Lancaster's Italian anchor finally earns its vino stripes
Lancaster · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Updated September 2026
Reviewed April 22, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Lombardo's Restaurant’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list arrives looking purposeful — this isn't a generic Italian-American spot where Pinot Grigio and Chianti share equal billing with the bread basket. The Italy-only focus signals that someone here made a deliberate call, and Wine Spectator's 2024 Award of Excellence backs it up. It's not flashy, but it's honest.
The list runs 150-plus bottles and stays almost entirely in Italy, which is either a strength or a constraint depending on your mood — we'd call it a strength. Piedmont and Tuscany anchor the card with proper heavyweights: Gaja and Barolo producers from Piedmont, Brunello di Montalcino selections for the big-spenders, and Antinori and Banfi holding down the Tuscan middle ground. Masi Amarone brings Veneto representation that gives the list some geographic range without losing focus. The gaps show up in Southern Italy and the islands — no Nerello Mascalese, no Aglianico to speak of — but for a restaurant of this scale in Lancaster, the depth here is genuinely impressive.
Somewhere between 12 and 20 pours by the glass, which is a solid count for a mid-size restaurant program. The price range of $10–$18 a glass is fair for what you're getting — Ruffino and Banfi likely anchor the approachable end, with better Italian producers available if you're willing to push into the $15–$18 tier. No obvious rotation or themed flight program, which is a missed opportunity given the strength of the bottle list.
Banfi Brunello di Montalcino — $75–$90
Banfi's Brunello punches well above its price in this context — a full-throttle Sangiovese from one of Montalcino's most consistent producers, and priced at the lower end of what you'd pay elsewhere in a white-tablecloth setting. Order it with the osso buco and don't look back.
Masi Amarone della Valpolicella
Most tables at an Italian spot like this reach for Barolo or Brunello by default, but the Masi Amarone is the sleeper. It's rich, it's structured, and it has the kind of dried-fruit intensity that makes it an event in a glass. Most diners walk right past it — their loss.
Ruffino entry-level Chianti
Ruffino makes fine wine at the top of their range, but the basic Chianti is a grocery store staple that shows up at a restaurant markup without adding any excitement to your evening. Save your money or step up to something from the Brunello or Barolo section.
Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo + Veal Piccata
Gaja's Langhe Nebbiolo brings enough structure and acidity to stand up to the bright lemon-caper sauce in the piccata without overwhelming the delicate veal. It's a more approachable entry point into the Gaja universe than their single-vineyard Barolos, and it makes the dish taste like it was designed around the wine.
The Bottom Line
Lombardo's is doing something real with wine in a city where most Italian spots phone it in — the Italy-only list has genuine depth, the pricing is fair, and the 2024 Wine Spectator nod is deserved. If you care about drinking well at dinner and you're anywhere near Lancaster, this is your spot.
Downtown · Lancaster · French Bistro
Barberet isn't a wine destination, but it's doing something rarer — matching a focused, honest wine program to food that actually deserves it. If you're in Lancaster and want a French dinner that doesn't embarrass itself on the wine side, this is your spot.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Lancaster · Winery tasting room / Wine bar
Waltz Vineyards is a solid local winery doing honest work with Pennsylvania fruit and keeping prices in a range that makes experimentation easy. If you're in Lancaster and want to drink local without getting gouged, this is the right stop.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Lancaster · American Fine Dining / Steak & Seafood
The Greenfield is a reliable, well-meaning wine program dressed up in fine dining clothes — it won't embarrass you on a special occasion, but it won't give you a story to tell either. Order the scallops, pick something from Pennsylvania if you can find it, and let the room do the heavy lifting.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Lancaster · Cocktail & Wine Bar / Small Plates
Proof is doing something genuinely rare in the Pennsylvania mid-market: building a wine list that respects its customers' curiosity without gouging them for it. If you're within driving distance of Lancaster and care at all about drinking something you've never heard of, this is your spot.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Lancaster · Wine Bar / Italian Small Plates
Vine Bar is a genuine surprise in a city that doesn't get enough wine credit — a small, Italy-obsessed red wine list with real depth and genuine curiosity behind it. If you know enough to appreciate Gamay del Trasimeno and three-cru Barolo in the same room, make the trip.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Lancaster · Italian / Wood-fired
LUCA isn't trying to be a wine bar, but whoever put this list together has better taste than most Italian restaurants twice its size. For Lancaster, this is genuinely worth ordering a bottle over.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Virginia-Highland · Decatur · Italian
La Tavola deserves a real wine list — the food and the room both demand one. Right now, five bottles with no reds and no whites is a disservice to a kitchen that's clearly cooking at a higher level than the wine program suggests. Order the Ca' Del Bosco if you're drinking wine, and hope they overhaul this list before your next visit.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Harrisburg · Italian
Mangia Qui is a genuinely appealing spot — the food, the room, and the service cadence all point toward a place that takes the dining experience seriously. The Italian wine focus is the right instinct for this kitchen, and duck confit with a solid Tuscan red is exactly what this kind of room should be delivering. We just don't have enough confirmed wine list detail yet to tell you whether to come for the bottle or stick to the food. Worth a visit — ask your server what's good on the wine list and see what happens.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Eugene · Italian
Excelsior Inn Ristorante has the bones of a solid wine destination — Italian-focused list, upscale setting, food that deserves a proper bottle — but we can't fully vouch for it until the wine program is better documented. If you're heading there for a special occasion, ask your server what's drinking well from the Italian side and what they're pouring locally from Oregon; a restaurant this thoughtful about atmosphere usually has at least one or two right answers.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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