Champagne and gnocchi in Niagara Falls
LaSalle · Niagara Falls · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 17, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Michael's Restaurant’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
You walk into what is very much a neighborhood Italian-American joint — checkered tablecloths, pizza on the menu, $12 entrees — and then the wine list hands you Billecart-Salmon and Whispering Angel. It's a genuine double-take moment. Nobody told this place it wasn't allowed to have good taste.
Thirteen labels, all by the glass, and they've packed more intentionality into that short list than most restaurants do with fifty bottles. France leads the way with real conviction: a Domaine Laroche Saint Martin Chablis, a Gérard Millet Sancerre, and not one but two Provence rosés including Whispering Angel. Italy shows up respectably with Livio Felluga Pinot Grigio out of Friuli — a serious producer, not a supermarket pick. California gets a couple of seats at the table with Rombauer Chardonnay and a Grgich Hills Cabernet, and there's a Chateau Tour de Pressac Saint-Emilion Grand Cru rounding out the reds. The list is short on depth for red wine drinkers — one Cab, one Saint-Emilion, and that appears to be about it — but for whites and bubbles, this is quietly impressive.
Every single bottle on the list is available by the glass, which means there's no friction between curiosity and commitment. At $17–$36 per pour, you're paying honest money for honest wine — the Chablis and the Sancerre at these prices in a neighborhood spot are genuinely hard to complain about. No apparent rotation program, but when the standing lineup includes Billecart-Salmon Rosé, you don't need a revolving door.
Domaine Laroche Saint Martin '23 Chablis — $17
Laroche is a legit Chablis producer and this is their entry-level — clean, mineral, with that flinty bite Chablis does best. At $17 a glass in a restaurant, that's not a markup, that's practically a gift. Order it with anything from the sea or just order it twice.
Gérard Millet '25 Sauvignon Blanc, Sancerre
Most people at a red-sauce Italian spot aren't ordering Sancerre — they're reaching for the Chardonnay or the Pinot Grigio. That's their loss. Gérard Millet is a small, quality-focused Loire producer and this pours circles around the usual Sauvignon Blanc suspects. It's the smartest glass on the list that nobody's ordering.
Billecart-Salmon N.V. Rosé
Look, Billecart-Salmon Rosé is a genuinely great Champagne — we're not disputing that. But at $36 a glass in a spot where most entrees are under $18, you're in wildly mismatched territory. The math on a full bottle would be brutal, and one glass of something this delicate alongside a plate of Chicken Parmesan is a slightly sad way to treat a beautiful wine. Save Billecart for a different occasion.
Livio Felluga '24 Pinot Grigio + Gnocchi
Livio Felluga's Pinot Grigio from Friuli is a world away from the thin, watery versions that gave the grape its bad reputation — it has actual texture and a gentle stone fruit quality that holds its own against a buttery, pillowy plate of gnocchi without overwhelming it. This is the pairing the list was built for, even if nobody planned it that way.
The Bottom Line
Michael's is a casual neighborhood Italian spot that quietly stocked its wine list with producers it had absolutely no obligation to care about — and the prices are fair enough that you won't feel punished for noticing. If you're passing through Niagara Falls and assumed your wine options were Yellowtail or nothing, this place owes you an apology.
· Niagara Falls · Wine bar / tapas
Wine on Third is a genuinely solid neighborhood wine bar doing a lot of things right for the price — 41 by-the-glass options at $9–$12 is hard to argue with. Don't come looking for discovery; come looking for a good pour with your small plates and you'll leave happy.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Niagara-on-the-Lake · Niagara Falls · Italian
Kitchen 76 is a wine destination that happens to serve excellent Italian food, not the other way around. If you're near Niagara-on-the-Lake and you haven't made a reservation here yet, fix that.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Military Road · Niagara Falls · Steakhouse
This is a chain wine list doing chain wine list things — nothing more, nothing less. If you're in Niagara Falls and care about what's in your glass, find a local spot; if you're already committed to LongHorn, order the Riesling and put your energy into the steak.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown / Seneca Casino · Niagara Falls · Asian Fusion (Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese)
Koi is a perfectly competent casino wine list — safe producers, limited range, and markups that reflect the captive audience. If you're here for the food and the vibe, order the Riesling and don't overthink it.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown / Seneca Casino · Niagara Falls · Steakhouse, Upscale American
The Western Door is exactly what a well-run casino steakhouse wine program should be — dependable, properly stored, and wide enough to keep everyone at the table happy. It's not a destination for wine lovers, but it's a solid Reliable that won't embarrass you on a business dinner or a night out before the falls.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Downtown / Seneca Casino · Niagara Falls · Upscale Italian
La Cascata is the rare casino restaurant where the wine list doesn't feel like an afterthought — there's real Italian depth here if you look past the headline names. Just know you're paying casino prices for the privilege, and no one's coming to check on your glass knowledge.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Kahala · Honolulu · Italian
Arancino at The Kahala is doing something genuinely unusual for a hotel-adjacent Italian restaurant in Hawaii — it's built a list around obscure Northern Italian producers that most diners won't recognize, and that's exactly the point. Markups are on the steeper side and we can't vouch for glassware or staff knowledge from the available data, but the wine selection itself earns respect. If you know your Nebbiolo from your Barbera, this list rewards attention.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Overland Park · Italian
Brio Overland Park's wine list is a functional, crowd-pleasing program that won't offend anyone and won't excite anyone either. If you're here for a work dinner or a low-stakes birthday, you'll find something drinkable — just go in with measured expectations and maybe steer toward the Italian bottles before defaulting to the California heavyweights.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · New Haven · Italian
Villa Lulu is a genuinely appealing Italian restaurant with food worth showing up for — Branzino Puttanesca and Squid Ink Linguini are the kind of dishes that deserve a decent Sicilian white alongside them. The wine program has the right regional bones, but until they put a real list online, we're recommending the restaurant with a side of cautious optimism on the wine. Ask your server what's on by the glass, and keep an eye out for that half-price wine promotion if it's still running — unconfirmed, but worth asking about.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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