Lucciola Italian Restaurant

The wine list at Lucciola hits you like a Barolo negroni — rich, serious, and completely intentional. This is not an Upper West Side afterthought list padded with Meiomi and Whispering Angel; this is a 300-500 bottle deep dive into the soul of Italian winemaking. Sommelier Alexandra Lascu has clearly spent time in Piedmont in spirit if not in person.

The Italian backbone here is exceptional. Piedmont anchors everything — Giacomo Conterno, Bruno Giacosa, and Gaja represent the full spectrum from traditional to modern Barolo, and Produttori del Barbaresco gives you a more accessible entry point into Nebbiolo greatness. Tuscany shows up strong with Biondi-Santi and Poggio di Sotto Brunello alongside the Super Tuscan hits — Sassicaia and Tignanello — for the crowd that needs a familiar name on the label. The Veneto goes deep with Dal Forno Romano and Quintarelli Amarone, both of which are serious collector-grade pours that you rarely see on a restaurant list outside of a major wine destination. France gets a seat at the table too, rounding out the list without overshadowing the Italian core.

With 15-25 pours available by the glass, Lucciola gives you genuine options rather than the usual four-whites-four-reds shuffle. We'd expect the glass program to feature approachable expressions from the same serious producers on the bottle list — think Borgogno Barolo or Pieropan Soave Classico as entry points. The glass selection alone is worth building a dinner around if you want to taste across regions without committing to a full bottle.