A Polished Lakeside List Worth Lingering Over
Loring Park · Minneapolis · New American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed June 8, 2026
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Cafe Lurcat arrives looking exactly like the restaurant itself — composed, confident, and dressed for the occasion. You're sitting in a room overlooking Loring Park, and the list matches the energy: France, California, Oregon, Spain, all the right names in all the expected places. It's not trying to surprise you, and that's fine.
With somewhere between 150 and 250 bottles, this is a serious list by Minneapolis standards. Burgundy and Bordeaux anchor the Old World side with genuine depth, while California flexes its usual Napa Cabernet muscle for the expense-account crowd. Oregon Pinot Noir gets a respectable showing, and the Spanish section — Rioja and Ribera del Duero — adds some texture to what could otherwise feel like a greatest-hits compilation. The gaps are predictable: don't expect natural wines, pet-nats, or anything that would raise an eyebrow at a business dinner.
Sixteen to twenty-four pours by the glass is a strong showing, and with a sommelier on staff you'd expect that selection to be curated rather than just padded. The range covers the core regions on the bottle list, so you can work your way through France and California without committing to a full bottle. Rotation isn't something we could pin down as frequent, but the depth of the program suggests the pours are at least thoughtfully chosen.
Oregon Pinot Noir — null
In a list that leans hard on Napa Cab and French prestige bottles, the Oregon Pinot Noir selections represent the best value play — genuinely food-friendly, lower markup territory than the headline Burgundies, and a natural fit with Cafe Lurcat's kitchen. Specific pricing wasn't available in our research, but these are the bottles worth asking about.
Spanish Ribera del Duero
Everyone at the table is eyeing the Napa Cab, but the Ribera del Duero selection is the quiet overachiever here. Tempranillo-based, built for red meat, and almost always priced more honestly than the French and Californian prestige picks sitting next to it on the list.
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (well-known producers)
The big-name Napa Cabs are the most requested bottles in the room, which means they're also the most marked-up. You're paying for the brand recognition and the comfort of ordering something everyone recognizes. If that's not the goal, your money goes further almost anywhere else on this list.
Oregon Pinot Noir + Minnesota Walleye
Walleye is delicate and sweet, and a heavy Cab would bulldoze it. A lighter Oregon Pinot Noir — especially one with some earthy, red-fruit character — gives you enough structure to feel like a real wine pairing without overwhelming the fish. It's the kind of call a good sommelier will steer you toward if you ask.
✔️ The Bottom Line
Cafe Lurcat is a reliable, well-staffed wine program in one of Minneapolis's prettiest dining rooms — just know you're paying a premium for the address and the ambiance. Ask the sommelier for help navigating the list and you'll drink well; go on autopilot and order the obvious Napa Cab and you'll leave having spent more than you should have.
North Loop / Warehouse District · Minneapolis · Modern Argentinian Steakhouse
Porzana punches above its class for a Minneapolis steakhouse — the Italian and Argentine selections show genuine curation, and the Fenocchio Barolo alone justifies a serious wine order. Just go in with eyes open on markups and skip the entry-level bottles unless you're pouring by the glass.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Lowry Hill · Minneapolis · Steakhouse and Wood-Fired Pizza
Burch has the bones of a genuinely great wine program — knowledgeable staff, proper storage, and a list that respects the classics — but the pricing strategy on the mid-tier and entry-level bottles will test your patience. Go big or go home: the value-to-quality ratio only really clicks once you're spending $200+.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Downtown / North Loop · Minneapolis · New American / Contemporary American
112 Eatery's wine list is punching well above its weight for a Minneapolis neighborhood bistro, with a genuinely distinctive Old World focus and producers that belong on serious lists anywhere in the country. The markups sting on a few bottles, but the curation earns enough goodwill to keep us coming back.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Uptown · Minneapolis · French Bistro
Barbette is a wine list built by someone who actually drinks wine and wants you to as well — it's small, French, and surprisingly legit for a neighborhood bistro in Uptown. If you're a natural wine fan or just someone who wants good Beaujolais with steak frites, send your friends here.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Southwest Minneapolis (Fulton) · Minneapolis · Italian, fresh housemade pasta
Broders' Pasta Bar isn't a wine destination, but it's exactly the kind of neighborhood spot that gets the wine list right by staying in its lane. Fair prices, Italian focus, solid glass pours — bring a friend who orders by the bottle and you're in good shape.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Linden Hills · Minneapolis · Contemporary Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar
Terzo is the best Italian wine list in Minneapolis and genuinely competes with programs in much larger cities — the depth, the pricing, and the staff all earn it. Yes, send your friends here for wine, and tell them to skip the obvious Tuscan reds and go exploring.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Seasonal Rotation
Proper
Broadway corridor · Fort Wayne · New American
Rune is doing something genuinely rare for its zip code: building a wine list with a real identity. Come on a Wednesday, order the Ovum, and feel good about finding a place like this.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
West Plano · Plano · New American
CraftWay Kitchen isn't trying to be a wine destination and doesn't pretend to be — but the markups are fair, the glass program is wide, and there's enough on the list to drink well with a solid meal. Send your friends here for dinner; just don't send them here for a wine education.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
Clemmons · Winston Salem · New American
Sixty Vines is a solid, reliable wine stop in Winston-Salem — the by-the-glass breadth is real and the staff knows their stuff, but the list reads like a greatest hits album rather than anything adventurous. Come for the volume, stay for the pizza, but don't expect to have your mind changed about wine.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
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