Supper Club Cool With Serious Italian Bones
Austin · Austin · American, Italian
Reviewed May 27, 2026
Wingman Metrics
Walking into Sammie's, you get the retro supper club fantasy — dim lighting, clubby energy, the kind of room where a Barolo feels right at home. The wine list matches the mood: Italian-leaning, serious about Piedmont and Tuscany, with a focus that tells you someone here actually cares. This isn't a restaurant that slapped a QR code on a generic PDF and called it a wine program.
The list leans hard into northern and central Italy, and that's exactly where it earns its stripes. Piedmont is the clear anchor — you'll find Produttori del Barbaresco, Vietti, G.D. Vajra, Bruno Giacosa, and Giacomo Conterno all sharing space on the same list, which is genuinely impressive for an Austin restaurant that also serves meatballs. Tuscany shows up strong too, with Tignanello and Gaja's Ca'Marcanda 'Promis' giving the Super Tuscan side some real credibility. The gaps are real — the New World largely doesn't exist here, and if you're hunting a Burgundy or a Champagne deep cut, you may be disappointed — but that's a choice, not an oversight.
By-the-glass specifics aren't fully documented, but with a dedicated sommelier in Jenny Rader and a Best of Award of Excellence on the wall, we'd expect a rotating, thoughtful pour program rather than a static house-wine situation. If Monday's half-price wine night extends to bottles, that changes the calculus entirely — show up early and ask.
Marchesi Antinori Guado al Tasso Il Bruciato 2021 — $95
Il Bruciato is the little brother to Guado al Tasso proper, a coastal Tuscan blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah that punches well above its station. At $95 on a list where Tignanello runs $285, this is where you get the Antinori pedigree without the premium tax.
Bruno Giacosa Nebbiolo d'Alba 2020
Most people at this table are going straight for the Barolo, and honestly, fair enough. But Giacosa's Nebbiolo d'Alba at $110 is one of the best entry points into what this producer does — all the perfume and structure you're chasing, ready to drink tonight rather than needing a decade in your cellar.
Tignanello 2019
Tignanello is a great wine. It's also one of the most over-ordered bottles in Italian-American restaurants nationwide, which means the markup is baked into the reputation. At $285, you're paying for the name recognition as much as what's in the glass. The Il Bruciato does similar work for a third of the price.
Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco 2018 + Veal Piccata
Barbaresco's bright acidity and dried cherry character cut right through the lemon-butter sauce in the piccata without bullying the veal. Produttori's cooperative Barbaresco is the reliable, classically structured version of this wine — no oak bomb, no extraction games — and that restraint is exactly what you want next to a delicate protein.
Monday — Half-price wine night every Monday
🎲 The Bottom Line
Sammie's is a genuinely fun room with a wine list that's earned its Wine Spectator hardware — the Italian depth is real, the sommelier knows her stuff, and Monday half-price bottles might be the best deal in Austin. Just go in knowing the markups lean steep, and let Jenny point you toward the plays that aren't on the tourist track.
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.