Small List, Zero Apologies, All Obsession
Pocantico Hills · White Plains · Farm-driven tasting menu · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed September 12, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Blue Hill at Stone Barns’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Twenty-one bottles. That's it. At a restaurant of this caliber, a list this short could feel like a slight — instead, it reads like a manifesto. Every label is here for a reason, and not a single one is here to fill space or flatter a distributor.
The list is essentially an Italian-centric deep cut with a few well-chosen outliers from Australia and California doing honest work alongside the mothership. You've got Gravner's 2010 Ribolla Gialla, Emidio Pepe's Trebbiano d'Abruzzo from 2012, a Roagna Pira Barolo 2014, and a Lisini Brunello di Montalcino 2010 — these aren't bottles you throw on a list to look smart, they're bottles you put on a list because you actually believe in them. The Chalmers wines from Australia (Greco and Nero d'Avola) and Rootdown's Jane's Vineyard Sangiovese add a quietly adventurous thread without feeling gimmicky. The one gap: if you're hunting for Burgundy, Champagne, or anything French at all, you're out of luck — this list has made its choice and is fully committed to it.
Four pours by the glass, ranging from $14 to $22 — tight but considered. The Benanti Etna Bianco 2019 at $20 and the Monteraponi Chianti Classico 2020 at $22 do the real heavy lifting and are genuinely interesting options for a glass program this size. The Per Ora Prosecco at $14 is the crowd-pleaser anchor; the Cavalchina Bardolino Chiaretto rounds it out with something pink and low-key.
Rootdown Jane's Vineyard Sangiovese 2018 — $75
The entry point on the bottle list and the one that makes you look smart. Rootdown is a tiny California producer doing thoughtful, restrained Sangiovese that most people walk right past — at $75 on a list with bottles climbing to $488, this is where you start.
Burlotto Pelaverga 2018
Pelaverga is a grape most tables won't recognize, and that's exactly why you order it. Burlotto is a serious Piedmontese producer and their Pelaverga is light, spicy, and completely its own thing — a steal at $98 relative to anything else in the red column.
Lisini Brunello di Montalcino 2010
Lisini is a good producer and the 2010 Brunello is a genuinely great vintage, but $488 is a serious ask on a tasting menu where the kitchen is already running the show. At that price, you're paying a premium for prestige over discovery — and discovery is the whole point of being here.
Gravner Ribolla Gialla 2010 + Aged farm vegetables with whey and grains
Gravner's Ribolla Gialla is amber, oxidative, and earthy in a way that mirrors exactly what the kitchen is doing with fermented and preserved produce. It doesn't fight the food — it finishes the thought.
The Bottom Line
Blue Hill's wine list is not trying to impress you with volume — it's trying to match a kitchen that farms its own food with bottles that hold the same values. If you're in, you're really in.
· White Plains · Brazilian Steakhouse
Fogo de Chão White Plains is not a wine destination, but it's not trying to be. The by-the-glass program is wide enough to find something that works with the meat parade, the Malbec lineup is appropriately on-theme, and the $10 entry point keeps things accessible. Markups trend steep as you climb the list, so stay in the $10–$20 glass range and you'll leave satisfied. Send a friend here for the beef; the wine is just along for the ride.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· White Plains · Steakhouse
This appears to be a Restaurant Week wine promotion rather than Benjamin Steakhouse's full list, and we'd want to see a complete menu before rendering a final verdict on the overall program. Based on what's sourced here, though, the wine offering is thin for a steakhouse of this caliber — if you're coming for a serious bottle of Cab with your dry-aged ribeye, call ahead and ask what's actually on the full list.
Grocery Store
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Occasional
Acceptable
· White Plains · Steakhouse
The Capital Grille Stamford isn't going to excite anyone who takes wine seriously, but it's not the embarrassment that many chain steakhouse lists are either. The Prüm Riesling and Substance Cab punch above their price points, and 23 BTG options gives you real flexibility. Just go in knowing the markups are aggressive and the list hasn't changed since someone in a corporate office approved it — probably over a Meiomi.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· White Plains · Italian
La Bocca is a polished, reservation-worthy Italian room in White Plains with a wine identity that leans on Italy's marquee regions — safe, serviceable, and priced for a special-occasion crowd. Until we can get eyes on the actual list and confirm what's pouring, we'd treat the wine program as a pleasant companion to the food rather than a destination in its own right. Ask the staff for their recommendation and see what happens.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Bronxville · White Plains · Wine Bar & Small Plates
Ernie's is the kind of neighborhood wine bar Westchester needs more of: unpretentious, genuinely wine-forward, and priced like they actually want you to order a second glass. If you're in the area on a weekday, hit that happy hour window and settle in.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
· White Plains · Spanish tapas & wine bar
Buleria is doing the right things — an actual Spanish-leaning list at fair prices in a market that could easily get away with slapping Malbec and Pinot Grigio on a page and calling it done. It's not a destination wine list, but it's a genuinely solid one, and that's worth something.
Solid Range
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.
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