Downtown Wilmington's Most Dependably French Wine List
Downtown · Wilmington · French Bistro · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 11, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Caprice Bistro’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Caprice Bistro does exactly what you'd expect from a cozy French bistro on Market Street — it leans hard into the classics and doesn't apologize for it. Sancerre, Burgundy, Bordeaux, Champagne by the glass: the hits are all here. It's not trying to surprise you, and at a candlelit table with a bowl of mussels in front of you, that's mostly fine.
The list runs 80-130 bottles deep with a clear allegiance to France — Côtes du Rhône, Burgundy Pinot Noir, Bordeaux cab blends, and Loire whites anchor the program. There's not much adventurousness here; you won't find natural wine or anything from an obscure appellation that makes you feel like you discovered something. What you will find is a solid, coherent collection that mirrors the food menu in ambition — approachable, French, reassuring. The gaps are real though: minimal New World representation and almost no depth in lesser-known French regions like Beaujolais or Jura.
Twelve to eighteen pours by the glass is genuinely solid for a restaurant this size, and the fact that Champagne is available by the glass earns immediate goodwill. The range tracks the bottle list — French-forward, classic-leaning — which means you can sip Sancerre or a Côtes du Rhône without committing to a full bottle. Rotation appears limited, so don't expect a lot of seasonal shake-ups.
Côtes du Rhône — $42
Côtes du Rhône is consistently one of the best value regions in French wine, and at a bistro with markups tilting steep, it's your best shot at drinking well without feeling the burn on the credit card.
Champagne by the glass
Most people skip Champagne at dinner unless it's a special occasion, but ordering a glass here at a French bistro while you wait on mussels is one of the better low-key moves on the menu. Few restaurants in Wilmington pour it by the glass at all.
Bordeaux Cabernet blends
Bordeaux at restaurant markup in this price tier rarely makes sense — you're paying a premium for the name recognition, and the bottles landing on these lists are seldom the ones worth the surcharge. Spend that money on a second glass of Sancerre instead.
Burgundy Pinot Noir + Coq au Vin
This is the most classically correct pairing on the menu and it works because it's supposed to — Coq au Vin is literally cooked in wine from this region. The earthy, lighter-bodied Pinot echoes the braised chicken without stomping on it.
The Bottom Line
Caprice Bistro is the kind of wine list that never embarrasses you and never thrills you — it's a reliable partner for a French dinner in downtown Wilmington, priced a touch high but with enough quality pours by the glass to make a night of it. Send a friend here if they want France without a flight.
Lumina Station · Wilmington · Upscale American / New American with Seafood and Steaks
Port Land Grille is a dependable wine program for a dependable upscale dinner — it won't wow you, but it won't let you down either. If you're in Lumina Station and want a solid glass with a serious steak, you're in the right place.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Murrayville/Market Street · Wilmington · Modern American / Southern Comfort
JohnnyLukes is a solid neighborhood spot that happens to have a wine list, not a wine destination that happens to serve food — and that's fine. Show up on a Wednesday, grab the Sea Sun or the Il Masso at half price, and pair it with the crab cake. You'll leave happy.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
Downtown Riverfront/Marina · Wilmington · Seafood / American
Marina Grill is a perfectly solid spot to drink wine if you show up on a Wednesday and let the half-price deal do the heavy lifting. Any other night, the markups are hard to justify when the list is this unambitious.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
Downtown Riverfront · Wilmington · Southern comfort and New Orleans-inspired American
Rooster & The Crow is doing real things in the kitchen, but the wine list is an afterthought dressed up with familiar labels and steep markups. Order a cocktail, or bring your own if corkage is an option — this list isn't the reason to come.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Riverfront · Wilmington · Upscale Italian
Floriana isn't trying to be a wine destination, and that's fine — it's trying to be a great Italian restaurant with a wine list that doesn't let the food down. For a date night in Wilmington, it delivers exactly that.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Second Street · Wilmington · Italian (Abruzzese-inspired, house-made pasta)
Tarantelli's wine list is a solid, Italy-focused companion to food that deserves it — fair prices, logical pours, and no real duds. It won't blow your mind, but it'll make your Osso Buco taste better, and that's the whole job.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Los Alamos · Solvang · French Bistro
Bell's is the rare small-town restaurant where the wine list is as considered as the food, and the two actually talk to each other. If you're anywhere near Los Alamos, this is a destination — not a detour.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Downtown / West End edge · Aspen · French Bistro
Petit Trois Aspen is a Wild Card because it has no business being this interesting inside a ski hotel — but here we are. The list has a real point of view, the staff backs it up, and a few bottles are genuinely worth seeking out. Just keep one eye on the markup and let the California picks carry you.
Solid Range
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Downtown / South Main Street · Canandaigua · French Bistro
Bon Ami is a genuinely pleasant wine surprise in a town more famous for Riesling trails than bistro lists — the picks are thoughtful, the by-the-glass program is generous, and a few bottles here are legitimately exciting finds. The markups on premium bottles drag it down, and the absence of any local Finger Lakes producers is a strange miss, but for a cozy French dinner in Canandaigua, the wine list will more than hold its own.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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