Pacific Northwest Pride, Priced Like They Mean It
Downtown · Seattle · New American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 15, 2026
Wingman Metrics
The list opens with a clear sense of place — Washington and Oregon producers dominate, and it reads like someone actually thought about this region instead of just ordering from a generic distributor catalog. At 80-plus labels with 18+ by-the-glass options, there's real range here without the bloat of a list that's trying too hard to impress.
Columbia Valley and Willamette Valley anchor the list, with names like DeLille Cellars, Bledsoe Family Winery, and Mark Ryan doing the heavy lifting on the red side. The white game is solid too — Poet's Leap Riesling from Long Shadows and Willakenzie Estate Chardonnay give you proper Willamette character without resorting to grocery-store filler. Champagne representation is thin but Piper-Heidsieck Cuvée 1785 at least shows some ambition beyond house bubbly. The one real gap is international depth — if you're craving Burgundy, Barolo, or anything from the Southern Hemisphere, you're largely out of luck.
Eighteen-plus pours is a genuinely strong glass program, and the spread across styles means you're not locked into Cab or Chardonnay like some Belltown neighbors. Prices run $13.52 to $25.10 a glass, which is honest for the Seattle market — you're not getting gouged just because the restaurant has nice lighting. The rotation appears static rather than seasonal, which is the one thing holding this program back from being truly exciting.
Matthews 'Blackboard' Merlot 2021 — $14/glass
At $14 a glass with a retail bottle running $40, the markup is almost shockingly reasonable. Merlot gets slept on in general, and Matthews does Columbia Valley Merlot better than most — this is a confident, food-friendly pour that competes with bottles twice the price.
Long Shadows Poet's Leap Riesling (Columbia Valley)
Most people scanning a New American menu skip straight to Chardonnay or Pinot Gris without a second thought. Poet's Leap is one of the most underrated Rieslings in the entire Pacific Northwest — made in the Mosel tradition by a winery that takes the grape seriously. It's the kind of wine that quietly steals the table's attention by the second pour.
Piper-Heidsieck Cuvée 1785 (Champagne)
Champagne markups in restaurants are almost always brutal, and there's no reason to think this is an exception. If you want bubbles with Pacific Northwest sensibility, Treveri Cellars Brut Blanc de Blancs from Yakima Valley is right there on the same list — likely at a fraction of the price and worth every dollar.
Delille Cellars D2 Bordeaux-style Blend (Columbia Valley) + Roasted meat or braised short rib (New American menu staple)
D2 is DeLille's workhorse blend — Cab, Merlot, and Cab Franc that's structured enough to stand up to rich, slow-cooked beef but polished enough not to club you over the head with tannin. It's the kind of pairing that makes a weeknight dinner feel like a special occasion without requiring a second mortgage.
✔️ The Bottom Line
2120 is a reliable, regionally thoughtful wine program in a neighborhood full of lists that coast on name recognition and gouge accordingly — it doesn't reinvent anything, but it earns your trust pour by pour. Send a friend here, tell them to order the Merlot by the glass, and let the Pacific Northwest do its thing.
Eastlake · Seattle · Italian
Serafina is a reliable Italian neighborhood spot with a wine list that matches its ambitions — cozy, competent, and a little expensive for what it is. Send a friend here for the pasta and Nebbiolo, but warn them to steer clear of the Prosecco markups.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Capitol Hill · Seattle · French / Northwest Seafood and Wine Bar
Bar Melusine is what Capitol Hill needed more of: a focused, France-forward wine program that actually earns its place next to the food. If you're eating oysters in Seattle, this should be in your regular rotation.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Magnolia · Seattle · Italian
Picolinos is the kind of neighborhood Italian where the wine list genuinely backs up the food, and that's rarer than it should be. Send your friends here if they want a proper Barolo with their osso buco without flying to Turin.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Pike Place Market · Seattle · Italian-American with Northwest influence
The Pink Door is a reliable wine list in a genuinely great room — the atmosphere does a lot of heavy lifting, and the wine program is good enough not to get in the way of a memorable evening. Just watch the markups, stick to the Italian bottles, and let the trapeze act do the rest.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Capitol Hill · Seattle · Modern steakhouse with French-influenced Pacific Northwest cuisine
Bateau is the rare steakhouse where the wine list earns as much attention as what's on the butcher board. Markups keep it from being a total steal, but the depth, the staff, and the Pacific Northwest-first perspective make this one worth the splurge.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Belltown · Seattle · Italian
Tavolàta's wine list is exactly what a good Italian pasta spot should have — focused, fairly priced, and honest about what it is. If you're looking for a list to geek out over, keep walking; if you're looking for something that drinks well with great pasta, pull up a chair.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Broadway corridor · Fort Wayne · New American
Rune is doing something genuinely rare for its zip code: building a wine list with a real identity. Come on a Wednesday, order the Ovum, and feel good about finding a place like this.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
West Plano · Plano · New American
CraftWay Kitchen isn't trying to be a wine destination and doesn't pretend to be — but the markups are fair, the glass program is wide, and there's enough on the list to drink well with a solid meal. Send your friends here for dinner; just don't send them here for a wine education.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
Clemmons · Winston Salem · New American
Sixty Vines is a solid, reliable wine stop in Winston-Salem — the by-the-glass breadth is real and the staff knows their stuff, but the list reads like a greatest hits album rather than anything adventurous. Come for the volume, stay for the pizza, but don't expect to have your mind changed about wine.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.