Italy's deep bench, hiding in Atlanta
· Atlanta · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Updated October 2026
Reviewed July 24, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Novu Cucina’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Novu Cucina reads like someone actually cared — 65 labels organized by Italian sparkling, whites and rosés, and reds, with a clear commitment to the boot from top to bottom. At first glance, it skews heavily Italian, which at an Italian restaurant is exactly the right call and unfortunately rarer than it should be. This isn't a list padded with Meiomi Pinot Noir and Josh Cab to keep the unadventurous comfortable.
The list earns points for genuine regional range: you've got Friulian whites, a Franciacorta, Lugana, Soave Classico, Roero Arneis, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, Verdicchio — this is not a Greatest Hits of Northern Italy situation, it's actual homework. The sparkling section alone is worth a look, with Billecart-Salmon sitting alongside Ca' del Bosco Franciacorta and the cheeky Borgoluce Lampo Prosecco Brut, so you're not stuck choosing between Champagne and grocery-store bubbles. The red section isn't showcased in our current data but the white game here is genuinely strong for an Atlanta Italian restaurant. The $45–$295 bottle range gives real entry points without feeling like a budget list.
Twenty-four by-the-glass options is a serious commitment and almost certainly means they're running a Coravin or doing solid enough volume to keep these fresh — 24 pours gone stale would be a disaster. The glass prices run $14–$23, which is honest money for the quality level on offer here. That you can pour the Bruno Giacosa Roero Arneis or the Inama 'Foscarino' Soave Classico by the glass without committing to a bottle is genuinely generous.
Zenato Trebbiano di Lugana San Benedetto 2023 — $14–$23/glass
Lugana is one of Italy's most undervalued white wine regions, and Zenato is the benchmark producer. Whether this comes in at the low or high end of the glass range, you're drinking serious white wine — textured, mineral, and built to last — for the price of a mediocre cocktail.
Podere Cipolla-Denny Bini Lambrusco dell'Emilia
Most people skip past Lambrusco because their only reference is the syrupy Riunite their parents drank in the '80s. Denny Bini makes the real thing — dry, fizzy, dark-fruited, and a little funky in the best way. It's the kind of wine that makes a table of skeptics into instant converts, and almost no one orders it.
Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut
Billecart-Salmon is a fine house, no argument there, but at an Italian restaurant with Ca' del Bosco Franciacorta already on the list, ordering French Champagne feels like ordering a burger at a sushi spot. You're almost certainly paying a premium for the label recognition, and the Franciacorta will be more interesting with the food.
Inama 'Foscarino' Soave Classico 2022 + Pasta with seafood or a white-sauced primi
Foscarino is one of Soave's top single-vineyard bottlings — Garganega with real weight and a saline, volcanic-mineral edge. It's built for Italian seafood pasta or anything cream-adjacent without going full buttery Chardonnay. The acidity cuts, the texture matches, and it tastes like you know what you're doing.
The Bottom Line
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.
· 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
· Atlanta · Steakhouse
AG is a genuinely strange wine program for a steakhouse, and we mean that as a compliment — if you're the kind of person who knows the difference between a Late Harvest and a 5 Puttonyos Aszú, this list will surprise you. Come for the red meat, stay for the fortified wine flight you didn't know you needed.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Peachtree Hills · Atlanta · American / Bar
Taco Mac's wine list exists because legally it has to, not because anyone cared to build it. If you're here for the wings and the game, order a beer — that's what this place does well. The wine program is a Lazy List in every sense: overpriced for what's in the glass, staffed by a rotating crew unlikely to talk you through it, and assembled without a single interesting choice.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Atlanta · New American
THREE isn't trying to be a wine destination, and the list makes that abundantly clear. If you're here for cocktails or the bar scene, you're probably in the right place — but if wine matters to you even a little, this four-item lineup isn't going to do much for you. Order the House Champagne at $5, accept the situation for what it is, and move on.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Atlanta · Atlanta · Better Burger
Yeah! Burger has no business having a wine list this considered, and that's exactly why it works. An all-organic, all-by-the-glass program priced between $5 and $9 at a fast-casual burger spot is the definition of a wild card. If you're in Atlanta and want a genuinely fun, low-stakes wine experience with zero pretension, this is it.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Atlanta · Atlanta · Vegan Soul Food
Bar Vegan isn't a wine destination — it's a vegan soul food bar with a short, functional list that serves the room. Some markups are hard to justify, and the list won't impress anyone who came in looking for something interesting. But the Black Girl Magic Red Blend and the J. Lohr bottle price show there's a little thought behind the selections. Come for the food and the vibe; the wine is just along for the ride.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
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
· Round Rock · Italian
Frank & Margie's wine list is doing something quietly ambitious for Round Rock — twelve Italian-leaning glasses anchored by real producers like Oddero, Principiano, and Collosorbo at prices that don't sting. If you're the kind of person who gets excited about Grechetto di Todi on a Tuesday night, yes, absolutely send your friends here.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Round Rock · Italian
Gino's isn't trying to be a wine destination, and it doesn't pretend to be — but the Italian-focused list, fair pricing, and full by-the-glass access make it a genuinely decent place to drink while you eat. Skip the Justin, lean into the Italian reds, and you'll leave happy.
Small but Thoughtful
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.
List Variety
Markup
Glassware
Staff
Specials & Deals
Storage & Temp
