Bend's Best Cellar, No Argument Accepted
Bend · Bend · Seafood, Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 9, 2026
Wingman Metrics
Walking into Brickhouse, the wine list feels like it means business — 200-plus bottles anchored by serious Pacific Northwest producers alongside heavy hitters from Burgundy and California. This isn't a steakhouse list assembled by someone who typed 'popular wines' into Google. A Best of Award of Excellence held since 2011 doesn't lie, and neither does seeing Quilceda Creek and Domaine Leflaive on the same menu.
The regional focus — Washington, Oregon, California, France — is executed with real depth and intention. Washington gets the respect it deserves here: Cayuse Vineyards and Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon represent two of the state's most coveted names, full stop. Oregon is equally well-handled, with Domaine Drouhin and Eyrie Vineyards covering the Willamette Valley Pinot Noir canon from legendary to benchmark. The California and French selections round things out with Chateau Montelena, Kosta Browne, the cult-level Sine Qua Non, and the white Burgundy authority Domaine Leflaive — a lineup that would embarrass plenty of big-city wine bars.
Twenty to thirty-five by-the-glass options is genuinely generous for a restaurant operating at this level — most places with cellar ambitions keep the glass pours conservative. We'd want to know how frequently the pours rotate, but the sheer volume of options suggests you won't be stuck choosing between two uninspired Chardonnays. Knowledgeable staff on the floor — including named sommeliers Jonathan Weeks and Stewart Benford — means someone can actually steer you toward the right glass rather than just pointing at the laminated sheet.
Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir — $40+
Drouhin's Oregon operation is one of the most respected in the Willamette Valley — serious French winemaking applied to Oregon fruit — and on a list that skews toward trophy bottles, this one offers genuine quality at the more accessible end of the price range. In a steakhouse context, it also works across more of the menu than a Cab will.
Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Noir
Everyone gravitates toward Kosta Browne when they see it, and fair enough — it's a crowd-pleaser with name recognition. But Eyrie is the founding father of Oregon Pinot Noir, quieter and more restrained in style, and most people walk right past it. That's a mistake. Order this if you want to understand why the Willamette Valley matters.
Sine Qua Non
Look, Sine Qua Non is extraordinary wine. It's also priced at or above what you'd pay at auction, and in a restaurant markup context that already skews steep, you're paying a significant premium over retail for a bottle you could spend years trying to source on your own. Unless someone else is buying, save this one for a different occasion.
Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon + Prime dry-aged ribeye
Quilceda Creek is one of Washington's definitive Cabernets — structured, dark-fruited, built for exactly this moment. A prime dry-aged ribeye has the fat, the weight, and the char to hold up to it. This is the pairing Brickhouse was designed around.
🔥 The Bottom Line
Brickhouse is doing something genuinely rare in a mid-size Oregon city: running a wine program that competes with the best steakhouses in the country. The markups sting, but the depth, the staff expertise, and the quality of what's in that cellar make it worth the trip.
Downtown Bend · Bend · Wine Bar & Retail Wine Shop
Viaggio is the kind of wine bar that has no business being this good in a ski town, and that's exactly why it earned a Wild Card badge. If you care about what's in your glass, make a stop here before or after dinner — you'll leave with a better bottle than you planned on.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Active Program
Proper
Westside (Galveston Avenue area) · Bend · Italian (Tuscan-focused, handmade pasta)
Trattoria Sbandati is a small Italian restaurant with a small Italian wine list that punches well above its size because someone made real choices instead of filling slots. If you're in Bend and you want to drink actual Tuscan wine with actual Tuscan food, this is your spot.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Old Mill District · Bend · Italian-American
Pastini is a Lazy List on a normal night, but Wine Wednesday flips the math enough to make it worth a visit if you know what you're doing — show up on Wednesday, order the Elk Cove or Cooper Mountain, skip the Ste. Michelle, and enjoy your pasta. Any other night, manage your expectations accordingly.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
Tetherow · Bend · Upscale Pacific Northwest and New American
Solomon's is a safe, well-intentioned resort wine program that does Oregon proud without doing anything adventurous — come for the elk and the Drouhin, not for discovery. If you're staying at Tetherow or celebrating something, it delivers. If you're driving across Bend specifically for the wine list, adjust your expectations.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Tetherow · Bend · Elevated pub fare with American and Scottish-inspired dishes
The Row is a reliable pour in a beautiful setting — the wine list won't blow your mind, but the Sokol Blosser rosé and a smart sparkling pick make it easy enough to drink well here. Order the fish, grab the rosé, enjoy the view.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Eastside · Bend · Casual American café with wood-fired pizza and seasonal, locally sourced dishes
Jackson's Corner Eastside is a counter-service café that quietly put together a wine list worth paying attention to — Oregon-focused, fairly priced, and genuinely thoughtful for the format. Send a friend here if they want good pizza and don't want to feel gouged for drinking something decent with it.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Shoreline Village · Long Beach · Seafood, Steakhouse
Queensview earns its Wine Spectator badge by doing the California steakhouse formula well — the setting is legitimately stunning, the list is reliable, and the Daou is a genuine steal in this context. Just don't come expecting anything that'll surprise you.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
South Lake Tahoe · South Lake Tahoe · Seafood, Steakhouse
Kalani's wine program is exactly what it should be: polished, California-centric, and dependable for a mountain resort fine dining crowd. No fireworks, but you'll eat and drink well — just go in with eyes open on pricing.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Pendleton · Pendleton · Seafood, Steakhouse
Plateau is the kind of place that surprises you — a polished wine program with two named sommeliers, genuine Pacific Northwest depth, and cult producers you don't expect to find east of the Cascades. If you're passing through Pendleton, this is absolutely worth a stop for the wine alone.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
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