Linguini by the Sea
Italy-first wine list with an ocean view
Atlantic City Boardwalk · Atlantic City · Italian, Seafood
Reviewed April 18, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
Walking into Linguini by the Sea, the Atlantic Ocean does a lot of the heavy lifting before you even open the wine list. But the list itself earns some attention too — it's focused, Italian all the way through, and priced in a range that won't make you choke on your oyster. This is a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence holder since 2021, and the Italian depth shows.
Selection Deep Dive
The list runs 150-250 bottles and stays almost exclusively in Italian territory, which is exactly the right call for a restaurant of this stripe. You've got serious producers like Gaja in Barbaresco, Antinori's Tignanello pulling weight in the Super Tuscan corner, and Mastroberardino's Taurasi representing Campania with authority. Southern Italy gets a real seat at the table — Feudi di San Gregorio's Fiano di Avellino and Planeta's Nero d'Avola are both legit inclusions that signal someone actually cares about the peninsula below Rome. The weak spot is everything outside Italy: it's basically not there, which is a fine choice as long as you came here for Italian, and you should have.
By the Glass
Ten to twenty by-the-glass options keeps things manageable without feeling like you're stuck choosing between two bad options. The $10-$18 glass price range is reasonable for a boardwalk fine dining spot in a casino market where operators can and do gouge freely. We'd love to see a little more rotation here — right now it reads more like a static menu than an active glass program.
Feudi di San Gregorio Fiano di Avellino — $35–$50
Southern Italian whites are chronically underpriced relative to their quality, and Feudi's Fiano is a textbook example — mineral, structured, genuinely interesting — sitting at the low end of a list that goes much higher. Order it before the Blue Point Oysters and don't look back.
Mastroberardino Taurasi
Most tables at a boardwalk Italian spot are reaching for the Tignanello or the Amarone because the names ring a bell. Taurasi from Mastroberardino — the family that essentially preserved Campanian winemaking — is the serious drinker's pick. Aglianico-based, built for long haul, and routinely overlooked by anyone not already hunting for it.
Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio
Santa Margherita is the wine that taught a generation of Americans that Pinot Grigio costs $40, and it's been coasting on that reputation ever since. It's fine — it's always fine — but on a list with Fiano di Avellino on it, spending money here is a missed opportunity dressed in a familiar label.
Planeta Nero d'Avola + Handcrafted Pasta
Nero d'Avola from Planeta is dark-fruited and warm without being heavy, which makes it a natural fit for a rich pasta — think something with a tomato-braised meat component. Sicily and Southern Italian pasta are essentially the same cultural conversation, and this pairing feels earned rather than engineered.
✔️ The Bottom Line
Linguini by the Sea isn't trying to be a wine destination, but it's a genuinely solid Italian list in a setting where it could easily be much worse. If you're eating here — and the ocean view alone is reason enough — the wine program will take care of you.
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