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 →
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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.
San Francisco · San Francisco · Wine bar & cafe
Bar Bibi is the kind of wine bar that rewards curiosity — the list is stacked with producers most SF spots wouldn't touch, and the pricing is genuinely fair for this city. If you like discovering wines you've never heard of, this is your room.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
San Francisco · San Francisco · Natural Wine Bar
Bar Gemini is the rare place where a ten-bottle list feels like an achievement rather than a limitation — every pour is deliberate, pricing is shockingly fair, and the selection reads like a natural wine obsessive's notebook. Yes, send your friends here. Make them order the Hungarian red.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Western Addition · San Francisco · New American
Progress isn't trying to be the biggest wine list in San Francisco — it's trying to be the most interesting one, and it largely succeeds. If you want Napa Cab and familiar labels, go somewhere else; if you want to drink Grignolino and Furmint with dinner and feel genuinely good about the prices, this is your room.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Embarcadero · San Francisco · Seafood & Steak
Angler is the kind of place where the wine program won't embarrass you or surprise you — it's calibrated, competent, and priced for a room where a $200 bottle is a normal Tuesday. If you're chasing value, look elsewhere; if you're chasing a great bottle with great seafood on the water, this earns its seat.
Solid Range
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
· San Francisco · Mexican
Cantina Los Mayas has built something genuinely rare: an all-Mexican wine list with real depth, fair prices, and the conviction to stick to it. If you care even a little about discovering what Mexican wine actually tastes like, this is the place to do it.
Surprising Depth
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
San Francisco · San Francisco · Steakhouse
Izzy's is doing something quietly ambitious with a 20-bottle all-by-the-glass format that skews curious instead of predictable. If you're the person at the table who's bored by the standard steakhouse pour, this list has your back.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
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
Hamilton Park · Jersey City · Italian
GP's Hamilton Park isn't a destination wine list, but it's a fair one — honest prices, approachable options, and a by-the-glass program that covers the table without drama. Send your friend here if they want a solid neighborhood pour, not a wine education.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Anaheim · Italian
Vincenzo's Terrazza doesn't push any boundaries, but the Frescobaldi trio and that Brunello give the list more backbone than you'd expect from a casual Italian in Anaheim. Come for the food, drink the Nipozzano, leave happy.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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