Italy's greatest hits, Strip-side
Las Vegas Strip · Las Vegas · Italian
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 8, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Scarpetta Las Vegas’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Scarpetta lands like a greatest-hits album for Italian wine nerds — Gaja, Giacosa, Biondi-Santi, Sassicaia all accounted for before you've even ordered bread. Perched above the Strip inside the Cosmopolitan, this is a room that takes Italian wine as seriously as the kitchen takes its pasta. The physical list is heavy in both weight and ambition.
Piedmont and Tuscany are the unambiguous stars here, and Wine Spectator's Best of Award of Excellence — earned in 2025 — reflects a list that earns it. Barolo alone spans Giacomo Conterno, Bruno Giacosa, Borgogno's Cannubi, and Gaja, covering both traditional and modern camps without apology. Tuscany delivers the full Super Tuscan trifecta — Sassicaia, Tignanello, and Ornellaia — alongside serious Brunello from Biondi-Santi and Ciacci Piccolomini, and Chianti Classico from Castello di Ama and Fontodi for the value-seekers. The list runs 350-500 bottles deep, which means there's room to explore, though it is unambiguously Italy-forward — if you came for Burgundy or California depth, recalibrate.
With 20-35 by-the-glass options ranging $15-$40, the BTG program is notably strong for a Vegas hotel restaurant. The range covers enough ground that you can work your way through Piedmont and Tuscany across a long dinner without committing to a full bottle. Wednesday's half-price wine night is genuinely rare in this price category — a legitimate reason to plan your visit around a weeknight.
Vietti Barolo Castiglione 2020 — $225
Vietti's Castiglione is a serious, cellar-worthy Barolo from one of the appellation's most consistent producers — on a list where bottles climb fast toward $500 and beyond, $225 for this level of quality and pedigree is the move if your budget has a ceiling.
Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco
On a list dominated by trophy names and eye-watering price tags, Produttori del Barbaresco is the co-op that keeps overdelivering relative to its price. Most tables chase Gaja; the ones who know order Produttori and pocket the difference.
Sassicaia 2019
At $750 a bottle, Sassicaia is priced for people who are expensing dinner. The wine is great — it always is — but the markup here puts it firmly in 'celebrating a merger' territory rather than 'this is worth it' territory. The same evening of Italian wine can be had for a third of the cost if you work the list intelligently.
Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Asili 2018 + Short rib agnolotti
Giacosa's Asili is all dried roses, iron, and earthy depth — the Barbaresco equivalent of a power ballad. The braised richness of short rib agnolotti needs a wine with that kind of structure and acid to cut through it, and Asili delivers without overwhelming the pasta. It's an occasion bottle, but short rib agnolotti is an occasion dish.
Wednesday — Half-price wine night on Wednesdays — applies to bottles, making this one of the better mid-week value plays on the Strip for serious Italian wine.
The Bottom Line
Scarpetta is the real deal for Italian wine in Las Vegas — deep list, credentialed staff, and a Wednesday half-price program that almost makes the Strip feel reasonable. The markups are Vegas-steep at the top end, but navigate smartly and you're drinking some of Italy's finest in a room that knows what it has.
Caesars Palace · Las Vegas · French Fine Dining
This is where you come when wine matters as much as the food. The markup is Vegas-steep, but the cellar is world-class and the staff can navigate it. If you're celebrating big or chasing rare French bottles, this is the room.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
· Las Vegas · Restaurant
Lamaii is the rare Las Vegas restaurant where the wine list reflects a genuine point of view — the grower Champagne program alone is worth the visit. Send a friend here and tell them to order a Spécial Club.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Las Vegas Strip · Las Vegas · Steakhouse
STK Las Vegas is a bottle-list business masquerading as a wine program — three by-the-glass pours, a roster of safe California hits, and Vegas markups that'll make your eyes water. Order the Whispering Angel at happy hour, grab a bottle of Belle Glos if you're feeling generous, and save the real wine exploration for somewhere that cares.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Las Vegas · Restaurant
Diner Ross is doing something genuinely weird and kind of wonderful — a Champagne-forward list inside a Vegas diner is a wild card move that mostly works. Just don't show up expecting range beyond bubbles, and go for the growers before you default to the celebrity bottles.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Las Vegas · Steakhouse
The Palm Las Vegas is an unlikely wine discovery — a six-bottle natural and old-world-leaning list tucked inside a steakhouse institution, priced like someone forgot they're on the Strip. Don't sleep on it.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Las Vegas Strip · Las Vegas · American, Italian
Alexxa's is a Strip restaurant doing Strip things — great location, recognizable bottles, pricing that reflects the real estate. If you're here for fountain views and a glass of Cakebread, you'll be genuinely happy; if you're hunting for value or adventure, look elsewhere.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Healdsburg · Italian
Ciao Bruto is running one of the smallest and most coherent wine lists in wine country, which is either audacious or brilliant — probably both. If you want a 200-label deep-dive, go somewhere else. If you want eight smart picks at prices that won't make you wince, this is the move in Healdsburg.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Geyserville · Healdsburg · Italian
Diavola earns its Wild Card badge because it's a wood-fired pizza joint that punches well above its weight on wine — sommelier on staff, regional focus, and a setting that practically demands you order a second glass. We can't give you the bottle-by-bottle breakdown until we get eyes on a current list, but the bones here are good enough to say: don't just order a beer and move on.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
· Healdsburg · Italian
Ca'Bianca is a genuinely lovely place to eat, and if the food lives up to its reputation for house-made pasta and classic Italian technique, a bottle of something from the list is absolutely worth ordering. We just can't tell you exactly which bottle to order yet — the wine program's specifics aren't publicly documented well enough for us to make a confident call. When in doubt, ask your server what's local and what they're excited about, and go from there.
Plays It Safe
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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