Finger Lakes in a bottle, no pretense
Downtown / South Main Street · Canandaigua · Wine Bar · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed July 26, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Acquilano Wine Cellars’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Walking into Acquilano feels less like a wine bar and more like wandering into the winery itself — because that's essentially what it is. The list is short, everything is house-made, and the whole operation is unapologetically Finger Lakes. There's no attempt to be anything other than what it is, and that confidence is refreshing.
The list clocks in at three or four house labels — Riesling, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, and a Dessert Wine — all estate-bottled and laser-focused on what the Finger Lakes does best. You're not getting a globe-trotting wine menu here; you're getting a producer's tight edit of their own work. The Cab Franc is the most interesting pour on the list given how well the region handles that grape, and the Riesling is a no-brainer crowd-pleaser. The Dessert Wine is the wildcard that most tables will overlook, which is a shame.
The primary format here is the four-wine tasting flight, priced at $10–$14 per flight pour, which is an excellent low-stakes way to work through the entire lineup. Full bottle pours are available at roughly $30 a bottle for house wines. It's a simple by-the-glass setup — don't come expecting a rotating BTG program.
Acquilano Riesling NV — $30
Retails around $20 and pours at $30 on premise — a near non-existent markup by restaurant standards. For a Finger Lakes Riesling in a dedicated tasting room, this is a genuine steal.
Acquilano Dessert Wine
Most people skip dessert wines on principle, but Finger Lakes dessert wines are genuinely world-class and wildly underrated. This one gets ignored at nearly every table — order it.
Acquilano Chardonnay
Nothing wrong with it, but if you're at a Finger Lakes tasting room and you reach for the Chardonnay over the Riesling or Cab Franc, you're playing it too safe. The region's strengths lie elsewhere.
Acquilano Cabernet Franc + Wine & Chocolate Pairing Flight
Cab Franc's red fruit, herbaceous edge, and soft tannins make it the ideal counterpart to dark chocolate — and this pairing flight was basically designed for it. It's the obvious move and the right one.
The Bottom Line
Acquilano isn't trying to be a destination wine bar — it's a Finger Lakes producer pouring its own work in a casual Main Street setting, and it does that with charm and absurdly fair prices. If you're in Canandaigua and you skip this, you've made a mistake.
South Main Street / lakefront · Canandaigua · Steakhouse and seafood with American fine dining
Nolan's is a dependable lakeside wine list that does right by its guests without taking any real risks — the Finger Lakes locals are a genuine highlight worth seeking out. Send a friend here for the view and the steak; tell them to order the Heron Hill.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Canandaigua · Canandaigua · Spanish tapas and wine bar
Pintxo is punching well above its weight class for a small-city wine bar, and the Spanish regional focus gives it a genuine identity that most places never find. If you're anywhere near the Finger Lakes and care even a little about wine, this one's worth the detour.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Seasonal Rotation
Proper
Canandaigua Lake waterfront · Canandaigua · Upscale Contemporary American / Event Dining
The Lake House is a beautiful place to get married or host a corporate dinner, but the wine program is clearly an afterthought — a functional, inoffensive list designed to move bottles at events, not to excite anyone. If you're eating here, drink the Finger Lakes options and leave the Meomi alone.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Lafayette Street · Canandaigua · Indian
Flavors isn't a wine destination, but it's not pretending to be one either — the list is honest, the prices are fair, and the Fox Run Riesling alone justifies ordering a bottle. Come for the food, drink the Riesling, and don't overthink it.
Plays It Safe
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Canandaigua · Canandaigua · Bar / Pub / Pizza / American
Wally's has no business having a 91-bottle wine list, and yet here we are. It's not a wine destination, but if you're grabbing a late slice and want something better than house red in a tumbler, this place will surprise you.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Canandaigua · Canandaigua · Bistro / Italian
Il Posto is doing honest, focused work on a wine list that respects its Italian menu without overcrowding the table. The markups lean steep at the top end and we want more Finger Lakes on a list that's literally in the Finger Lakes — but for a neighborhood bistro in downtown Canandaigua, this is a solid night out.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Buckhead · Atlanta · Wine Bar
Vine & Tap earns its Wild Card badge by doing something rare in Buckhead: pointing the list toward places most wine bars won't bother with, like Lebanon and Friuli, and keeping entree prices under $20 so the wine spend can actually shine. If you're in the neighborhood on a Wednesday, the half-price flight situation makes this an easy yes — show up, explore something you've never heard of, eat some octopus, and leave having learned something.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
· La Crosse · Wine Bar
The Wine Guyz earns its Wild Card badge by being something La Crosse didn't necessarily need but clearly does: a real wine bar with range, a relaxed atmosphere, and food that goes beyond bar snacks. We'd send a curious wine drinker here without hesitation — just go in ready to ask questions, since the list doesn't live online and the real program reveals itself in person.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Buckman · Portland · Wine Bar
A winery list that is easy to order from: 22 wines, all by the glass at 14 to 17, with house bottlings next to imports. Start with the five-pour ENSO Reds flight at $25, then settle on a glass of the Chateauneuf du Stark at 16 or the chilled Valpolicella at 15, and confirm what is open since the menu is undated. This unrated guide covers the posted wine menu, not service, storage or markups.
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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