New Hampshire's Most Serious Italian Wine Room
Downtown Portsmouth · Portsmouth · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 24, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Massimo's Cucina Italiana’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
When a restaurant in Portsmouth, New Hampshire is pouring 1994 Sassicaia and 2000 Ornellaia, you stop and pay attention. This is not your red-sauce-and-house-Chianti situation — Massimo's has clearly put serious thought and real money into this list. Walking in, you get the sense that whoever built this program actually cares.
The 150-label list leans hard into Italian greatness — Tuscany and Piedmont anchor everything, with Biondi Santi Brunello, Gaja Barbaresco, and multiple Antinori Super Tuscans doing the heavy lifting. There's enough range across Veneto, Campania, and Sicily to show this isn't just a greatest-hits vanity list. The Napa presence is light but credible — Continuum's Proprietary Red Blend earns its spot. If you're looking for French depth beyond the prestige bubbles and a Sauternes from d'Yquem, you'll find the selection thin, but that's a minor quibble when the Italian spine is this strong.
Twenty by-the-glass options is genuinely generous for a restaurant this size, and the price range suggests they're not just pumping cheap juice through the taps. We didn't catch evidence of regular rotation or a standout glass program with frequent updates, but the sheer volume means most people at the table can find something that works without committing to a bottle.
Marchesi Antinori 'Tignanello' Super Tuscan Tuscany 2021 — Market
Tignanello is a benchmark Super Tuscan that routinely trades hands for $90-$120 retail — if Massimo's is pricing it anywhere near that range, it's the best bottle-for-bottle value on a list that skews toward collector-tier pricing. It's approachable young, built for food, and a recognizable name that actually delivers.
Continuum 'Proprietary Red Blend' Napa Valley CA 2018
Most eyes at an Italian restaurant drift straight to the Tuscans, but Continuum — the Tim Mondavi project — is quietly one of Napa's most thoughtful Cabernet-based blends. The 2018 vintage is excellent, and it's the kind of bottle that gets overlooked on an Italian list precisely because it doesn't have an Italian name on the label.
Moët et Chandon 'Dom Perignon' Brut France 2015
Dom Pérignon at a restaurant carries a punishing markup by default, and here it's almost certainly sitting at 3-4x retail on a list where the money is better spent on the Italian bottles this kitchen was built around. If you want to celebrate, put that budget toward a Biondi Santi Brunello instead.
Biondi Santi Brunello di Montalcino Tuscany 2015 + Osso buco
Brunello and braised veal shank is one of the great Italian marriages — the wine's iron-edged Sangiovese tannins cut through the collagen-rich braise while the acidity keeps every bite fresh. The 2015 vintage has the structure to stand up to it and the fruit to complement the gremolata.
🔥 The Bottom Line
Massimo's is the kind of place that makes you wish you lived in Portsmouth just so you could work through this list one dinner at a time. The pricing is not shy, but for a collection that includes Gaja, Biondi Santi, and a 1994 Sassicaia, you're paying for access to something genuinely rare for northern New England.
Market Street · Portsmouth · Italian
Dolce Vita is a reliable neighborhood wine bar with enough Italian depth to satisfy anyone who came to drink well with their dinner. The markups on the California heavy-hitters are a soft deterrent, but lean Italian and you'll leave happy.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Portsmouth · French patisserie, crêperie, and wine bar
La Maison Navarre is a genuine Wild Card — a French patisserie and crêperie in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, that actually bothered to build a coherent, France-only wine list to match. It's not deep, it's not adventurous, but it's honest and well-matched to what's on the plate, and that's more than most places manage.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
West End · Portsmouth · Global Street Food / Eclectic American
STREET is a genuinely fun, globe-trotting neighborhood spot that deserves a wine list as curious as its food — instead it has six grocery-store staples marked up steep and left on autopilot. Order a cocktail, enjoy the Bibimbap, and don't overthink the wine.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Unknown · Portsmouth · Modern Mexican
Vida Cantina is a genuinely fun spot for food and cocktails, but the wine list is on autopilot — overpriced California standards with no imagination and no connection to the kitchen. Order a mezcal cocktail, grab the Vinho Verde if you insist on wine, and don't come here expecting anything more.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Unknown · Portsmouth · Bar / Rooftop
Come for the rooftop, stay for the vibe — but don't come for the wine. The Wednesday half-price bottle deal is the one reason to order a bottle, and even then, temper your expectations accordingly.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
Downtown · Portsmouth · American Grill
Skip the Gas Light on any night but Wednesday — half off all bottles turns a steep list into a genuinely solid deal and makes this a legitimate downtown Portsmouth option. The rest of the week, order a beer.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
· Atlanta · Italian
Novu Cucina's wine list punches well above its weight for an Atlanta Italian restaurant — Italian-focused, honestly priced, and deep enough by the glass to make a meal out of just exploring the whites. Send your friends here and tell them to skip the Champagne.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Route 28 Corridor · Kingston · Italian
La Florentina isn't a wine destination — it's a neighborhood Italian with a wine list that knows its lane and stays in it. Come for the pizza, order the Chianti carafe, and don't overthink it.
Plays It Safe
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Lake Katrine/Kingston Periphery · Kingston · Italian
Reginato's food reputation is real and the kitchen clearly cares — the wine list does not return the favor. Order the pasta, drink the Chianti, and keep your expectations firmly earthbound.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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