New Hampshire's Most Serious Italian Wine Room
Downtown Portsmouth · Portsmouth · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed July 24, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Massimo's Cucina Italiana’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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.
· Portsmouth · Upscale New American
Salt Kitchen & Bar has the bones of a resort wine list built to move recognizable bottles at comfortable margins — not to educate, excite, or reward the curious drinker. If you're staying at Wentworth by the Sea and want a glass of wine with dinner, you'll find something drinkable here, but we wouldn't plan a night around the list. Order the Red Newt Riesling, tip your server well, and save the wine exploration for somewhere that's actually trying.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Portsmouth · Seafood & American
The Oar House wine list is a workmanlike effort — short, safe, and priced fairly for what it is. If you're coming for the seafood and want a glass of Albariño or a crisp Sauvignon Blanc to go with it, you'll be well served. Just don't come here expecting to be wowed by the wine program.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Portsmouth · New American / Tapas-Style
Moxy earns its Wild Card badge not because we can confirm every pour, but because the bones of the wine program — an intentional regional focus, a menu built for wine-friendly snacking, and a room that draws people back — suggest genuine effort. If you're in Portsmouth and want something more interesting than a safe Napa Cab next to your tapas, this is worth the reservation. Come in curious, ask the staff what they're excited about, and let the list surprise you.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Portsmouth · Japanese / Sushi
Nichinan's wine list is short but earns its keep — the presence of Pieropan, Grüner Veltliner, and Henri Bourgeois Sancerre tells you someone on staff understands that sushi and Chardonnay is not the only answer. Markups are fair across the board, and the by-the-glass selection is wide enough to keep the table happy without forcing a bottle. If you're in Portsmouth and want something better than the default wine-at-a-sushi-restaurant experience, this delivers.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Portsmouth · Italian-American
The Rosa isn't trying to reinvent the wine list — it's trying to serve its room well, and largely succeeds. Twenty-five by-the-glass options with Italian producers mixed alongside California staples makes this one of the more thoughtful pours in Portsmouth. If you're after wine-bar ambition, look elsewhere; if you want a reliable glass with your gnocchi without any drama, The Rosa delivers.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Portsmouth · Steakhouse
The Library Restaurant is a Wine Spectator award holder that plays it very, very safe — heavy California Chardonnay, a prestige Champagne tower, and markups that favor the house. If you're here for a special occasion and want to pop a Pol Roger at $125 or a Veuve at $155, it's a fine room for that. But if you're hoping to find something unexpected or feel like the wine program is working hard for you, this list isn't going to surprise you.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Wauwatosa · Wauwatosa · Italian
Bartolotta is doing something genuinely unusual for the Midwest — a focused, Italy-only wine list that favors regional specificity over safe crowd-pleasers. The pricing is fair relative to what's on offer, and standouts like the Vie Di Romans Ciampagnis and Ca del Bosco Franciacorta punch well above the restaurant's zip code. If Italian wine is your thing and you're anywhere near Wauwatosa, this list is worth a dedicated evening.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Atlanta · Italian
Il Giallo runs one of the more thoughtful Italian wine programs in Atlanta — 35 by-the-glass options with genuine regional range is rare, and the pricing stays fair across most of the list. If you're willing to skip the comfort picks and lean into the Sardinian whites or the Abruzzo reds, you'll drink very well here. Send a friend who actually likes Italian wine; tell the one who always orders Rombauer to sit down.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Round Rock · Italian
Sortino's punches above its weight class for a suburban Italian chain — fair markup, a genuine Italian backbone, and seventeen by-the-glass options give you room to drink well without a fight. It's not a destination wine list, but if you're already there for the pasta, you won't be stuck ordering soda.
Solid Range
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.
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