Six Tables, Serious Wine, Zero Compromises
Newport · French · Visit Website ↗
Updated October 2026
Reviewed May 1, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Cara’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Walking into Cara at The Chanler at Cliff Walk feels like stumbling into someone's very wealthy, very tasteful private dining room — six tables, Gilded Age bones, and a wine list that earns its spot in the room. The Best of Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator isn't window dressing here; this list has clearly been assembled by people who actually care.
The California-France axis is where this list lives and breathes, and it does both with real conviction. You've got Kistler and Kongsgaard on the Chardonnay side — two producers that rarely show up together outside of serious cellar programs — alongside Napa heavyweights like Opus One, Dominus Estate, Joseph Phelps Insignia, and Ridge Monte Bello, which is the intellectual's pick of that crew. France holds its own with Château Lynch-Bages anchoring Bordeaux and Louis Jadot and Domaine Drouhin Oregon representing the Burgundy lane, though we'd love to see more village-level Burgundy to balance the blockbuster names. At 200-350 bottles, this isn't a sprawling cellar, but the curation is tight and intentional — every bottle feels like it was chosen, not just listed.
With 12-20 pours running $12-$25 a glass, the BTG program is substantial for a six-table tasting menu room — that's a meaningful commitment. Rombauer Chardonnay makes an appearance here, which will keep the crowd happy, though we'd push Karen Hatcher or Kevin Kilavey to steer you toward something with a little more tension. Rotation details aren't publicly posted, but with two sommeliers on staff, there's someone to ask.
Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir — $45
Oregon Pinot at the entry point of this list is your foot in the door — Drouhin's Oregon project punches well above its weight class and gives you real Burgundian structure without the Burgundy markup.
Ridge Monte Bello
Everyone orders the Opus One because they recognize the name. The Monte Bello is the wine that serious collectors reach for — a Cabernet-dominant blend from the Santa Cruz Mountains that ages like great Bordeaux and gets consistently overlooked next to flashier Napa labels.
Rombauer Chardonnay
Perfectly fine wine, but in a room with Kistler and Kongsgaard on the list, ordering the Rombauer is like going to a steakhouse and ordering chicken tenders. It's not a bad wine — it's just a missed opportunity at this address.
Kongsgaard Chardonnay + Tasting menu fish course
Kongsgaard's Chardonnay is full-bodied and textured but never flabby — it has the weight to stand up to butter-sauced fish preparations and the acidity to cut through them cleanly. In a tasting menu format where the kitchen controls the protein, this is the BTG anchor that holds across multiple courses.
The Bottom Line
Cara is doing serious wine work inside a serious restaurant, and the combination of two credentialed sommeliers, a thoughtfully curated California-France list, and that Cliff Walk setting makes this one of the best wine experiences in Rhode Island. Markups lean high — this is a Forbes Five-Star hotel dining room, not a neighborhood trattoria — but if you're sitting down for a tasting menu anyway, you're already in the right headspace to order something memorable.
· Newport · Fine Dining / New American
Castle Hill's wine list is a quiet overachiever in a setting that could easily get away with doing far less. The by-the-glass depth is real, the format variety is a genuine bonus, and the Lustau Fino alone justifies scanning the list carefully. Prices trend steep as you'd expect from a waterfront inn, but the curation earns some goodwill — just don't autopilot to the Cabernet.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Newport · Seafood / Clam Shack
Flo's is a genuine New England institution for fried clams and clam cakes, and we'd happily eat there any day of the week. But the wine program is essentially non-existent — two options, one of them a mystery, and one of them a Champagne marked up 100%. Order the ice cold beer instead; it's literally on the menu as the drink of choice, and they're not wrong.
Grocery Store
Gouge
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Newport · Wine bar / small plates
Bar 12 is a well-priced, no-drama wine stop in a city where wine lists can get away with being lazy and expensive. The selection is commercial and safe, but the Grüner and the Willamette Pinot Noir show someone made at least a couple of interesting calls. If you want a solid glass without a markup headache, it delivers — just don't come looking for discovery.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Newport · Winery Tasting Room
Greenvale Vineyards is a legitimate reason to detour off Bellevue Avenue. The estate list is small but not lazy — the Ramato alone earns the visit — and at $25 to $40 a bottle, you're paying tasting room prices, not restaurant markups. If you're spending a day in Newport, this is where you buy a bottle for the waterfront, not where you linger over a three-course dinner.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Outskirts / North End · Newport · Farm-to-Table / Winery Restaurant
Brix isn't trying to be a destination wine list — it's trying to be a great ambassador for one vineyard's work, and it mostly succeeds. Send your curious friends here; send your Burgundy obsessives somewhere else.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Lower Thames · Newport · Farm-to-Table / New American
TSK is quietly one of the better wine lists in Newport, which is a town that doesn't exactly set a high bar — but this one would hold its own in most cities. If you're eating farm-to-table food and want a bottle that actually matches the kitchen's ethos, this is your spot.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
River Market · Kansas City · French
A French-led list with 25 two-price wines up front and a long run of Burgundy, Bordeaux and Rhône bottles behind them. Start with the Chinon Le Garenne at 42 or the Cornas 'Granit 60' at 88, ask which number is the glass price, and confirm prices, since the page is undated. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Union Square · San Francisco · French
A 66-page list that starts with a 20-pour glass page and moves quickly into Burgundy, Rhône and Bordeaux bottles priced in the hundreds and thousands, so decide early whether you are drinking by the glass or committing to a bottle. Start with the $20 Chablis or the $23 Corsican red, and confirm today's list because it carries no print date. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Meatpacking District · New York · French
A French wine list with a wide price ladder: $16 glasses, $40 half bottles and $60 full bottles at the bottom, Pétrus and Domaine de la Romanée-Conti at the top. Start with the $16 Famille Coulon Rhône white by the glass, or spend $115 on the Marcel Deiss Alsace pinot noir, and check prices because the two PDFs show different bottle prices for Delos. This unrated guide covers the posted wine lists, not service, storage or markups.
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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