Decatur's Italian spot drinking like a wine bar
Decatur · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · October 3, 2026
RagingWine reviewed No. 246’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Fifteen bottles, fifteen by-the-glass options — at No. 246, the whole list is available by the pour, which is either a confession that they don't move much bottle service or a genuinely generous policy for the curious drinker. We're betting on the latter. The range runs from a $14 Idlewild Arneis to a $21 Champagne, which is a sensible spread without anyone getting gouged.
The list leans hard into Italy, as it should for an Italian restaurant, but it doesn't just phone in Pinot Grigio and Chianti. You get Antoniolo Nebbiolo, Cincinnato Nero Buono — a grape almost nobody outside Lazio has heard of — and Produttori di Manduria Fiano, which is southern Italian and properly interesting. The outliers are Sandhi Chardonnay from Santa Rita Hills and Le Machin Pinot Noir from France, which read more like the list-builder couldn't resist a couple of favorites than a coherent digression. That's fine. The Italian core is tight and considered, covering sparkling, white, and red without padding the list with generic filler.
Every wine on the list is available by the glass, which makes this functionally a wine bar attached to a restaurant. At 15 options ranging from $14 to $21 per glass, you can work through a lot of ground in one sitting without committing to a bottle. There's no rotating reserve or half-price program we can find, but the permanent selection does enough heavy lifting on its own.
The Bottom Line
No. 246 is pulling off something quietly impressive: a short, all-by-the-glass wine list that still manages to surface obscure Italian grapes and quality producers without charging for the privilege. The $14–$21 glass range is honest, the Italian focus is genuine, and the Cincinnato Nero Buono alone earns a visit. If you're in Decatur and want to drink well without doing homework, this is a reliable place to let the list do the thinking.
· Decatur · Japanese
Umi is built around Champagne, and if that's your thing, there are genuinely exciting bottles here — from the Billecart-Salmon Rosé to the Salon Cuvée S for when someone at the table is feeling reckless. The markups run steep across the board, and outside of sparkling, the list doesn't have much to say. But if you're celebrating something and want bubbles with your omakase, this is exactly the right room.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Buckhead · Decatur · Hotel dining
Astor Court is a genuinely lovely room for a special-occasion brunch or afternoon tea, and the food menu — Kusshi oysters, truffle-laced celery root soup, that Challah French toast — gives you plenty to work with. But without a transparent wine list, verifiable pricing, or a confirmed wine specialist on the floor, we can't in good conscience send you here specifically for the wine. Order something sparkling, enjoy the room, and let the food do the heavy lifting.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Decatur · Decatur · Italian
Sotto Sotto is a genuinely Italian wine list in a city that usually settles for Italian-American approximations — the Timorasso, the Lambrusco di Sorbara, the Franciacorta all signal real intent. The glass program is accessible, markups are reasonable, and the bubbles section alone justifies a visit. If you want depth across all of Italy, you'll hit the edges fast at 68 labels, but what's here is well-chosen. Send a friend who likes to drink something they've never heard of.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Decatur · Decatur · Seafood and New American
Wahoo! Grill isn't going to make a wine obsessive rearrange their calendar — but if you're in Decatur on a Wednesday, the half-price bottle deal on wines under $45 makes this one of the better casual wine nights in the neighborhood. Show up for the Sesame-crusted Ahi Tuna, let someone at the table pick a bottle, and don't overthink it.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
Decatur · Decatur · French and Alsatian
Café Alsace earns the Wild Card badge because it's doing something genuinely unusual in metro Atlanta — serving Alsatian food with a wine list to match, in a neighborhood bistro that doesn't take itself too seriously. We'd love to report more specifics on bottles and pricing, but the concept is sound and the food-wine alignment is real. If you're sitting down to a plate of choucroute garnie, you're probably drinking the right thing — and that's more than most restaurants in this city can say.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Decatur · Decatur · Italian
BoccaLupo is the kind of Italian wine list that makes you realize how lazy most Italian restaurant wine lists are. Fair pricing, genuine range, and a by-the-glass program that rewards exploration over habit — this is a list worth your attention. If you're the kind of person who orders Verdicchio or Furmint on a Tuesday night in Decatur, this place already knows you're coming.
Surprising Depth
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Henderson · Italian
Trattoria Italia is clearly a restaurant that cares about its food and its room — the vodka rigatoni and seafood linguine have fans, and the vibe earns its date-night reputation. But the wine program is an afterthought at best, and at a price point where you'd expect at least a thoughtful Italian-focused list, four labels feels like a real missed opportunity. Order a cocktail or bring your own if corkage is an option — and check before you go.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Johns Creek · Italian
Pasta Vino isn't trying to be a wine destination, and that's fine — it's a neighborhood Italian with a list that actually makes sense for the room. Pricing is fair across the board, the by-the-glass program gives you real options, and the Italian selections (especially the Chianti duo and the Lugana) show some genuine thought. Send a friend here for dinner knowing they'll drink well without overpaying.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Arlington · Italian
Piccolo Mondo punches above its Arlington zip code with a genuinely Italy-forward wine list that includes some names worth ordering. We'd love to see pricing and by-the-glass details more clearly published — and without knowing the markups, we can't fully endorse the value play — but the producer selection alone puts this ahead of most neighborhood Italian spots in the DFW suburbs. If you're going, head straight for the Tuscan reds and don't look back.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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