Barchetta

While the restaurant is barely over six months old, David Pasternack’s (of Esca fame) new, more casual Chelsea seafood restaurant has already established it as one of the exciting newcomers on the Italian wine scene. The program was assembled by wine director and general manager George Hock, who made a name for himself at Scarpetta before moving to Sicily’s Etna region. After spending more than enough time living on an active volcano, he returned to New York, applying his extensive knowledge of Italian wine to what is an original, affordable and—more than anything—straight appealing list of Italian, French, Spanish and greater Mediterranean wines. With one foot firmly planted in the classics and the other forever exploring the ever-widening reaches of Mediterranean esoterica, the list a welcome adventure to navigate.