Fiola Mare
Italian Firepower Meets Potomac Views
Georgetown · Washington · Italian, Seafood · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 7, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
The wine list at Fiola Mare arrives like a statement — thick, deliberate, and unapologetically Italian at its core. You're sitting on the Georgetown waterfront with Potomac light bouncing off the room, and the list in your hands backs up every bit of that setting. This is a serious program that knows exactly what it is.
Selection Deep Dive
Four hundred to six hundred selections anchored in Tuscany and Piedmont, and the names on these pages are not messing around — Sassicaia, Ornellaia, Masseto, Solaia, Tignanello, Brunello from Biondi-Santi and Casanova di Neri, Barolo from Giacomo Conterno and Bruno Giacosa, Barbaresco from Gaja. That's not a wine list, that's a greatest hits of Italian viticulture. California gets a real seat at the table too, with Caymus Special Selection and Kistler Chardonnay rounding things out, and Burgundy shows up in force — including Domaine de la Romanée-Conti for those with the appetite and the budget. The gaps are few; if you can't find something to love here, you're not looking hard enough.
By the Glass
Twenty to thirty-five pours by the glass is a genuinely strong program, with glasses running $18 to $45 — that top end reflects some real quality being opened. The presence of a dedicated sommelier team (Megumi Awaya, Will Moriarity, and Luca Pasquinelli) means the by-the-glass list isn't an afterthought; these are curated pours, not just whatever needs to move. We'd lean on the staff here — tell them what you're eating and let them work.
Tignanello (Antinori) — $180
Tignanello is one of the benchmarks of Super Tuscan winemaking, and at a place like Fiola Mare it tends to be marked up more reasonably than the true trophy bottles. You're getting Antinori craftsmanship, Sangiovese backbone with Cabernet structure, and a wine that genuinely complements the kitchen's seafood-forward menu without overwhelming it.
Gaja Langhe Chardonnay
Everyone clocks the Gaja Barbaresco and moves on. The Gaja Langhe Chardonnay is the sleeper — Angelo Gaja making white Burgundy-adjacent Chardonnay in Piedmont, with the kind of precision and tension that makes it sing alongside scallops or branzino. Most tables walk right past it chasing the reds.
Caymus Vineyards Special Selection
Caymus Special Selection is a perfectly fine wine in the right context, but at these prices in a restaurant of this caliber, it's the one bottle on the list that feels like it wandered in from a steakhouse three zip codes away. The Italian and French options at similar price points are simply doing more interesting work.
Brunello di Montalcino (Casanova di Neri) + Branzino
Hear us out — a Brunello with fish. Giacomo Neri's Casanova di Neri is elegant enough, with bright acidity and fine-grained tannins, that it doesn't bulldoze the delicate branzino. You get the earthy depth of Sangiovese Grosso playing against the clean, coastal flavors of the fish, and the result is exactly the kind of unexpected pairing that a room full of sommeliers should be steering you toward.
🔥 The Bottom Line
Fiola Mare has earned its Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence repeatedly and honestly — this is one of the strongest Italian-focused lists in D.C., staffed by people who actually know what's on it. Pricing is not for the faint of heart, but if you're already booking a table here, you came to play.
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