Safe Italian List With a Markup Problem
Scottsdale · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Updated June 2026
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · March 16, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Uncle Sal's Italian Restaurant’s wine list and gave it The Lazy List — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Uncle Sal's reads like it was assembled to check boxes rather than to excite anyone. About 40 labels, a couple of Italian stalwarts, and a handful of recognizable California and international names — nothing here is going to surprise you, and that feels intentional. It's the kind of list that exists to sell wine, not celebrate it.
The backbone is Italian — Ruffino Chianti and Pighin Pinot Grigio anchor the European side — but the depth stops there. You've got Catena Malbec covering Argentina, Mollydooker The Boxer for the crowd that wants big fruit from Australia, and Rombauer Chardonnay for the Napa crowd who won't order anything else. La Scolca Gavi di Gavi is a legitimately solid pick and the most interesting thing on the list. Beyond that, the bottom tier is propped up by Vista Point across multiple varietals — a private-label house wine brand that signals the restaurant isn't spending much thought (or budget) on that section of the list.
Eighteen by-the-glass options is a generous count for a list this size, and the $9–$15 range is accessible enough. But a chunk of those pours are Vista Point, which retails around $10 a bottle — so you're getting one glass for nearly the price of the whole bottle at your local grocery store. The highlights on the pour list are the Italian options; lean into those if you're going glass-by-glass.
Pighin Pinot Grigio — $41
At 128% markup, this is the least punishing bottle on the list. Pighin is a real Friuli producer making clean, honest Pinot Grigio — a cut above the house stuff, and the markup is almost reasonable by this list's standards.
La Scolca Gavi di Gavi
Most people at an Italian restaurant are going to default to Pinot Grigio or Chianti. La Scolca's Gavi di Gavi is a sleeper — bright, mineral-driven Cortese from Piedmont that's genuinely interesting and gets overlooked every time.
Vista Point Pinot Grigio
Thirty dollars for a bottle that retails for $10 is a 200% markup on a wine that was already bottom-shelf to begin with. There is no version of this that's a good use of your money. Order anything else.
Ruffino Chianti D.O.C.G. + Pasta with red sauce
Chianti and tomato-based Italian food is a classic match for a reason — the wine's natural acidity and bright cherry fruit cut through the richness of a red sauce and reset your palate between bites. Ruffino is approachable, food-friendly, and the most contextually correct bottle on this list.
The Bottom Line
Uncle Sal's wine list is functional but uninspired, and the markup on the house wines is hard to forgive. If you're eating here, drink Italian and avoid the Vista Point section entirely — or just order a cocktail and save yourself the math.
· Scottsdale · Restaurant
Anhelo is doing something quietly ambitious — a focused, considered wine list in a city that often settles for Caymus and a bucket of Whispering Angel. The markups aren't shy, but the curation is real, and the Sauternes library alone is worth a detour.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Old Town Scottsdale · Scottsdale · American
Frasher's isn't reinventing the steakhouse wine list, but it's doing the job with a Wine Spectator credential and a Wednesday half-price night that makes the steep markups a lot easier to live with. Send a friend here if they want a reliable California Cab with their red meat — just tell them to go on Wednesday.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
DC Ranch · Scottsdale · American, Small Plates
The Living Room isn't trying to reinvent wine — it's trying to make California Cab and Chardonnay feel like an event, and it mostly succeeds. Send your friends here for a comfortable, well-staffed wine experience; just remind them to drink the Duckhorn.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Scottsdale · Scottsdale · French
The Mick Brasserie is a dependable, well-staffed wine destination dressed up as a casual neighborhood spot — a genuinely rare combo in Scottsdale. The markups keep it from being a great deal, but the sommelier team and the quality of the list make it worth showing up for.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Scottsdale · Scottsdale · American, Steakhouse
STK Scottsdale is a reliable California wine destination — not a discovery, but a dependable one. If you're here for Wagyu and a bottle of Stag's Leap, you will not leave disappointed; just don't expect the list to surprise you.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Scottsdale · Scottsdale · Italian
Marcellino is doing something genuinely uncommon in Scottsdale — a disciplined, Italy-first wine program with real producers and a sommelier who clearly cares. Markups tip steep on the prestige bottles, but the depth of the list earns it a spot on your list if Italian wine is your thing.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
· 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
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