Iberian and Italian ambition in a Honolulu house
Kapahulu · Honolulu · Spanish, Italian · Visit Website ↗
Updated October 2026
Reviewed April 13, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Rigo Spanish Italian’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
A standalone converted house on Kapahulu Avenue is not where you expect to find Vega Sicilia and Sassicaia on the same list, but here we are. The high-ceilinged, open dining room sets a relaxed tone that immediately puts you at ease — which is smart, because the wine list is about to ask you to pay attention. Spain and Italy, focused and serious, with no apologies for what got left out.
Rigo keeps its lane tight and earns a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence doing it — 120 to 180 bottles split almost entirely between the Iberian Peninsula and the Italian boot, and the depth in both is real. On the Spanish side, you're getting Muga and La Rioja Alta in Rioja, Pesquera and Vega Sicilia from Ribera del Duero, and Clos Mogador and Alvaro Palacios representing Priorat at its most serious. Italy counters with Vietti and Giacomo Conterno Barolo, Il Poggione Brunello, and Super Tuscans like Tignanello and Sassicaia that carry actual cellar credibility. The white game is leaner but honest — Pazo de Señorans Albariño from Rias Baixas, Vermentino, and Verdicchio give you something refreshing without padding the list. What you won't find is much beyond these two countries, and honestly, that focus is a feature, not a bug.
Twelve to twenty pours by the glass at $12 to $18 is a healthy program for a restaurant this focused — enough variety to let you explore without defaulting to the bottle just yet. We'd expect the Albariño and a Rioja Reserva to anchor the glass pours, which is exactly the kind of crowd-friendly-but-not-dumbed-down move Rigo seems built on. The rotation doesn't appear to be aggressive, but what's there is well-chosen.
Pazo de Señorans Albariño, Rias Baixas — $14
Pazo de Señorans is one of the benchmark names in Rias Baixas — bright, saline, and complex in a way that most people associate with bottles twice the price. At glass-pour pricing in Honolulu, where imported wine markups can get ugly fast, this is the easy first order.
Il Poggione Brunello di Montalcino
Il Poggione doesn't have the hype of Biondi-Santi or the flash of a cult label, but it's one of the most consistently well-made Brunellos in the region — structured, age-worthy, and usually priced a step below the headline names. Most tables will gravitate toward the Sassicaia or Tignanello. Let them. This is the smarter pick.
Sassicaia
Sassicaia is a legitimately great wine, but it's also one of the most widely distributed bottles in the Super Tuscan category — meaning retail prices are well-known, and restaurant markups on trophy wines like this tend to sting. Unless you specifically came for it, the same money gets you deeper into the Barolo or Priorat section of this list with considerably more interest.
Clos Mogador, Priorat + Vongole with Brussels Sprouts
Priorat at this level — old Garnacha and Cariñena from slate-and-quartz soils — has a minerality and dark fruit intensity that can hold up to the brininess of clams without steamrolling them. The Brussels sprouts add a slight bitterness that the wine's grip actually flatters. It's a more interesting match than the obvious Albariño call.
The Bottom Line
Rigo is doing something genuinely unusual: a focused, credentialed Spanish-Italian wine list in a converted Honolulu bungalow, staffed by people who actually know what's on it. If you care about drinking well in Oahu, this is a required stop.
Kahala · Honolulu · Italian
Arancino at The Kahala is doing something genuinely unusual for a hotel-adjacent Italian restaurant in Hawaii — it's built a list around obscure Northern Italian producers that most diners won't recognize, and that's exactly the point. Markups are on the steeper side and we can't vouch for glassware or staff knowledge from the available data, but the wine selection itself earns respect. If you know your Nebbiolo from your Barbera, this list rewards attention.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Honolulu · Seafood
Mina's Fish House isn't building a wine program — it's building a dessert wine moment, and that is a genuinely uncommon thing to find at a restaurant of this profile. If you're eating dinner here, you'll need to source your table wine elsewhere on the menu or order cocktails; this list doesn't cover that ground. But if you want to close out a Four Seasons meal in Honolulu with a glass of 2013 Tokaji Aszú or something out of the Madeira cellar, this is a quietly excellent place to do it.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Waikiki · Honolulu · Italian
Quiora isn't trying to be a wine destination, and it doesn't need to be — it's a 22-label Italian restaurant list on a rooftop in Waikiki with an ocean view doing the heavy lifting. But the list is genuinely considered, the glass-pour selection is deep for the size, and pricing is fair by hotel standards. If you're eating here, drink the Tintero rosato or the Selbach Riesling and enjoy the sunset.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Waikiki · Honolulu · Italian / Californian Coastal
Botanico is doing something genuinely unusual for Waikiki — building an Italian-forward wine list with real regional depth and mostly fair pricing in a place where restaurants routinely treat wine as an afterthought. The by-the-glass program alone is worth a seat at the bar. If you care at all about what's in your glass, this belongs on your radar.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Honolulu · Hawaii Regional
Moku Nui is a casual Hawaii Regional spot that has no business running a wine list this thoughtful — and we mean that as high praise. Fair glass prices, a sommelier clearly making intentional choices, and enough variety to reward the curious drinker. If you're eating here, skip the default beer order and let someone at the table order the Vouvray.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Waikiki · Honolulu · Seafood
Azure is a genuinely lovely place to drink wine — the setting does a lot of heavy lifting and the France-Italy-Hawaii focus is a sensible match for the island seafood menu. Just go in knowing resort markup is real, and if the tasting menu with wine pairing is available, that's likely your best shot at getting something memorable poured without having to guess blind from the list.
Solid Range
Steep
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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