Tavola

You open the wine list at Tavola hoping for something Italian — a Vermentino, a Barbera, maybe a Sangiovese that doesn't cost a week's groceries — and instead you get a parade of Duckhorn family brands. For an Italian restaurant in a college town with real wine energy, this list reads like it was assembled by someone who called their distributor rep once and called it a day.

Eighteen labels is already a short list, but when roughly half of them are Decoy, Migration, Duckhorn, and Goldeneye — all from the same family of California brands — you start to feel the lack of effort acutely. The Italian angle of the restaurant is almost entirely absent from the wine program: Avissi Prosecco, Villa Pozzi Moscato, and Banfi Le Rime Pinot Grigio are the sum total of the Italian representation, none of which are going to make anyone reconsider their relationship with Italian wine. There's a Bex Riesling from Germany and a Stoneleigh Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand doing their best to add some international credibility, but the gaps are glaring — no Nebbiolo, no Sangiovese, no Aglianico, nothing that says 'we thought about Italy when we built this list.' The Dona Paula Los Cardos Malbec from Mendoza feels like it wandered in from the wrong restaurant entirely.

Twelve by-the-glass options sounds generous until you realize the list is only eighteen bottles deep, which means most of the cellar is already open and waiting. The glass program leans heavily on the California brands — Decoy and Duckhorn dominate — with no real rotation or seasonal thinking apparent. If you're ordering wine by the glass here, the Bieler Père Et Fils Rosé is probably your safest bet for something that doesn't feel completely phoned in.