Backlit-blue from floor to ceiling, the architectural 5,000-bottle display in the “wine room,” designed by partner/designer Vicente Wolf, emphasizes the critical importance of vino at Alto. Yet, food most assuredly shares the spotlight; no wonder, since Chris Cannon, managing partner, was his mother’s “sous chef” at the age of six and later trained in Paris. Chef Michael White’s menu is married with the extensive wine list thanks to the skill of Wine Director Eric Zillier, who studied for the Diploma with the Wine and Spirit Educational Trust. The name Alto is a riff on alta cucina, meaning refined Italian cuisine. Nowhere is this more evident than in the pairing of a rich Piedmontese Agnolotti del Plin al Barbera with Guidobono’s Barbera d’Alba 2006.

The Stats
Number of selections: 2,350
Bottles in inventory: 35,000
Number of wines by the glass: 21
BYO: Yes. Corkage Fee: $60
Wine list highlights: Strong on Barolo/Barberesco, Burgundy and Bordeaux. Tenuta San Guido’s Sassicaia in vintages back to 1971. An extensive vertical of Alto Conterno’s Barolo. Giuseppe Mascarello Barolo 1961. Verticals of Latour back to 1934; La Mission Haut-Brion to 1953; Pétrus to 1945 and Guigal’s Cote-Roties from 1979 –1997.