Great Cocktails, Forgettable Wine List
Lincoln Square South · Bellevue · Cocktail Bar with New American Small Plates · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 1, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Civility & Unrest’s wine list and gave it The Lazy List — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Walk into Civility & Unrest and the vibe is genuinely excellent — dark, moody, speakeasy-adjacent, the kind of place where a well-made Negroni feels mandatory. The wine list, though, reads like an afterthought stapled to the back of a very good cocktail menu. If you came here for wine, you may have made a wrong turn.
With somewhere between 10 and 20 labels on the list, this is not a wine program — it's a wine placeholder. There's a gesture toward Champagne and sparkling, a mix of European and American bottles, but no real depth, no exciting producers, and no sense that anyone in the building is particularly invested in what's in those bottles. The lone producer we can identify by name is Sori Gramella out of Piedmont, which tells you the range doesn't extend far enough to even warrant a region tour. Gaps are everywhere: no Old World deep cuts, no interesting domestic options worth discussing, nothing that would make a wine-forward diner feel seen.
Ten by-the-glass options sounds respectable until you realize the list is anchored around cocktail culture and the wine pours feel like they exist to accommodate people who 'don't drink cocktails.' At around $22 a glass, you're paying cocktail prices for wine that doesn't command it. Rotation or curation of the glass program? No evidence of either.
Sori Gramella Moscato d'Asti NV (by the glass) — $22
If you're going to order wine here at all, the Moscato d'Asti by the glass is the only pick with a clear identity. It's light, low-alcohol, slightly fizzy, and actually makes sense in a cocktail bar context — sip it slowly with the charcuterie board and you're fine. It's not a value in any objective sense, but it's the least bad option on the list.
Sori Gramella Moscato d'Asti NV
Nobody orders Moscato at a speakeasy-style cocktail bar, which is exactly why it might be the smartest call. It's the one wine on the list that fits the room — festive, easy, low-commitment — and it doesn't pretend to be something it isn't. Most people will order a cocktail. The rare person who orders this is probably having a better time than they expected.
Sori Gramella Moscato d'Asti NV (bottle)
At $85 a bottle for a wine that retails around $20, you're looking at a 325% markup. That's not a wine program decision — that's a 'we know you're not here for wine' tax. Order two cocktails instead. You'll spend less and enjoy yourself more.
Sori Gramella Moscato d'Asti NV + Charcuterie and Cheese Board
The gentle sweetness and light effervescence of the Moscato d'Asti actually cut through salty cured meats and fatty cheeses in a way that works — it's a classic Italian instinct, and it's one of those accidental pairings that lands despite a list that isn't trying very hard.
The Bottom Line
Civility & Unrest is a legitimately great cocktail bar that happens to have wine on the menu — and that's exactly how it treats it. Come for the cocktails, the atmosphere, and the small plates; skip the wine unless you're ordering the Moscato and splitting a charcuterie board.
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Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
Downtown Bellevue · Bellevue · Hotel Lounge
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Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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