The Pasta's Great, Skip the Wine List
Birmingham · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Updated April 2026
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · March 16, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Trattoria Enzo’s wine list and gave it The Lazy List — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Trattoria Enzo reads like the shelf at a mid-tier grocery store — familiar names, no surprises, nothing that makes you lean in. For a restaurant flying an Italian flag, there's a suspicious shortage of bottles that would actually make an Italian nod in approval. You're here for the food, and that's probably the right call.
Twenty-seven labels sounds like a starting point, not a destination. The list leans heavily on approachable California and Washington workhorses — Columbia Crest, Murphy Goode, Mark West — with a few Italian names like Giulio Straccali Chianti and Benvolio Pinot Grigio doing the bare minimum to justify the trattoria branding. There's no real depth in Tuscany, nothing from Piedmont, no Sicilian curiosities, and the Argentine and New Zealand entries feel like they wandered in from a chain steakhouse. The gaps are louder than what's actually here.
Nine pours by the glass at $7–$9 is at least accessible, and the range covers the basics — white, red, bubbly-adjacent. But when you're pouring Kim Crawford and Columbia Crest Grand Estate as your headline acts, you're not exactly inspiring anyone to linger over a second glass. Rotation appears nonexistent; this list has the energy of something laminated years ago and never questioned.
Cambria Chardonnay — $40
At 100% markup it's the least egregious bottle on the list — Cambria's Katherine's Vineyard Chardonnay actually has some substance behind it, and $40 for a Santa Maria Valley Chard with real acidity is the closest thing to a fair deal here.
Giulio Straccali Chianti
It's the one bottle on this list that actually belongs in an Italian restaurant. Straccali Chianti is no showstopper, but it's honest Sangiovese — bright, food-friendly, and the kind of wine that makes a bowl of orecchiette feel like a proper Italian meal.
Columbia Crest Grand Estate Chardonnay
A $10 retail bottle marked up to $30 is a hard sell when you can buy a case of this at the grocery store on your way home. There's nothing wrong with the wine itself — it's just a $10 wine, and paying triple for it at the table stings.
Giulio Straccali Chianti + Orecchiette Enzo
Sangiovese's natural acidity and earthy edge were basically built to cut through a rich, savory pasta sauce. It's the most classically Italian move on a list that doesn't offer many of them.
The Bottom Line
Trattoria Enzo is clearly doing something right in the kitchen, but the wine list is an afterthought dressed up in a nice room. Steep markups on grocery-store bottles, zero Italian ambition, and a list that hasn't evolved — order a cocktail or bring your own if corkage allows.
Birmingham · Birmingham · American, Steakhouse
Armour House is the reliable wine anchor Birmingham's upscale dining scene needed — Caleb Reeves keeps the program honest, and the Wine Spectator nod is deserved. Just order the Barolo instead of the Opus One and you'll leave happy.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Birmingham · Birmingham · American
Seasons 52 Birmingham is a dependable, well-maintained wine program that serves its California-loving audience exactly what they came for — nothing revelatory, but nothing to complain about either. If you're eating here and want a solid glass without fuss, you're in fine hands.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Birmingham · Birmingham · Italian, Steakhouse
Bellini's is the kind of reliable Italian-American wine list that delivers exactly what it promises — serious California and Italian bottles in a room that knows how to use them. The markups sting and there's no adventurous edge here, but if you want a proper bottle with your filet or osso buco in Birmingham, this is your spot.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Highland Ave · Birmingham · American
Galley & Garden is the best wine list in Birmingham proper, full stop — not because it's wildly adventurous, but because it's deep, well-kept, and taken seriously in a market where that's not guaranteed. Send your friends here when they want a real bottle with a real dinner.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Birmingham · Birmingham · New American
The Essential is doing something genuinely rare for Birmingham — building a wine list with actual conviction around natural wines and unexpected picks like sherry. It's not perfect, but it's the kind of place we'd send a friend who's tired of the same tired list.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
Downtown · Birmingham · Seafood
Bayonet is doing something genuinely rare for Birmingham: building a wine program that actually fits the food and doesn't gouge you for it. If you care about drinking well with your seafood, this place deserves a seat at the table.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Gilbert · Gilbert · Italian
North Italia Gilbert is a chain that does the bare minimum of interesting things — and sometimes that's exactly what you need on a Tuesday in Gilbert. The Italian regional whites are the real reason to open this list; everything else is serviceable.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Nob Hill · San Francisco · Italian
Seven Hills is doing something most Italian restaurants in this city won't — building a wine list that actually reflects the breadth of Italian winemaking rather than the highlights reel. If you're even mildly curious about obscure Italian whites, this is one of the better places in SF to take the leap.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Plano · Italian
Roma has enough wine on the list to get you through a good dinner, but it leans hard on California crowd-pleasers and marks them up accordingly. Stick to the Italian reds, avoid the Napa trophies, and you'll drink well enough — just don't expect the list to match the ambition of the cuisine.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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