Wednesday Changes Everything at Savona's
Albany · Albany · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 7, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Savona's Trattoria’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
The list at Savona's is exactly what you'd expect from a neighborhood Italian trattoria — familiar names, approachable prices, nothing that's going to make your jaw drop. But then you notice the Wednesday deal and suddenly the whole place looks a lot more interesting.
The list runs 30 to 60 bottles and leans heavily on the Italian-American greatest hits: Chianti, Montepulciano, Pinot Grigio — all sensible calls for a pasta-and-veal kind of room. The international side fills in with Cabernet, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc, which tells you this list is built for the widest possible audience, not for the person who wants to geek out on Abruzzo producers. There are no deep cuts here, no grower Champagnes hiding in the back pages, no natural wine experiments. What you see is what you get — and honestly, for Albany on a Tuesday, that's fine.
Eight to fifteen pours by the glass is a respectable spread for this category of restaurant, and the lineup mirrors the bottle list: Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Rosé on the white side, a Chianti or Montepulciano if you want red. Don't expect the glass list to rotate much — this feels like a set-and-forget program — but the basics are covered and the prices are reasonable enough that you won't feel gouged on a weeknight pour.
Chianti — ~$35
On Wine Lovers' Wednesday, a mid-range Chianti at half price is a genuine steal with a plate of pasta. Even at full price it's a fair pour for the category — Wednesday just makes it a no-brainer.
Montepulciano
Most tables at an Italian-American trattoria default to Chianti or Cabernet, but the Montepulciano is the more interesting red in this lineup — darker fruit, earthier edge, and it handles heavier red sauces and veal better than either of its neighbors on the list.
Cabernet Sauvignon
A generic Cabernet on an Italian restaurant wine list is almost always the path of least resistance — bought in bulk, marked up safely, and no particular reason to be here when the Italian reds are doing more interesting work for similar money.
Chianti + Chicken Parmigiana
Chianti's high acidity and tomato-friendly character cut right through the richness of a red-sauced parm. It's a classic match for a reason, and at Wednesday prices it's basically criminal how well this works.
Wednesday — Half price on all bottles of wine, all day — no exclusions.
The Bottom Line
Savona's isn't going to win any awards for list creativity, but the Wednesday half-price bottle program is legitimately one of the best wine deals in Albany — show up on a Wednesday with a group, order the Chianti, and you'll leave happy. Any other night, it's a perfectly solid neighborhood spot that does exactly what it promises.
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