Small Italian list that punches way above weight
· Sandy Springs · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed October 20, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Pendolino’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Twelve bottles. That's it. Most restaurants use that as a warm-up, but Pendolino treats it as a thesis statement — and the thesis is: Italy is more interesting than you think. The list reads like someone actually cared when they wrote it.
Every single bottle on this list is Italian or Italian-adjacent, and not in a lazy Chianti-and-Pinot-Grigio way. You've got Bisci's Verdicchio di Matelica — a region most people have never heard of — sitting next to a GD Vajra Langhe Nebbiolo, which is Barolo country without the Barolo price tag. There's a Rezabal Txakoli Rosé from the Basque Country rounding out the rosé section, which is a fun curveball, and a Cieli 'Yantra' Super Tuscan anchoring the reds for anyone who wants something with more weight. The gaps are real — no half-bottles, no dessert wine, no Sicilian presence — but for a 12-bottle list, the hits-to-misses ratio is genuinely impressive.
We don't have confirmed by-the-glass data for Pendolino, so we can't tell you what's being poured and at what price. That's worth asking your server directly — a list this curated deserves to be explored by the glass if the program supports it.
The Bottom Line
Pendolino is doing something genuinely interesting with a very short Italian wine list — prioritizing producers and regions that actually reward curiosity over safe crowd-pleasers. We don't have pricing or glass program details to fully vet the value story, but the selection alone earns our attention. If you're eating Italian in Sandy Springs and you want more than the usual suspects, this list is worth your time.
Sandy Springs · Sandy Springs · New American
Brooklyn Cafe's wine list is doing more than it has to for a Sandy Springs neighborhood restaurant — the white selections alone, from Rudi Pichler to Merry Edwards, show real editorial intent. Pricing transparency is a question mark without confirmed figures, and the glass program is a mystery we couldn't resolve. Worth a visit if you're eating in the area; just go in ready to ask questions.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Sandy Springs · Rotisserie Chicken
Roasters is here for the chicken, not the wine, and the list makes that abundantly clear. At fair price points for what's on offer, you won't feel robbed — but you also won't feel inspired. Order a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, eat the bird, and call it a night.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Sandy Springs · Sandy Springs · Bar and American
If you're at Battle & Brew, you're here to play games and drink something cold — and that's completely fine. The wine list exists to check a box, not to excite anyone. At $8/glass for anonymous house pours, the price is inoffensive, but there's nothing here to seek out. Order the Demon Slayer Sake, grab a controller, and don't lose any sleep over the wine program.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Inman Park · Sandy Springs · Spanish Wine Bar
Barcelona Inman Park runs a genuinely ambitious by-the-glass program — fair prices, Iberian depth, and enough global detours to keep things interesting. We'd send a friend here specifically to work through the whites and bubbles with a spread of small plates, and the Bico Amarelo at $9 a glass makes that an easy ask.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Sandy Springs · Global New American
Earl's Sandy Springs is clearly a restaurant where wine is an afterthought — three bottles is a bar cart, not a wine program. Come for the food and the cocktails, but don't count on the wine list to add anything to the evening. If wine matters to you, this is not your spot.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Sandy Springs · Sandy Springs · Steakhouse and Seafood
Chops Lobster Bar delivers a competent, well-stocked by-the-glass program that will satisfy the Napa loyalists without totally abandoning people who want something with actual personality — see: the Loosen Riesling and the Champy Chablis. The markups are what they are at this price point, and the list isn't going to win any awards for creativity, but if you're here for a good steak and a reliable glass of wine to go with it, you won't leave unhappy.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Virginia-Highland · Decatur · Italian
La Tavola deserves a real wine list — the food and the room both demand one. Right now, five bottles with no reds and no whites is a disservice to a kitchen that's clearly cooking at a higher level than the wine program suggests. Order the Ca' Del Bosco if you're drinking wine, and hope they overhaul this list before your next visit.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Harrisburg · Italian
Mangia Qui is a genuinely appealing spot — the food, the room, and the service cadence all point toward a place that takes the dining experience seriously. The Italian wine focus is the right instinct for this kitchen, and duck confit with a solid Tuscan red is exactly what this kind of room should be delivering. We just don't have enough confirmed wine list detail yet to tell you whether to come for the bottle or stick to the food. Worth a visit — ask your server what's good on the wine list and see what happens.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Eugene · Italian
Excelsior Inn Ristorante has the bones of a solid wine destination — Italian-focused list, upscale setting, food that deserves a proper bottle — but we can't fully vouch for it until the wine program is better documented. If you're heading there for a special occasion, ask your server what's drinking well from the Italian side and what they're pouring locally from Oregon; a restaurant this thoughtful about atmosphere usually has at least one or two right answers.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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