Rochester's Italian anchor actually knows wine
Rochester · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 16, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Terza Ristorante’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
When you open the list at Terza, the Italy-first philosophy is immediate and unapologetic — Piedmont, Tuscany, Veneto, all present and accounted for. California shows up as a credible supporting cast rather than an afterthought. For Rochester, Minnesota, this is legitimately impressive work.
The Italian backbone is the real draw here: Barolo from Piedmont, Brunello di Montalcino, and the Super Tuscan heavy-hitters Sassicaia and Tignanello all make appearances, which tells you someone actually curated this thing. Amarone della Valpolicella rounds out a serious northern Italian presence that you won't find at most restaurants in a mid-sized Midwest city. California pulls its weight on the other side of the ledger with Napa Cabernet and Napa/Sonoma Chardonnay — familiar territory executed without apology. The gaps are in the natural wine and Old World-outside-Italy space, but within its lane, this list delivers.
Twelve to twenty options by the glass is a healthy program — enough that you can actually explore the list over a meal rather than committing to a bottle blind. We'd expect a rotating Italian anchor or two among the pours given the list's focus, which keeps the by-the-glass experience honest. No structured rotation or featured pours program appears to be in place, so what you see is likely what you get visit to visit.
Amarone della Valpolicella — $80
Amarone is one of Italy's most labor-intensive wines to produce, and finding it in a fair price window at a non-wine-bar restaurant is a minor miracle. If it lands under $100 here, you're getting real value on a wine that commands serious money elsewhere.
Brunello di Montalcino
Most tables at Terza are probably gravitating toward the Super Tuscans because the names are recognizable, but the Brunello is where the real depth lives — longer aging, more complexity, and a Sangiovese purity that Sassicaia and Tignanello don't deliver.
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
You're in an Italian restaurant with legitimate Barolo and Brunello on the list. Ordering California Cab here is like going to a great ramen shop and ordering fried rice — the kitchen didn't build this wine program to showcase Napa, and the markup on name-brand Napa bottles rarely favors the diner.
Barolo + Fresh pasta
Barolo's high acidity and firm tannins are built for rich, slow-cooked meat ragù or butter-forward fresh pasta — the kind of pairing that's been working in Piedmont for centuries. At Terza, this is the most honest expression of what the wine program is actually here to do.
The Bottom Line
Terza is the rare Midwest Italian spot where the wine list actually earns the cuisine on the menu — the Italian selections are serious, the pricing is fair, and the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence (held since 2016) isn't just wall decoration. If you're eating pasta in Rochester, this is where you want to be drinking.
· Rochester · Steakhouse
Ruth's Chris Rochester is a reliable if uninspired choice for wine with your steak — the Trimbach and Belle Glos are worth seeking out, but the pricing is corporate-tier steep and the list doesn't reward curiosity. Order the wine you know, enjoy the steak, and don't expect any surprises.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Rochester · Winery Tasting Room
Salem Glen is the Wild Card because almost nobody expects to find a legit wine experience in a barn outside Rochester — and yet here we are. If you're open to cold-climate grapes and a laid-back afternoon, it earns the trip.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Occasional
Proper
· Rochester · New American
Bleu Duck Kitchen isn't a wine destination, but it's doing more with its list than most restaurants in its zip code — and that Tuesday dinner-plus-bottle deal is legitimately one of the better mid-week moves in Rochester. Send a friend here if they want a real meal with real wine without a bill that requires a deep breath.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
· Rochester · Latin/Global Small Plates
Our Paladar's wine list is a small, well-edited card that takes its cues from the food and doesn't overstay its welcome. For Rochester, this is legitimately exciting — come for the small plates, stay because the Nebbiolo is actually on the menu.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Rochester · Brewpub/New American
Forager Brewery has no business having a wine list this interesting, and that's meant as a compliment. It's not deep enough to be a wine destination, but for Rochester, it's a legitimate wild card worth knowing about.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Rochester · Italian and wine bar
Sorellina's is doing something genuinely interesting for Rochester — a by-the-glass-forward Italian list with actual producers worth caring about at prices that won't make you wince. Send your wine-curious friends here and let them graze.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Healdsburg · Italian
Ciao Bruto is running one of the smallest and most coherent wine lists in wine country, which is either audacious or brilliant — probably both. If you want a 200-label deep-dive, go somewhere else. If you want eight smart picks at prices that won't make you wince, this is the move in Healdsburg.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Geyserville · Healdsburg · Italian
Diavola earns its Wild Card badge because it's a wood-fired pizza joint that punches well above its weight on wine — sommelier on staff, regional focus, and a setting that practically demands you order a second glass. We can't give you the bottle-by-bottle breakdown until we get eyes on a current list, but the bones here are good enough to say: don't just order a beer and move on.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
· Healdsburg · Italian
Ca'Bianca is a genuinely lovely place to eat, and if the food lives up to its reputation for house-made pasta and classic Italian technique, a bottle of something from the list is absolutely worth ordering. We just can't tell you exactly which bottle to order yet — the wine program's specifics aren't publicly documented well enough for us to make a confident call. When in doubt, ask your server what's local and what they're excited about, and go from there.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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