Most diners at Del Posto might head directly for the B sections of the wine list: Brunello, Barolo, or Barbaresco. And those are well represented on the pages. But if you want to really take advantage of the diversity of Italian wine, there are some real values to be had from other regions. Pallagrello Nero is a little known grape that was basically forgotten before Vestini Campagnano started working with it and made it a star. Vestini Campagnano is one of the Campania’s most interesting wineries, but there are relatively few chances to try to the wines with any serious age. Del Posto offers the Vestini Campagnano Pallagrello Nero 2003 for only $105, which is considerably less than what you might pay for a comparable B wine. Have the Pallagrello Nero decanted and drink it along with game bird or beef.

Chateau Simone was for a long time a secret held by very few American buyers. Despite the high quality, the wines were rarely talked about. But after an importer change, Simone became better known, and some mature vintages were also subsequently released. Those bottles garnered a lot of attention from local sommeliers, but unfortunately most of what was available has now sold through. The opportunity to taste the glory of old Simone is again becoming rare. Luckily, Le Bernardin still offers the Chateau Simone Blanc 2000 for $135. It is just the kind of wine that is perfect for the seafood heavy menu, and just the sort of wine that offers more in the bottle than the price tag would lead you to suspect.