Southern Italian soul in suburban Illinois
Downtown Naperville · Naperville · Upscale Italian · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 2, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Taurasi’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
The name alone tells you where this place is coming from — Taurasi DOCG is one of Italy's most serious reds, and a restaurant that plants its flag there isn't messing around. Walk in expecting a tight, Italy-only list built around the kind of wines that actually reward your attention. This is not a place that puts Kendall-Jackson on the menu.
The list runs deep into the Italian peninsula with a clear editorial point of view: Campania, Tuscany, Piedmont, and Veneto anchor the program, and the southern Italian representation — Fiano di Avellino, Greco di Tufo, the namesake Taurasi DOCG — is genuinely uncommon for this zip code. Barolo, Barbaresco, Brunello di Montalcino, and Amarone round out the heavyweights with enough range that serious drinkers will find things to argue about in a good way. The 100-200 bottle count keeps it manageable rather than encyclopedic, which usually means the wines that made the cut actually earned their spot. What's missing: much outside Italy, but that's a choice, not an oversight.
Fifteen to twenty-five pours by the glass is an ambitious program for a suburban Italian spot, and the $12–$22 range suggests they're not just pouring grocery-store filler. The presence of a sommelier on staff means the glass list should rotate with some intention rather than sitting stale for six months. We'd ask what's open and fresh before defaulting to the printed list.
Fiano di Avellino — $12–$16/glass
Fiano di Avellino is a criminally underrated white — nutty, textured, with real minerality — and you almost never see it poured by the glass outside of a serious Italian program. At the low end of the glass price range, it punches well above its weight and gives you something to actually think about.
Greco di Tufo
Most tables walk past the southern Italian whites and reach straight for the Barolo. That's a mistake here. Greco di Tufo has a volcanic edge and savory depth that's genuinely interesting, and it almost never gets the credit it deserves. Order it before your pasta and reassess your priors.
Amarone della Valpolicella
Amarone is always a markup magnet — production costs are high and restaurants know drinkers will pay for the name. At a restaurant with bottle prices running up to $200, the Amarone almost certainly lands at the top of that range and beyond. Unless you're celebrating something, the money is better spent on a Barolo or Taurasi DOCG that won't require a second mortgage.
Taurasi DOCG + House-made pasta with braised meat
Taurasi is Aglianico at its most serious — tannic, dark-fruited, with a savory iron-and-ash backbone. It needs something with weight and fat to meet it halfway. A slow-braised short rib or wild boar ragù over hand-rolled pasta is exactly that match, and it's the kind of combination that makes the whole dinner feel intentional.
The Bottom Line
Taurasi earns its wild card badge by doing something genuinely rare: bringing a focused, knowledgeable Italian wine program to a suburban dining room that could have easily phoned it in with a safe crowd-pleaser list. Prices run steep, but if you care about drinking real Italian wine with your dinner, this is one of the better options in the western suburbs.
Downtown Naperville · Naperville · American pub / burgers
Jackson Avenue Pub is not a wine destination, but Wine Wednesdays at half-price make it a legitimately smart stop if you're already there for a burger and a game. Come for the beer, stay for the deal.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
Freedom Commons / I-88 Corridor · Naperville · Seafood and Steakhouse
Hugo's Naperville is a reliable, well-run steakhouse wine program that will not let you down and will not excite you. Come for the prime beef and oysters, order the Jordan or the Duckhorn, and don't look too hard at the markup on the Pinot Grigio.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Naperville · Naperville · Mexican
Fat Rosie's is a genuinely fun taco and tequila spot that has no business being reviewed for its wine — and that's kind of the point. If your table wants wine, order cocktails instead and save everyone the disappointment.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Naperville · Naperville · Mediterranean
Vasili's isn't trying to be a wine destination, but the Greek-focused list has enough genuine producers and interesting grapes to reward curious drinkers — especially on Tuesdays when the bottles go half-price. Watch the markups on the Agiorgitiko, lean into the northern Greek reds and the Malagousia, and you'll eat and drink very well along that riverwalk.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
Naperville · Naperville · Chicago-style pizzeria / Italian-American
Lou Malnati's is a legitimately iconic pizza destination — but the wine list is an afterthought, marked up on cheap bottles with zero curation or ambition. Come for the deep dish, drink beer, and save the wine night for somewhere that cares.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Hotel Arista / CityGate Centre · Naperville · Italian
Che Figata is the rare suburban hotel restaurant with a wine list worth actually engaging with — Italian-focused, sommelier-guided, and broad enough to reward exploration. The markups sting on a few bottles, but the range and program depth make this the best wine bet in Naperville's CityGate orbit.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Ski Run Boulevard · South Lake Tahoe · Upscale Italian
Cafe Fiore isn't a wine destination, but it's a genuinely romantic spot with a list that won't embarrass you — and a few bottles worth seeking out if you know where to look. Send a friend here for a date, not a deep-dive tasting.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Boardwalk (Caesars) · Atlantic City · Upscale Italian
Il Mulino earns its place at the table — the list has real producers, genuine depth in the Italian section, and by-the-glass pours that don't embarrass the room. Just go in knowing that casino pricing is the cost of admission, and steer toward Italy where the list actually knows what it's doing.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Midtown · Atlantic City · Upscale Italian
Cafe 2825 is not a wine destination in the traditional sense, but it has no business having a list this good for Atlantic City — and that's exactly the point. If you're already coming for the tableside pasta experience, spend a little extra on a Super Tuscan and lean into it.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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