Roscioli Wine Club — Full Review 2026

How We Scored Roscioli Wine Club

The first Roscioli shipment I received contained a bottle from a producer in Basilicata whose name I couldn’t pronounce and whose grape variety — Aglianico del Vulture — I’d only read about in books. The accompanying letter from the Roscioli team explained the producer’s history, the volcanic soils, and why this specific vintage was worth paying attention to. I opened it with dinner, expected to be educated, and ended up genuinely moved by the wine. That’s not something I say often.

Roscioli is an alimentari and wine bar on Via dei Giubbonari in Rome that has been at the center of serious Italian food and wine culture for decades. The cellar is not a marketing set piece — it’s a working collection, assembled over fifty years, focused on Italian producers who make wine with genuine commitment and who the Roscioli family know personally. The wine club extends that cellar to subscribers who can’t be there in person.

The Wine: What You Actually Get

Level 1 shipments feature wines described as ready to drink now. In practice, this means approachable, well-rounded bottles that don’t require patience — but still carry real character. A recent shipment included a Vermentino from Sardinia with a saline, almost sea-spray quality I’d associate with the best Picpoul de Pinet, but more complex. A Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo rosé that was better than any rosé I’ve opened this year. And a Montepulciano that drank with the kind of easy generosity that only comes from excellent fruit well handled.

Level 2 wines are those that would benefit from further cellaring — two to five years in most cases. They’re less immediately giving but more intellectually interesting. If you have storage and a longer time horizon, Level 2 is where the most compelling bottles live.

What Roscioli selects consistently well is wine that has a distinct sense of place. These bottles taste Italian in the way that matters — not the generic, internationally smoothed-out Italian that fills most wine shops, but wine with actual regional character. You learn where Abruzzo is different from Campania, and why Sicilian red wine has a warmth that nothing from the north replicates.

The Logistics

Shipping from Rome to the US is not inexpensive, and it adds to the total cost. In my experience, two shipments have arrived perfectly — the packaging is thorough, and Roscioli clearly knows how to handle international wine shipping. Customs clearance has been smooth both times.

The cost is real: starting at around €85 per shipment before shipping. This is not a value club. If cost per bottle is your primary metric, look at Naked Wines or Firstleaf. Roscioli is for the drinker who wants the best available Italian wine curation, and understands that education and rarity carry a price.

Verdict

Score: 9.6 / 10 — the highest on this site. The wine quality is exceptional. The curation is genuinely expert, built on decades of direct producer relationships. The educational experience across each shipment is unmatched by any other club we’ve reviewed. If you drink wine seriously and want to understand Italy the way Romans do, this is the only subscription that delivers it.