Villa Di Como Ristorante
Albany's Italian Soul with Serious Wine Bones
Lark Street · Albany · Italian · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 19, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
Walk into Villa Di Como and the wine list signals that someone here actually cares — Tignanello and Gaja on a Lark Street menu isn't nothing. It's a focused, Italian-only program that leans hard into the peninsula's heavyweights, which is exactly what you want from a place this intimate.
Selection Deep Dive
The list runs 40-80 bottles, all Italian, all business — Tuscany and Piedmont do the heavy lifting while Sicily and the Veneto round out the edges. Brunello di Montalcino selections add genuine cellar credibility, and the Super Tuscan presence means you're not just looking at a menu assembled from a distributor's top sheet. The gaps show up in northern Italy beyond Piedmont — don't expect Friuli or Alto Adige — but within its lane, the list is coherent and considered. For a 50-seat neighborhood spot in Albany, this is punching above its weight class.
By the Glass
Eight to fourteen pours by the glass gives you real options without the decision fatigue of a wine bar. The program skews toward crowd-pleasing Italian staples in the glass format, which makes sense for a reservation-only dinner spot where the bottle list is the real story. We'd like to see the glass program rotate more aggressively, but what's here is serviceable.
Brunello di Montalcino — null
Pricing data wasn't available to confirm exact bottle cost, but Brunello in a setting like this typically represents the best ratio of prestige to experience — it's the wine that makes the room feel like it earns its ambiance.
Sicilian selections
Most tables are going straight for the Tuscany and Piedmont anchors, which means the Sicilian bottles sit underordered. Sicily's been quietly producing some of Italy's most interesting reds for years — if the staff can point you toward one, take it.
Antinori Tignanello
Tignanello is a genuinely great wine, but it's also one of the most marked-up bottles in Italian restaurants everywhere. At a steep-markup establishment without a dedicated sommelier, you're almost certainly paying a significant premium over retail for a wine you can find at any decent shop. Save it for a restaurant that earns the price through service and cellar care.
Gaja Barbaresco + Frutti di Mare
Barbaresco's acidity and iron-tinged fruit cut through briny, rich seafood in a way that feels like the pairing was designed in a Piedmontese kitchen. It's a slightly unexpected call — most people reach for white wine with frutti di mare — but Gaja's structure handles it.
✔️ The Bottom Line
Villa Di Como is the kind of neighborhood Italian spot that takes its wine seriously enough to stock Gaja and Brunello, even if the pricing and lack of a dedicated wine person keep it from true destination status. Send a friend here for dinner — just tell them to avoid the trophy bottles and dig into the list's mid-tier.
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