending to be something it isn't — it's an Ohio winery doing Ohio wine, and at these prices, that's a story worth hearing. Send your most wine-skeptical friend here; they'll leave with a new opinion about Lake Erie and a $14 tab for two glasses.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Proper
· Lansing · Italian
Carrabba's Lansing isn't a wine destination — it's a chain with a four-bottle list that skews heavily toward one California region and ignores everything Italian about the menu. Come for the pasta, skip the wine program, or catch one of their Paso Robles wine dinners if the timing works out.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Occasional
Acceptable
· Las Cruces · Italian
La Bella Vita's wine list won't make a wine geek's heart race, but it's fairly priced, almost entirely available by the glass, and leans into its Italian identity in the right places. Send a friend here if they want a solid glass of Chianti without a lesson.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· West Palm Beach · Italian
Cafe Sapori's wine list is a reliable Italian-leaning companion — not adventurous, not cheap, but curated enough that the right picks reward you. Skip the Whispering Angel, dig into the Tuscans, and you'll leave satisfied.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
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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