Solera Wine Co.

The list at Solera Wine Co. reads like it was built by someone who actually travels — pet nats from Mexico, Listan Blanco from the Canary Islands, Nebbiolo from Barbaresco that's been properly aged. This isn't a wine list designed to comfort you; it's designed to push you somewhere new. That's a rarer thing than it should be, and it's especially rare in Pittsburgh.

With 75 to 150 bottles spanning Italy, Spain, France, Portugal, South Africa, and domestic producers from Oregon to the Finger Lakes, Solera has done the work. The Italian section alone earns respect — the Cocito 'Baluchin' Barbaresco 2015 sitting on the list is the kind of thing you'd expect to find at a serious Manhattan wine bar, not a neighborhood spot in Lawrenceville. Spain gets real love too, with Envínate's 'Palo Blanco' from the Canary Islands representing the kind of producer-first thinking that separates a curated list from a catalogue. The natural and low-intervention thread runs throughout without being dogmatic about it — Bichi's 'Pet Mex' and the Red Tail Ridge Finger Lakes Pet Nat coexist comfortably with more conventional bottles. If there's a gap, it's that the list skews so heavily toward the adventurous that someone just looking for a familiar Napa Cab might feel stranded.

The by-the-glass program runs roughly 8 to 20 options and pulls from the same adventurous DNA as the bottle list — don't come expecting a grocery-store Pinot Grigio as your default pour. The Maison Veuve Amiot 'Elisa' Crémant de Loire at $29 a bottle translates to a glass pour that's one of the better sparkling values in the city. Rotation appears to keep things interesting, which is exactly what a list like this demands.