A coastal-leaning list of three hundred Italian and California natural wines — sourced direct, opened generously, poured with conversation.
A great wine list shouldn't be a contest. It should be a conversation between the table, the kitchen, and the place the wine came from.
We built the Bella Sole cellar around two ideas. First — when the chef is sourcing branzino from a Point Loma dayboat and tonnarelli from a hand-cranked extruder in the back of the kitchen, the wine has to live in the same key. That means low-intervention growers, transparent farming, and bottles that taste like the soil they came from rather than the spreadsheet they were optimized for.
Second — Italy is bigger than Tuscany. We pour Carricante from the black volcanic soils of Etna, Vermentino from the cliffs of the Cinque Terre, and skin-contact Ribolla from Friuli that has spent six months on its skins and three years in oak before it ever sees a table. There are pinot grigios on this list, but they are not the pinot grigios you remember from the airport in Milan.
And because Bella Sole sits on the California coast, half the by-the-glass program comes from growers within a four-hour drive — Sandlands, Lo-Fi, Stolpman, Birichino. These are people working with Mediterranean varietals on Mediterranean soils, just on the other side of the planet. The conversation between an Etna Rosso and a Santa Barbara Trousseau is, to my mind, the most interesting thing happening in wine right now.
If you're not sure where to start, ask. The list is long on purpose. The bar pours change constantly. And if you bring in a bottle that means something to you, our corkage is $35 — waived if you share a glass.
Seven rotating pours. Updated every Tuesday when the new allocations come in from our importer in San Pedro.
| Wine | Style | Glass | Bottle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prosecco di Valdobbiadene, Bisol | Sparkling | $14 | $52 |
| Vermentino, Bisson — Liguria | White | $16 | $60 |
| Trousseau Gris, Lo-Fi — Russian River | White / Skin | $15 | $56 |
| Etna Rosso, Graci — Sicily | Red | $18 | $68 |
| Pithos Rosso, COS — Vittoria | Red, lightly chilled | $17 | $64 |
| Barbera d'Alba, G.D. Vajra — Piedmont | Red | $15 | $56 |
| Sciacchetrà, Possa | Dessert (50ml) | $22 | $120 |
A small selection from each section of the cellar. The full list — and a sommelier to walk you through it — is at every table.
Saline, mineral whites from the cliffs above Marco's grandmother's kitchen. We pour these by the glass through the summer because they belong on a table next to anchovy, anchovy, anchovy.
Sea-salt finish, white peach, almond skin. A wine that tastes like the rocks the vines grow on.
Skin-contact Albarola from terraced vines above the Mediterranean. Bruised pear, dried herbs.
A traditional dessert wine — air-dried grapes pressed slowly. Apricot, beeswax, candied citrus peel. 50 ml pour.
Volcanic soils, ancient varietals, sun-soaked acidity. Our southern Italian selection leans toward growers working small parcels on Etna, Vulture, and the Aeolian islands.
Carricante and Grecanico, no sulfur added. Wet stone, citrus rind, salinity from the volcanic ash.
Pure Nerello Mascalese. Sour cherry, rosewater, smoked tea. Pairs beautifully with our wood-fired branzino.
Single-vineyard Aglianico from volcanic Vulture. Black cherry, leather, cocoa powder, iron.
Amphora-aged Nero d'Avola and Frappato. Light enough to chill on a summer night. Smells like a sun-warmed orchard.
The north — where pasta gets pulled by hand and white wines age the way reds do. Our list goes deep on Radikon, Gravner, and the orange-wine pioneers who changed what Italian white could be.
Six months on skins, three years in oak. Dried apricot, honeycomb, walnut. Pour it slightly warm.
Aged in Georgian clay qvevri, then large Slavonian oak. Profound. Sip it slowly with the tagliatelle al tartufo.
Three-vineyard Nebbiolo blend. Rose petals, dried cherry, tar — the classic Barolo trifecta at a fair price.
Old-vine Nebbiolo, traditional macerations. A wine that opens slowly over the course of dinner — give it time.
We believe in our place. Half the bar pours come from growers within a four-hour drive of Bella Sole — natural producers working with Mediterranean varietals on California soils.
A Jura grape grown in Santa Barbara. Crunchy red fruit, white pepper, served with a chill.
Tegan Passalacqua's love letter to old California vines. Wild strawberry, dried lavender.
A rare, faintly pink Trousseau. Drinks like rosé but with structure. Our most-poured glass.
Floral, dry, deeply aromatic. The perfect aperitivo on the patio.
Our seven-course chef's tasting can be paired flight-by-flight with five wines drawn from the night's open bottles, the new arrivals, and the things Caterina has been thinking about. Reservations recommended for tables of four or more.