Detroit's Italian Anchor Pours Reliably Well
Downtown Detroit · Detroit · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Updated April 2026
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · March 22, 2026
RagingWine reviewed San Morello’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
Walking into San Morello inside the Shinola Hotel, the wine list feels like it was built to complement the room — polished, confident, and a little too aware of how good-looking it is. The list is concise but not lazy, with a clear Italian backbone and smart nods to California and Oregon. It's not going to surprise you, but it's not going to embarrass you either.
The Italian presence is the highlight here — Jermann's Pinot Grigio from Friuli and Terre Nere's Nerello Mascalese from Sicily signal that someone at least flipped past the first chapter of Italian wine. Felsina Sangiovese from Tuscany rounds out the boot-country coverage with a producer worth respecting. The California contingent is solid if safe — Chappellet and Honig are reliable names, but they're also the kind of picks you see on every hotel restaurant list from here to San Francisco. There's no deep-cellar drama, no real curveballs, but the bones are good.
Five by-the-glass options is a tight pour program for a restaurant of this profile, and at $14–$25 a glass, you're paying hotel-adjacent prices whether you like it or not. The range hits the major categories — sparkling, white, red — without overcomplicating things. Rotation doesn't appear to be a priority, so what you see is likely what you'll always get.
Nerello Mascalese Terre Nere | Sicily — $14–$25
Terre Nere is a legitimate producer making serious wine from Etna's volcanic slopes — finding it on a by-the-glass program in Detroit is genuinely good news. It's probably the most interesting thing on the list and almost certainly the most underpriced relative to what it delivers.
Pinot Grigio Jermann | Friuli
Most people hear Pinot Grigio and mentally check out, expecting something thin and forgettable. Jermann is the rebuttal to that assumption — a Friuli producer making textured, serious whites that have nothing in common with the Santa Margherita crowd. Order this and let people think you just know things.
Sauvignon Blanc Honig | Napa, California
Honig is perfectly fine wine, but Napa Sauvignon Blanc at hotel restaurant markup is a tough sell when you could spend the same dollars on the Terre Nere. This is the list's most predictable, least exciting option — the kind of wine you order when you're not paying attention.
Sangiovese Felsina | Tuscany + Rigatoni with veal bolognese
Felsina's Sangiovese has the acidity to cut through a rich meat sauce and enough earthy structure to match the depth of a slow-cooked bolognese. This is basically the textbook Italian combo, and San Morello is one of the few places in Detroit where you can actually run the play.
The Bottom Line
San Morello is a reliable wine stop in a city that needs more of them — the Italian selections show genuine taste, the by-the-glass program is compact but functional, and the Shinola Hotel setting means you're always going to pay a little extra for the atmosphere. Send a friend here for a pre-dinner glass if they want something better than average; just steer them toward the Sicilian and away from the safe California picks.
Renaissance Center · Detroit · Regional Steakhouse
Highlands is a reliable special-occasion wine stop backed by a knowledgeable sommelier in Kevin Williams and a Wine Spectator Award it's held since 2022. The list won't surprise you, but at 71 floors up with a bone-in ribeye in front of you, you probably weren't asking it to.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Corktown · Detroit · Italian, Swiss
Alpino is doing something genuinely unusual for Detroit — an alpine-themed kitchen with a wine list that actually matches the room's ambition, not just its vibe. Send your friends here, tell them to order Austrian, and sit near the fireplace.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Southfield · Detroit · Northern Italian
Bacco is the kind of wine program that makes you feel like Detroit's been holding out on you — 11,000 bottles, a sommelier who actually knows the cellar, and a room serious enough to let a 2000 Gaja breathe properly. The prices will make your eyes water, but this is a destination list worth the trip.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Rochester Hills · Detroit · Italian
La Collina is a perfectly decent neighborhood Italian spot that treats its wine list like an afterthought — familiar names, steep markups, no real sense of curation or care. Drink the Brunello or order a Negroni and don't look back.
Crowd Pleasers
Gouge
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Detroit · Detroit · Contemporary American
The Apparatus Room is the wine list Detroit didn't know it needed — thoughtful, fairly priced, and backed by a sommelier who actually shows up. If you're eating downtown and you care about what's in your glass, this is your spot.
Solid Range
Fair
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Unknown · Detroit · Steakhouse
Shanahan's is playing a different game than most Detroit restaurants — the wine list is destination-worthy on its own merits, even if the markups reflect the ambition. If you're serious about wine with your steak, this is where you go.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Gilbert · Gilbert · Italian
North Italia Gilbert is a chain that does the bare minimum of interesting things — and sometimes that's exactly what you need on a Tuesday in Gilbert. The Italian regional whites are the real reason to open this list; everything else is serviceable.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Nob Hill · San Francisco · Italian
Seven Hills is doing something most Italian restaurants in this city won't — building a wine list that actually reflects the breadth of Italian winemaking rather than the highlights reel. If you're even mildly curious about obscure Italian whites, this is one of the better places in SF to take the leap.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Plano · Italian
Roma has enough wine on the list to get you through a good dinner, but it leans hard on California crowd-pleasers and marks them up accordingly. Stick to the Italian reds, avoid the Napa trophies, and you'll drink well enough — just don't expect the list to match the ambition of the cuisine.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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