Cafe Capriccio
Albany's Most Serious Italian Wine Room
Downtown Albany · Albany · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 12, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
The list arrives and it reads like a love letter to the Italian peninsula — no New World detours, no hedging toward crowd-pleasing Pinot Grigio bulk pours. This is a room that has made a choice, and the choice is Italy, top to bottom.
Selection Deep Dive
Piedmont and Tuscany anchor the list with real intent: Barolo, Brunello di Montalcino, Chianti Classico Riserva, and Amarone della Valpolicella all make appearances, which tells you someone here is paying attention. Southern Italy shows up too, which keeps the list from feeling like a greatest-hits museum. The 100-150 bottle range is deep enough to reward repeat visits without becoming overwhelming. The gaps are real — if you want anything outside Italy, you're out of luck — but that's a feature, not a bug.
By the Glass
Eight to twelve options is a respectable glass program for a room this focused, and the expectation is they're cycling through the same Italian regions you'd find on the bottle list. That said, we didn't find evidence of a regular rotation or a curated glass program that surprises — what's on the menu is what's on the menu.
Chianti Classico Riserva — Unknown
Chianti Classico Riserva from a focused Italian list at a mid-tier price point is almost always where the kitchen and the cellar shake hands — it's the sweet spot between the house pours and the Brunello.
Southern Italy selection
Most tables at a place like this tunnel-vision straight to Barolo and Brunello. The Southern Italian bottles — lighter on the wallet, just as interesting — are where savvy drinkers quietly do their best work.
Amarone della Valpolicella
Amarone is the kind of wine that restaurants mark up aggressively because the name carries weight. Unless you know the specific producer and price is right, this is the line item most likely to sting on the check.
Barolo + House pasta with braised meat
Barolo's high tannin and acid structure is basically engineered for slow-cooked meat and house-made pasta — the fat and richness of the dish tames the wine's edge and lets the fruit come forward.
✔️ The Bottom Line
Cafe Capriccio is the kind of neighborhood Italian that Albany doesn't deserve to have this good — the wine list is thoughtful, Italy-first, and built for the food. The markups aren't doing anyone any favors, but if you pick smart, this is a genuinely rewarding room to drink in.
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