Wine Spectator hardware, a sommelier forged at The Modern, and Italy from Friuli to Sicily
Roswell · Atlanta · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Updated June 2026
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · February 22, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Osteria Mattone’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
Osteria Mattone holds a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence every year since opening in 2013 and backs it up with roughly 180 selections and 1,500 bottles on site. Wine director Daniel Pernice trained at Danny Meyer's The Modern in New York during its James Beard Outstanding Wine Program run. He came home to Roswell and built the Italian wine list this city did not know it needed. If you care about Italian wine, this is a destination.
The list covers Italy from Friuli to Sicily with the kind of depth that makes you forget you are OTP. Piedmont is properly represented with GD Vajra Albe Barolo anchoring the premium tier. Friuli shows up via Ronchi di Cialla Ribolla Gialla — a varietal most Roswell diners have never encountered. Tuscany delivers Chianti Classico Riserva and Antinori blends. Puglia, Abruzzo, Sardinia, and Campania all get their moments. Pernice champions lesser-known Italian regions with real conviction, and a Sommelier's Thoughts sidebar on the menu helps guests navigate unfamiliar territory. Smart Champagne and New World picks round out the edges without diluting the Italian core.
Twenty-two wines by the glass priced from $13 to $25 span sparkling, white, rosé, and red with genuine range. The $25 GD Vajra Barolo by the glass is the crown jewel — you rarely see Barolo poured by the glass outside of major cities. Whites run from a $13 Centopassi Giato Bianco to a $17 Hess Panthera Chardonnay. The Aperitivo Happy Hour drops select glasses to $9 during the first two hours at the bar daily, making this one of the best wine happy hours in metro Atlanta.
Li Veli Orion Primitivo — $14/glass
Puglia's answer to old-vine Zinfandel at a price that makes zero sense for the quality. Rich, ripe, and loaded with dark cherry. Order this with any red-sauce pasta and feel like you just outsmarted the menu.
Ronchi di Cialla Ribolla Gialla
A $16 glass of Friulian white that most Americans cannot pronounce and fewer have tasted. Floral, textured, and built for the restaurant's seafood antipasti. This is Pernice showing you what Italian white wine can be beyond Pinot Grigio.
Hess Panthera Chardonnay
A fine California Chardonnay but you did not come to Osteria Mattone to drink Russian River Valley. At $17 a glass you are in range of the Bramito della Sala from Umbria or the Sardinian Vermentino, both of which tell a better story at this table.
Tinazzi Valpolicella Ripasso + Tagliolini Bolognese
Pernice calls Ripasso the bridge wine for American drinkers exploring Italian reds and he is right. The dried-grape richness and gentle tannin of the Ripasso meet the slow-simmered Bolognese with the kind of harmony that makes you stop talking and just eat. This is the pairing that converts people.
Daily — Aperitivo Happy Hour at the bar — first two hours feature select glasses
The Bottom Line
Osteria Mattone is not just the best Italian wine program in Roswell — it is one of the best suburban Italian wine programs in the Southeast. The Wine Spectator hardware is earned, the sommelier has a pedigree that would play in Manhattan, and the by-the-glass program lets you explore Italy one pour at a time without breaking the bank. Roswell's wine identity starts here.
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Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
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Acceptable
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Acceptable
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Solid Range
Steep
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Acceptable
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Plays It Safe
Steep
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Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
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