Sorellina
Boston's Italian Wine Obsession Done Right
Back Bay · Boston · Contemporary Italian · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed March 24, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
The wine list at Sorellina lands on the table like a small novel — 300-plus selections dense with Piedmontese heavyweights, aged Burgundy, and bottles you don't expect to see outside of a private cellar. This is not a list assembled by someone who Googled 'popular Italian wines.' Somebody here actually cares, deeply, and it shows from page one.
Selection Deep Dive
Northern Italy is the beating heart of this list — Gaja Barbaresco in multiple vintages and vineyard sites, Roagna Barbarescos, Nino Negri Sfursat from Valtellina, and Travaligni's Gattinara make this one of the more serious Italian programs in New England. The French side holds its own with a 2003 Château d'Yquem and Champagne representation from Bollinger and Billecart-Salmon. California gets a seat at the table too — Silver Oak Alexander Valley 2019 and the Araujo Estate Eisele Vineyard 2011 are the kind of bottles that tell you the list isn't just Euro-centric snobbery. The one gap worth noting: if you're hunting for value-forward everyday drinkers, you're in the wrong room — this list skews collectible and expensive.
By the Glass
Six Coravin selections is a genuinely smart move for a list this ambitious — it means you can actually drink a serious wine by the glass without the restaurant having to sacrifice a full bottle. We don't have the exact current pour list, but with a cellar stocked like this, the Coravin program is worth asking about before you default to anything off the bottle list. The staff knows what's currently on tap, so just ask.
Bollinger Special Cuvée Brut NV — $200
At a restaurant billing at this level, $200 for Bollinger is closer to fair than you'd expect — it's one of the most consistent non-vintage Champagnes made, and in a Back Bay dining room this polished, it's the move for a celebration bottle that won't make you wince at checkout.
Nino Negri Sfursat
Sfursat is Valtellina's answer to Amarone — dried Nebbiolo grapes, concentrated and complex — and it gets almost zero attention compared to Barolo or Barbaresco. Most people walk right past it. Don't. It's one of Italy's more compelling big reds and Nino Negri is the benchmark producer.
Silver Oak Alexander Valley 2019
At $265 a bottle, you're paying a hefty premium for a wine that retails around $70-80. Silver Oak is a crowd-pleaser with a loyal following, but in a room full of rare Piedmontese and aged French bottles, this is the safe, expensive choice that doesn't earn its price tag relative to what else is on offer here.
Gattinara by Travaligni + Braised Short Rib
Gattinara is Nebbiolo at its most structured and earthy — it's got the acidity and tannin to cut through the richness of braised short rib and enough depth to match the weight of the dish without drowning it. This is the kind of pairing that makes the food taste better and vice versa.
🔥 The Bottom Line
Sorellina is the kind of wine program that makes you annoyed Boston doesn't talk about it more — deep Italian cellar, a sommelier who actually knows the list, and Coravin pours that let you drink seriously without committing to a $300 bottle. The markups are real, but for a special occasion in Back Bay, this is where you go.
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