Wine Spectator hardware, a sommelier forged at The Modern, and Italy from Friuli to Sicily
Roswell · Atlanta · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Updated June 2026
Reviewed February 22, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Osteria Mattone’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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.
Brookhaven · Atlanta · New American/Southern
Roc South is a genuinely fun restaurant — the food sounds great and the vibe is undeniable — but the wine program doesn't give us enough to work with or get excited about. Until there's a verifiable list with real producers and fair pricing, let the bartender guide your evening instead.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Atlanta · New American/Southern
Park 82 has a wine list in the same way a gas station has a wine selection — technically present, practically limiting. If you're a Pinot Noir devotee who doesn't mind paying restaurant markup for bottles you've seen at Kroger, you'll survive. Everyone else should probably lead with cocktails and ask what's on tap.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Atlanta · Asian
Tabla's wine list punches above its weight for an Asian restaurant in Atlanta. The white-heavy, aromatic-focused selection makes genuine sense with the food, pricing at the entry level is fair, and the BTG depth is real. We'd send a friend here for wine without hesitation — just order the Grüner first.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Atlanta · Other
MCK isn't trying to be a wine destination — it's a bar and restaurant with a list built for toasting and crowd comfort. The sparkling program punches above the list's weight, the by-the-glass selection is generous, and the markups on still wines are steep but not outrageous. Send a friend here if they want Champagne and something easy to sip; send them somewhere else if they're chasing a wine experience.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Atlanta · Gastropub/Tavern
Blue Moon Brewery & Grill is a beer bar first, second, and third — the wine list exists so your friend who doesn't drink beer doesn't feel stranded. If that's the situation, the Cava at $9 or the Elouan Rosé at $10 are perfectly fine. But if wine is the reason you're going out, go somewhere else.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Atlanta · Thai
Pink Lotus has built a wine list that takes its cues from the food — acid-forward, bubbles-heavy, and genuinely curious — which is more than most Thai spots in town bother to do. Markups are fair, the by-the-glass selection is wide, and there are real finds here if you look past the Dom Pérignon showpiece bottles at the top. If you're eating Thai in Atlanta and you want something interesting in your glass, this list deserves your attention.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Dacula · Italian
Antonetas isn't a wine destination, and it isn't trying to be — it's a family-friendly neighborhood Italian with a wine list that covers the basics and stays out of the way. If you're after a solid glass of something red with your Lasagna in a no-fuss setting, you won't be disappointed. Just don't show up expecting to geek out over the list.
Plays It Safe
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Alpharetta · Italian
Crust is a solid neighborhood Italian spot where the wine list is a supporting player, not the headliner — and that's fine. Come for the rigatoni alla vodka and garlic knots; order a glass of whatever red they're pouring and don't overthink it. We'd send a friend here for dinner without hesitation, just not for the wine list alone.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Marietta · Italian
Vespucci's isn't a wine destination, but it doesn't pretend to be — and that honesty is refreshing. The one move that earns real respect here is the Monday half-price bottle deal, which turns an ordinary weeknight into a genuinely good value. Show up on a Monday, order the Eggplant Parmigiana, grab a bottle at half price, and you've had a solid dinner without thinking too hard about it.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
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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