Lancaster's Most Serious Wine Room, Full Stop
Downtown Lancaster · Lancaster · Fine Dining / New American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed July 18, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Amorette’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
A 3,500-bottle cellar in downtown Lancaster isn't something you expect to stumble into, and yet here we are. The list arrives feeling like a serious document — not a laminated afterthought — and the sommelier on staff means someone actually thought hard about what goes on these pages. This is a wine program that wants to be taken seriously, and it earns that right.
Five hundred to seven hundred selections spanning ten countries gives Amorette genuine range without feeling like a phone book nobody can navigate. The Burgundy section — white and red — is the clear backbone here, anchored by names like Bouchard Père & Fils that signal old-world credibility. California gets its due with California Chardonnays and reds alongside landmark bottlings from Chateau Montelena, which is about as good a flex as you can make on an American wine list. Italian coverage through producers like La Spinetta rounds things out and keeps the list from feeling like a Franco-California echo chamber.
Twenty-six by-the-glass options is a genuinely impressive number for a restaurant this size — most fine dining spots in a mid-sized market like Lancaster phone it in at eight to twelve. The depth here means you can actually build a meal through the glass without running out of interesting turns. We'd love to see more rotation evidence, but the sheer count gives drinkers plenty of runway.
Bouchard Père & Fils Burgundy — null
Classic Burgundy house with deep roots and consistent quality — in a list trending toward trophy bottles, Bouchard represents a grounded entry point into serious French wine without chasing the room's ceiling prices.
La Spinetta (Italian reds)
Most tables here are gravitating toward the California and Burgundy sections, which means the La Spinetta pours are getting overlooked. La Spinetta makes some of Italy's most precise Barbaresco and Barolo — if the list includes their single-vineyard stuff, you're getting a bottle most people only drink in Piedmont.
Chateau Montelena (rare/landmark bottlings)
Chateau Montelena is a genuine American icon and we respect the cellar for stocking it — but the 'landmark bottling' designation almost guarantees a markup that turns a great wine into an expensive statement. Unless you're celebrating something significant, the story costs more than the wine at this point.
White Burgundy (Bouchard Père & Fils) + Chef's tasting menu fish course
White Burgundy's tension between richness and acidity makes it the most versatile companion for refined seafood preparations — it holds up to butter and cream without getting lost, and brings enough minerality to keep a composed fish course honest.
The Bottom Line
Amorette is doing something genuinely rare in a city Lancaster's size — running a wine program with real depth, real staff, and a cellar worth caring about. The markups will sting on the high end, but the breadth of the list means there are smart plays available if you know where to look.
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Barberet isn't a wine destination, but it's doing something rarer — matching a focused, honest wine program to food that actually deserves it. If you're in Lancaster and want a French dinner that doesn't embarrass itself on the wine side, this is your spot.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Lancaster · Winery tasting room / Wine bar
Waltz Vineyards is a solid local winery doing honest work with Pennsylvania fruit and keeping prices in a range that makes experimentation easy. If you're in Lancaster and want to drink local without getting gouged, this is the right stop.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
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· Lancaster · American Fine Dining / Steak & Seafood
The Greenfield is a reliable, well-meaning wine program dressed up in fine dining clothes — it won't embarrass you on a special occasion, but it won't give you a story to tell either. Order the scallops, pick something from Pennsylvania if you can find it, and let the room do the heavy lifting.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
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Acceptable
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Vine Bar is a genuine surprise in a city that doesn't get enough wine credit — a small, Italy-obsessed red wine list with real depth and genuine curiosity behind it. If you know enough to appreciate Gamay del Trasimeno and three-cru Barolo in the same room, make the trip.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Lancaster · Italian / Wood-fired
LUCA isn't trying to be a wine bar, but whoever put this list together has better taste than most Italian restaurants twice its size. For Lancaster, this is genuinely worth ordering a bottle over.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Castle Hill's wine list is a quiet overachiever in a setting that could easily get away with doing far less. The by-the-glass depth is real, the format variety is a genuine bonus, and the Lustau Fino alone justifies scanning the list carefully. Prices trend steep as you'd expect from a waterfront inn, but the curation earns some goodwill — just don't autopilot to the Cabernet.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Monterey · Fine Dining / New American
Foray's wine list is the rare kind that rewards the curious and doesn't punish the budget-conscious — a Picpoul at $15 and Krug at $195 can coexist on the same list without the whole thing feeling schizophrenic. The eclectic regional reach, fair markups, and genuinely unusual picks like the Armenian Yacoubian-Hobbs earn this a Wild Card badge: it's not the deepest list on the Central Coast, but it's easily the most interesting one in Monterey. If you care about what's in your glass, this is the right room.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
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Proper
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Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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