Hotel Wine List That Actually Shows Up
Downtown / Radisson Plaza Hotel · Kalamazoo · Contemporary American, wood-fired and seasonal · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 15, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Brick and Brine’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
For a hotel restaurant in Kalamazoo, the list at Brick and Brine clears the bar by a comfortable margin — 75 labels with real producers and some genuine ambition on the high end. The room is handsome, the menu is serious about wood-fired everything, and the wine list reads like someone actually cared when they built it. That said, 'hotel wine list' energy creeps in once you start doing the math on bottles.
The bones are good: Burgundy shows up with the Domaine Sylvain Langoureau En Remilly Saint-Aubin 1er Cru, there's an E. Guigal Châteauneuf-du-Pape for Rhône fans, and the Vall Llach Embriux from Priorat is a legitimate curveball for a mid-sized Michigan city. California dominates the back half of the list — Caymus, Silver Oak, Duckhorn, Rombauer, Cakebread — it's the usual suspects in force, but they're crowd-pleasers for a reason and the food can handle them. The Champagne section punches above its weight with both Veuve Clicquot and Taittinger represented, plus a Dom Pérignon for the anniversary crowd. Gaps exist in natural wine, domestic Pinot outside of California, and anything remotely adventurous under $60.
Eighteen by-the-glass options is a solid count — enough that you're not locked into a $200 bottle commitment just to explore. The $7 happy hour Bartender's Wine Selection is a smart move and the kind of hook that gets people in the door early. We'd love to know what's rotating through those pours on a given night; without a published BTG list breakdown, it's hard to know if you're getting the Clos Henri Sauvignon Blanc or something anonymous from a bag-in-box.
Fournier Père et Fils Les Belles Vignes Sancerre — N/A (bottle price not published)
If you're eating wood-fired fish or a briny appetizer spread, this is your move. Fournier's Les Belles Vignes is a proper Loire Sauvignon Blanc — mineral-driven, tense, and built for seafood. It's the kind of wine that would get buried at a restaurant like this, so order it before the table defaults to Rombauer.
Vall Llach Embriux, Priorat
Nobody at a hotel restaurant in Kalamazoo is ordering Priorat. That's exactly why you should. Vall Llach makes serious, grippy, Garnacha-and-Carignan-driven wine from one of Spain's most dramatic terroirs — and it'll absolutely hold its own against anything coming off that wood-fired grill.
Caymus Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
At $190 a bottle, you're paying a significant premium for a wine that retails around $80–$90 and that every steakhouse in America already pours. It's fine wine, but it's the definition of a safe, expensive choice that leaves money on the table. Spend that budget on the CADE Howell Mountain instead if you're going big, or pivot to something more interesting for half the price.
La Spinetta Barbera d'Asti Superiore Ca' Di Pian + Wood-fired pizza or flatbread
Barbera has the acidity to cut through char and tomato and the fruit weight to match smoky wood-fired crust. La Spinetta's Ca' Di Pian is a serious Barbera — not a $12 grocery store version — and it's exactly the wine you want when the brick oven is involved.
✔️ The Bottom Line
Brick and Brine is doing more with a hotel wine list than most restaurants in its category bother to attempt — there's genuine range here and a few wines worth getting excited about. The markups are real and the California-heavy tilt won't surprise anyone, but if you know where to look, you can drink well.
West Main Hill · Kalamazoo · Bar / Lounge with cocktails and light bites
Henderson Castle Rooftop Lounge is a Wild Card through and through — you're not coming here for list depth, you're coming because it's a castle rooftop in Michigan with estate wines poured under open sky, and that's a legitimate reason. Just set your expectations accordingly: this is a vibe destination with a house wine program, not a destination wine bar.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
West Main Hill · Kalamazoo · Steakhouse / American Fine Dining
The Henderson Castle is a genuinely spectacular place to have dinner, and the wine list is its most underwhelming feature. Go for the atmosphere and the steaks, drink the Riesling or the Meritage, and don't come here expecting a deep cellar — there's a literal wine cave on the property but the list doesn't fully live up to the theater of it.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Downtown Kalamazoo · Kalamazoo · Mediterranean and Spanish-inspired small plates
Fandango is the kind of wine program that makes you wonder why you haven't been going here for years. Fair pricing, serious range, and enough depth to reward multiple visits — yes, send your friends, and tell them to skip the cocktail menu.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
West Main Hill · Kalamazoo · Middle Eastern and Mediterranean
Zooroona isn't a wine destination, but it's doing something smarter than most casual spots in its category — leaning into Lebanese producers to match its food. If you're here for shawarma and mezze, order the Massaya or the Musar Jeune and don't overthink it.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Texas Corners · Kalamazoo · Contemporary American Steakhouse
Bold is a reliable neighborhood steakhouse with a wine list that matches the room — safe, familiar, and priced like they know you're here to celebrate. If you're chasing something adventurous in the glass, keep hunting; if you just want a decent pour with a great steak, it gets the job done.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Kalamazoo Mall · Kalamazoo · New American Gastropub
Principle isn't a wine destination, but it's a wine list that clearly had some thought put into it — a rare thing for a cocktail-first downtown spot. Send a curious friend here and tell them to order the orange wine.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
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.