Nashville's Italian Wine Anchor, No Debate
Nashville · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 9, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Yolan’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Yolan lands with real weight — 400 to 600 bottles deep, anchored in Italy and France, with the kind of producer names that make you slow down and read twice. This isn't a restaurant that threw some Pinot Grigio and a Chianti on a laminated sheet and called it done. Sommelier Thomas Cheatham has built something that earns its Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence without any asterisks.
Italy is the obvious backbone and it's stacked — Giacomo Conterno and Bruno Giacosa for Barolo, Biondi-Santi for Brunello, and a Super Tuscan section where Tignanello, Sassicaia, and Ornellaia all show up in the same room like they own the place. France keeps pace with Burgundy Premier and Grand Cru selections and Champagne heavyweights like Krug and Cristal. California and Barossa fill out the New World side without feeling like an afterthought. The gaps are small: if you're hunting deep-cut regional Italian — say, Etna or Campania — you may find the list thinner there than the headline names suggest.
Twenty to thirty-five options by the glass is a serious program — that's not a wine list, that's a commitment. Pours range from $14 to $28, which gives you room to explore without immediately ordering a bottle. We'd want to know how frequently the selection rotates, but at this size, you're likely to find something worth drinking at almost every price point.
Tignanello (Antinori) — $600 range (bottle)
Tignanello at a restaurant with proper storage, proper stems, and a sommelier who actually knows what it is — that's the full context a wine like this deserves. Expensive, yes, but you're not paying a 4x markup just to drink it out of a tumbler next to a bread basket.
Amarone della Valpolicella
Most tables at Yolan are locked onto the Barolo or Super Tuscans, which means Amarone sits there quietly waiting for someone to notice. Big, dried-fruit intensity, natural richness that holds up to the 55-day dry-aged strip steak without breaking a sweat.
Louis Roederer Cristal (Champagne)
Cristal is always going to carry a luxury tax at any restaurant, and here it's no different. If you want to open with bubbles, there are almost certainly better-value Champagne options on the list that won't crater your budget before the pasta course arrives.
Giacomo Conterno Barolo + 55-day dry-aged strip steak
Conterno Barolo and aged beef is one of those combinations that feels almost unfairly good. The tannin structure in the wine meets the fat and char of the steak directly, and neither one backs down. Order it, let it breathe, and don't rush.
The Bottom Line
Yolan is the best wine program in Nashville and it's not particularly close — the depth, the producers, the staff, and the setting all show up at the same time. Yes, the markups sting, but you're not here to find a bargain; you're here to drink Barolo properly.
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Acceptable
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Crowd Pleasers
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Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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