Italian Roots, Obscure Grapes, No Apologies
Nob Hill · San Francisco · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · August 17, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Seven Hills’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
You open this list expecting a standard Italian-American wine rundown — Pinot Grigio, Chianti, maybe a token Barolo — and instead you get Timorasso, Carricante, and Insolia Catarratto staring back at you. It's disorienting in the best way. Someone here actually cares.
The 48-label list punches well above its weight, leaning hard into Southern Italian and island whites that most SF restaurants wouldn't touch. Calabretta's Carricante from Etna sits alongside the Virgona Salina Bianco from the Aeolian Islands and the Colli di Lapio Fiano di Avellino — these aren't wines you stumble into at a neighborhood spot. The reds are a bit more conventional with Le Fonti Chianti Classico and Fattoi Rosso di Montalcino, but the La Spinetta Derthona Timorasso keeps the white wine program's adventurous spirit alive. There are some odd outliers — Mount Riley New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, a Baumgartner Grüner — that feel like they wandered in from a different restaurant, but they don't sink the ship.
Twenty by-the-glass options is generous, and the quality holds up across the board. Highlights include the Marotti Campi Salmariano Verdicchio Riserva and the Colli di Lapio Fiano di Avellino at $12 and $15 respectively — obscure Italian whites at prices that don't feel punitive. The Albert Bichot Bourgogne Blanc at $15/glass is the safe-harbor pick for anyone not ready to commit to a Pecorino.
Marotti Campi Salmariano Verdicchio Riserva 2018 — $12/glass
A Verdicchio Riserva by the glass at $12 is genuinely impressive. This is a serious, age-worthy wine from the Marche that typically costs more than this to walk out of a wine shop. At a restaurant, it's a steal.
Calabretta Carricante 2020
Most people at the table are going to order the Chianti. Don't be most people. Carricante is Mount Etna's underdog white grape — volcanic, tense, nothing like anything else on this list. At $55 a bottle, it's the most interesting thing you can do with your money here.
Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc 2020
At $64 a bottle, you're paying Sonoma Coast trophy-wine prices for a Sauvignon Blanc when the rest of this list is offering actual discovery. It's not a bad wine — it's just the wrong bottle at the wrong restaurant for the wrong reason.
Colli di Lapio Fiano di Avellino 2018 + Fresh pasta with seafood
Fiano di Avellino has the structure and the saline edge to cut through olive oil and complement shellfish or briny seafood sauces without disappearing. It's the kind of pairing that makes you feel like you figured something out.
The Bottom Line
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.
Mission Bay · San Francisco · Seafood and Steak
Miller & Lux is a dependable, well-run wine program for a high-end steakhouse — backed by knowledgeable staff, proper storage, and a focus on the regions that make sense with the food. The markup is steep and the list plays it safe, so this isn't where you go to discover something new. If you're celebrating and want a bottle that feels appropriate to the moment and the room, you'll land on something good — just go in knowing you're paying a premium for the setting as much as the wine.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Union Square · San Francisco · Hotel New American
MKT is a hotel restaurant that treats its wine list like a liability to be managed rather than an asset to be celebrated. Nineteen bottles, steep hotel pricing, and no evidence of a thoughtful by-the-glass program add up to a list you tolerate rather than enjoy. If you're at the Four Seasons for a special occasion, you'll find something drinkable — but don't come here because of the wine.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Proper
· San Francisco · Thai
Nari is doing something genuinely strange and genuinely impressive — building a grower champagne program inside a Thai restaurant that would hold up against dedicated wine bars across the city. The markup is real and the list skews expensive, but if you care about this category of wine, there is no other Thai restaurant in San Francisco where you're having this conversation. Go in knowing what you want and what you're willing to spend.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· San Francisco · Winery Tasting Room
If you're driving through Sonoma and want to understand why Chardonnay still matters in California, Kistler's tasting room makes a strong case — but you need an appointment and you need to want exactly what they're pouring. The cheese, dips, and crackers are incidental; the wines are the entire point. Book ahead, show up curious, and let the vineyard-specific lineup do the work.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
· San Francisco · French
Absinthe pulls off something harder than it looks: a tight, all-by-the-glass list that still has genuine depth and fair pricing across almost every tier. The Chevillon and Carillon alone signal that someone here takes wine seriously, and the entry-level pours — Carignan, Riesling, Grenache Rosé, all at $15/glass — mean you don't have to spend big to drink well. If you're near Hayes Valley and want a real glass of Burgundy or an obscure Loire red without a lecture, this is your spot.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· San Francisco · Japanese izakaya
Rintaro's wine list is a four-bottle edit that respects your intelligence and suits the food. Pricing is fair, the selections are deliberate, and nothing feels like it wandered in from a default distributor catalog. If you're comfortable with a short list and trust that someone thought about it, this is a good place to drink wine with dinner.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Lakeland · Italian
The Macaroni Grill Lakeland wine list is functional the way a vending machine is functional — it dispenses what you ask for without fuss or personality. The by-the-glass breadth gives casual drinkers options, but the markups on several bottles and the complete absence of anything interesting or Italian-forward make this a list you tolerate rather than enjoy. Order the Lambrusco or the Trapiche Malbec and call it a night.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Kirkland · Italian
The headline here is the Vino e Vita Wednesday program: Il Fornaio Insiders get half off all bottles all day, which can turn a steep markup into a genuinely fair deal. Without a verified bottle list, we can't send you in with a specific target, but if you're a regular or planning ahead, signing up for Insiders and booking a Wednesday table is the move. Otherwise, it's a reliable neighborhood Italian — not a wine destination, but not an embarrassment either.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Active Program
Acceptable
Sandy Springs · Sandy Springs · Italian
Pricci's wine list is the restaurant equivalent of a reliable business traveler — organized, presentable, and rarely offensive, but not the person you call for an adventure. The markup leans steep across the board, and the lack of a visible specials program means you're paying full retail every night. That said, the by-the-glass depth is real, and there are smart Italian picks hiding in the list if you ignore the Napa trophy bottles.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
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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