Bona Sera Cafe

The wine list at Bona Sera reads like a greatest hits of California wine retail — The Prisoner, Meiomi, Flowers, Opus One all make appearances, which tells you exactly who this list is designed for. It's comfortable and crowd-pleasing, built to make guests feel like they're treating themselves without venturing anywhere unfamiliar. There's nothing offensive here, but there's also not much adventure.

The list leans hard into Napa and Sonoma with some Willamette Valley, Burgundy, Champagne, and a few Italian bottles rounding things out — so there's geographic range, even if the selections within each region tend toward the obvious. Taittinger Brut La Française and Overture by Opus One show some genuine aspiration at the high end, and Ridge Three Valleys Zinfandel is a legitimately interesting pick in a sea of safe choices. The Italian representation is frustratingly thin for a cafe with this name — you'd hope for more depth from the boot. Australia and Argentina check the international box without doing much to distinguish the list.

Eighteen-plus by-the-glass options is genuinely strong for a café of this size, and the price range from $8 to $29 a glass gives drinkers real choice across budget levels. The pours skew toward California workhorses like Meiomi Pinot Noir and Robert Mondavi Chardonnay — approachable, recognizable, exactly what most tables will order. Don't expect the glass program to surprise you, but it won't disappoint either.