THE WINE LIST

With the rising prices of French (and California) wines in the last few years, Italian wines have come to represent the best values on wine lists. But they offer more than just reasonable prices; Italian wines offer exotic and interesting tastes that match well with food.

The problem is that few Americans are familiar with the lesser-known Italian wines. Would you know, without help, that Breganze di Breganze from Maculan is 85% Tocai and 15% Pinot Bianco and fresh as a spring morning? Or that Antinori’s Cervaro Della Sala is a wonderful Chardonnay, or that Arneis is a soft, fragrant white wine with a delicate creaminess?

Alfredo Sedo, I Cugini’s sommelier, can tell you. He speaks four languages, he knows the 125 wines on I Cugini’s list (half of which are Italian), and he’s happy to serve you your own wine should you take advantage of I Cugini’s moderate corkage fee, $5 a bottle.

Pricing of the wine here is fair--not cheap, not too expensive. And with a little guidance you can find the real values, such as (among white wines) the Breganze di Breganze at $20; Anselmi’s Capitel Croce Soave at $25; Saintsbury’s Vin Gris at $17, or Folie a Deux’s wonderful 1989 dry Chenin Blanc at $13.

Among the red wines, there are a lot of great values starting with a wine perfect for the garlicky dishes here, the exciting 1988 Quivira Zinfandel ($18). The Italian section of the wine list, however, has such gems as 1985 Ceretto Barbaresco Asij ($35), 1988 Refosco from Collavini at $16, a wine that is fresh and youthful, halfway between Beaujolais and Zinfandel. There is also 1985 Monte Vertine Riserva at $45. The ’85 is no longer commercially available, but the ’86 retails for $31 a bottle, making the ’85 a bargain at $45.

If there is a drawback here it’s the glassware--clunky little things that don’t befit some of the great wines.

If what you want is just a glass of wine, there are five reds and five whites sold by the glass, ranging from $3.75 for a simple Verdicchio and Valpolicella to $5.50 for a Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay and Ravenswood Cabernet Sauvignon.

Grappa lovers will have a field day here; there are nearly four dozen on the list, as well as various liqueurs, Sherries, Ports, cognacs and other assorted after-dinner specialties. (A glass of 1970 Graham Port is $10.)