Il Terrazzo

When a wine list clocks in at 1,000+ selections at an Italian spot tucked along the Willamette Esplanade, you know someone here actually cares. This isn't a list assembled by a distributor rep on autopilot — it spans fifteen-plus countries and leans hard into the kind of depth you'd expect from a dedicated wine bar, not a neighborhood trattoria. The room is intimate and the views are stunning, which makes cracking that list feel like an occasion before you've even ordered.

Italy is the backbone here, as it should be, but the list doesn't stop at the usual suspects — there's real range beyond Tuscany and Piedmont. Oregon gets proper representation with producers like Belle Pente Estate, Zena Crown Conifer, and the Drouhin-backed Roserock Zéphirine, which is a smart nod to local terroir without veering into parochial cheerleading. Champagne gets a serious seat at the table too, with Palmer & Co. Réserve showing up alongside the genuinely unexpected Luigi Giordano Nebbiolo Brut Nature — a sparkling Nebbiolo that most lists wouldn't touch. The inclusion of Mount Veeder Winery Cab signals that California's serious mountain-grown side gets a fair shake as well.

Seventeen by-the-glass options is a solid count — enough to build a multi-course pour progression without repeating yourself. We'd want to see a little more rotation to keep regulars on their toes, but what's here is clearly curated with intention rather than defaulting to whatever the distributor pushed that week. Ask your server what's pouring well tonight; with a sommelier on staff, that answer should actually mean something.