Lancaster's Most Serious Wine Room, Full Stop
Downtown Lancaster · Lancaster · Fine Dining / New American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 18, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Amorette’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Take Vibe Match and we’ll tell you what to order here.
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.
East Lancaster · Lancaster · Classic Italian and Italian-American
Lombardo's won't expand your wine horizons, but it won't ruin your dinner either — order the Chianti, avoid the Santa Margherita markup, and let the kitchen do the heavy lifting. A solid neighborhood Italian that treats wine as a supporting character, not the main event.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown / Penn Square Rooftop · Lancaster · Rooftop Bar
The Exchange is a fine place to have a glass of wine — it's just not a fine place to think about wine. Come for the rooftop, order the Matanzas Creek, and let the view do the rest.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
New Holland Pike · Lancaster · Brewpub / Beer Hall
This is not a wine destination — it's a beer hall that happens to take Pennsylvania wine seriously enough to put together a thoughtful, all-local list at fair prices. If you're here with a non-beer drinker, they're covered, and they might even discover something worth coming back for.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Lancaster Area · Lancaster · Bottle Shop / Bar
Beer Fridge isn't a wine destination, but its nine-bottle list punches above its weight class — especially the Rioja and the Barbera. Come for the beer, stay for the pleasant surprise.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Bainbridge / Greater Lancaster · Lancaster · Winery
Nissley is a Wild Card in the best sense: you're not getting a canonical wine list, you're getting a third-generation Pennsylvania winery doing its own thing with grapes most restaurants wouldn't touch. If you're open to that, the prices alone make it worth the trip out to Bainbridge.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
Wrightsville Area / Susquehanna Valley · Lancaster · Pizza and casual winery fare
Moon Dancer isn't a destination wine list — it's a destination experience where the wine happens to be made on-site and priced fairly. If you're dragging someone to Lancaster wine country for the first time or want a genuinely relaxed afternoon with local pours and good pizza, this earns its spot on the itinerary.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Suntree · Melbourne · Fine Dining / New American
The Chef's Table is a reliable wine stop for a Suntree dinner — the list is competent, the selections are familiar, and you won't go wrong sticking to Oregon whites or the rosé. Just know you're paying steakhouse markup, so pick strategically and skip the trophy bottles.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
East Side · Bloomington · Fine Dining / New American
Truffles is doing more with wine than anywhere else in Bloomington, and the pricing is honest enough that you won't need to steel yourself before opening the list. It's not a destination wine program, but for a night out in Indiana, it's the right call.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
MSU Campus / East Lansing · Lansing · Fine Dining / New American
The State Room is a reliable, inoffensive wine program that serves its audience — hotel guests, university events, and MSU parents — without asking too much of anyone. You won't discover your next favorite producer here, but you also won't feel ripped off, and that's more than you can say for a lot of hotel dining rooms.
Plays It Safe
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.