Youngstown's Quietly Serious Wine Destination
Boardman · Youngstown · Italian-American Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 17, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Michael Alberini's Restaurant & Wine Shop’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
Six hundred labels in Boardman, Ohio is not something you see coming. Walk in expecting a red-sauce joint with a Chianti list and you'll find yourself staring at a serious cellar instead. The room is polished without being stuffy, and the wine shop component signals that whoever runs this place actually cares.
The Italian backbone is exactly what you'd hope for — Barolo, Brunello di Montalcino, Amarone della Valpolicella, and a Super Tuscan section that goes deeper than most restaurants twice the size. Napa Cabernet holds its own on the domestic side, giving red-meat regulars exactly what they want. The breadth across both Old World and New World is genuinely impressive for a market like this, and 600-plus labels means there's real depth, not just a long list of the same five producers. The gaps are what you'd expect — Burgundy and Champagne aren't the focus here, and adventurous drinkers looking for Jura or Canary Islands pours won't find them.
An estimated 15 to 25 options by the glass is a healthy pour program for this size of restaurant, and at $10–$20 a glass the pricing stays honest. The Sunday half-price deal turns a solid by-the-glass list into a legitimately great deal — we'd absolutely build a Sunday night dinner around it.
Amarone della Valpolicella (by the glass, Sunday) — ~$10–$13 (half-price Sunday)
Amarone by the glass at half price on a Sunday is borderline absurd value. This is a wine that costs real money anywhere else — here you're getting it at a price that makes you order a second pour without thinking twice.
Super Tuscan (bottle)
Super Tuscans get lost between Barolo and Brunello on most Italian lists, but Alberini's section here goes beyond the obvious Sassicaia name-drops. Worth asking what they're pouring that most tables walk past.
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (entry-level by the glass)
The lower-end Napa Cab by the glass exists to satisfy a reflex order, not to impress anyone. With Barolo and Brunello on the same list, reaching for a generic Napa pour feels like a waste of the room you're in.
Barolo + Dry-aged ribeye or bone-in chop
Barolo's tannins and acid were built for exactly this — a big piece of aged beef with some fat on it. It's not a subtle pairing, but it's a correct one, and that matters more.
Sunday — Half off all wines by the glass, all day and all night every Sunday.
🎲 The Bottom Line
Michael Alberini's punches well above what northeastern Ohio has any right to expect from a wine list, and Sunday half-price by-the-glass night alone is worth the drive. Send a friend here if they think serious wine only exists in big cities.
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Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
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Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
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Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Occasional
Acceptable
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Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
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Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
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Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
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