Albany's Italian Soul with Serious Wine Bones
Lark Street · Albany · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 19, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Villa Di Como Ristorante’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
Walk into Villa Di Como and the wine list signals that someone here actually cares — Tignanello and Gaja on a Lark Street menu isn't nothing. It's a focused, Italian-only program that leans hard into the peninsula's heavyweights, which is exactly what you want from a place this intimate.
The list runs 40-80 bottles, all Italian, all business — Tuscany and Piedmont do the heavy lifting while Sicily and the Veneto round out the edges. Brunello di Montalcino selections add genuine cellar credibility, and the Super Tuscan presence means you're not just looking at a menu assembled from a distributor's top sheet. The gaps show up in northern Italy beyond Piedmont — don't expect Friuli or Alto Adige — but within its lane, the list is coherent and considered. For a 50-seat neighborhood spot in Albany, this is punching above its weight class.
Eight to fourteen pours by the glass gives you real options without the decision fatigue of a wine bar. The program skews toward crowd-pleasing Italian staples in the glass format, which makes sense for a reservation-only dinner spot where the bottle list is the real story. We'd like to see the glass program rotate more aggressively, but what's here is serviceable.
Brunello di Montalcino — null
Pricing data wasn't available to confirm exact bottle cost, but Brunello in a setting like this typically represents the best ratio of prestige to experience — it's the wine that makes the room feel like it earns its ambiance.
Sicilian selections
Most tables are going straight for the Tuscany and Piedmont anchors, which means the Sicilian bottles sit underordered. Sicily's been quietly producing some of Italy's most interesting reds for years — if the staff can point you toward one, take it.
Antinori Tignanello
Tignanello is a genuinely great wine, but it's also one of the most marked-up bottles in Italian restaurants everywhere. At a steep-markup establishment without a dedicated sommelier, you're almost certainly paying a significant premium over retail for a wine you can find at any decent shop. Save it for a restaurant that earns the price through service and cellar care.
Gaja Barbaresco + Frutti di Mare
Barbaresco's acidity and iron-tinged fruit cut through briny, rich seafood in a way that feels like the pairing was designed in a Piedmontese kitchen. It's a slightly unexpected call — most people reach for white wine with frutti di mare — but Gaja's structure handles it.
The Bottom Line
Villa Di Como is the kind of neighborhood Italian spot that takes its wine seriously enough to stock Gaja and Brunello, even if the pricing and lack of a dedicated wine person keep it from true destination status. Send a friend here for dinner — just tell them to avoid the trophy bottles and dig into the list's mid-tier.
Downtown/Clinton Square · Albany · Modern Mexican / Latin-inspired
Ama Cocina isn't a destination wine bar, but it's a Wild Card worth respecting — a food-forward Latin spot that actually thought about its wine list instead of phoning it in. Come for the tacos, order the Albariño, and be pleasantly surprised.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Warehouse District/Riverfront · Albany · Wine Bar / American Small Plates
The Shaker & Vine is Albany's best argument for the self-pour wine bar format — the markup is shockingly fair, the riverside setting earns its keep, and the list is approachable without being embarrassing. Don't come hunting for rare producers, but do come for a relaxed pour with a view.
Solid Range
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Colonie · Albany · Classic Italian-American
Lombardo's wine list is the culinary equivalent of a comfortable booth — nothing revelatory, but nothing offensive, and it gets the job done alongside a plate of baked ziti. Send a friend here for the food and tell them to order the Barolo if they want to feel like they tried.
Plays It Safe
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Albany · Albany · Steakhouse / Lounge
677 Prime Lounge is the wine list equivalent of a perfectly cooked strip steak — nothing surprising, nothing wrong, everything exactly where you expect it to be. If you're in Albany and someone else is buying, order the Silver Oak and enjoy the room; if you're watching your tab, lean on Jordan and don't let them upsell you to Caymus.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Albany · Albany · Traditional Greek and Mediterranean
Athos isn't trying to build the most ambitious wine program in New York State — it's trying to give you an honest Greek wine experience to go with honest Greek food, and it largely delivers. If you're eating moussaka and lamb in Albany, this is where your glass should be.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Albany · Albany · Modern American fine dining with Indonesian accents
Yono's is the best wine program in Albany and it's not particularly close — a thousand-label cellar, a sommelier who knows it, and a room built for the occasion. The markups are real and the by-the-glass list plays it safer than the cellar deserves, but if you're willing to lean on the staff and spend a little, this is one of the more serious wine experiences in upstate New York.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
· Jersey City · Italian
Porto by Antonio delivers a credible Italian-forward wine list with genuine high points — Promis, Barbaresco, Brunello — and a by-the-glass program that actually gives people choices. Markups get aggressive at the top, and the Caymus pricing is frankly embarrassing, but if you stick to the Italian core and the smart mid-range picks, you'll drink well here.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Toledo · Italian
Zia's isn't trying to be a wine destination, but it's trying harder than most Italian spots in Toledo — fair prices, a mostly by-the-glass program, and enough Italian producers to keep things honest. Go for the Antinori, order the Riesling to impress your date, and leave Castle Rock for the grocery run.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· McKinney · Italian
Bravo! is a competent chain wine program — wide by-the-glass selection, a few Italian producers worth noting, and prices that are steep but not insulting. You're not coming here for the wine list, but you won't regret ordering either.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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