Cinghiale
The All-Italian Deep Dive Baltimore Deserves
Harbor East · Baltimore · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed March 24, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
The wine list lands on the table and you immediately know this place is serious. All Italian, all the time — and not in a checkered-tablecloth, house-Chianti kind of way. This is a proper enoteca that has clearly put in the work to build one of the most comprehensive Italian lists on the East Coast.
Selection Deep Dive
Cinghiale doesn't dabble — it goes all in on Italy from top to bottom. The Piedmont section alone could anchor a wine bar: Giacomo Conterno, Vietti, and Bruno Giacosa cover Barolo, while Gaja and Produttori del Barbaresco handle Barbaresco with real range across styles and vintages. Tuscany holds its own with Biondi-Santi and Il Poggione on Brunello, plus Sassicaia and Tignanello for the Super Tuscan crowd. Whites don't get short-changed either — Vermentino, Verdicchio, Soave, and northern Italian Pinot Grigio round things out and give the list genuine breadth beyond the red-heavy usual suspects.
By the Glass
Fifteen to twenty-five options by the glass is genuinely generous for a list this focused, and the rotating selection means there's usually something worth exploring beyond the safe pours. The Zardetto Prosecco by the glass at $8 is an easy opener. Staff know what's on the board and can actually talk you through it — rare enough to be worth mentioning.
Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco — Under $50
Produttori is one of the great cooperatives in all of Italy — Barbaresco at this quality level rarely shows up on a restaurant list without a painful markup. Catching it on the short list under $50 is the kind of find that makes Tuesday feel like a celebration.
Verdicchio
Most tables at Cinghiale are zeroed in on Barolo before they sit down, which means the central Italian whites get ignored. A good Verdicchio has serious texture and a saline, almost bitter finish that cuts through rich pasta dishes better than any Pinot Grigio ever will. Don't sleep on it.
Sassicaia
Look, it's a great wine — we're not disputing that. But Sassicaia is on every Italian-adjacent list in the country, it's priced accordingly, and you're at a restaurant with Giacomo Conterno Barolo on the menu. Spending that money on a Super Tuscan trophy wine here feels like ordering a burger at a sushi counter.
Amarone della Valpolicella + Braised wild boar (cinghiale)
The restaurant is literally named after the dish, so yes, you should order it. Amarone's dried-fruit intensity and iron-fisted tannins meet the rich, gamey braise head-on — neither backs down, both get better. This is the pairing that justifies the whole evening.
Tuesday — 50% off all bottles of wine in the Enoteca + Bar during both Lunch and Dinner
🔥 The Bottom Line
Cinghiale is the rare Italian restaurant where the wine list is the actual reason to go — the food just makes it better. If you care at all about Italian wine, show up on a Tuesday and drink things you won't find anywhere else in Baltimore.
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