800 Bottles Deep and Still Getting Deeper
East Village · New York · Contemporary · Visit Website ↗
Updated April 2026
Reviewed March 24, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Claud’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Claud lands like a gut punch — 800 references total, 250 rotating on the daily shortlist, and names like Selosse, Raveneau, and Giuseppe Rinaldi showing up before you've even sat down. This is not a downtown bistro that threw a list together to check a box. Someone here cares, a lot.
The list skews heavily French and Spanish, which plays perfectly to the bistro format without feeling lazy about it — there's genuine depth across Burgundy, Champagne, and what appears to be a thoughtful Iberian section alongside it. Raveneau anchors the Chablis section with authority, and having Rinaldi on the Piedmont side signals that whoever built this list wasn't just chasing trophy bottles. The rotating 250-bottle shortlist is a smart move: it keeps things dynamic without overwhelming a table that just wants to eat. Gaps are hard to spot when the cellar is this stocked.
Fifteen by-the-glass options is a solid count for a restaurant operating at this level, and the seasonal rotation suggests they're not just pouring the same tired Sancerre all year. We'd expect the glass program to mirror the ambition of the bottle list — quality over volume, with proper stemware to match.
Genot-Boulanger 'Lulunne Blanc' Beaune 2019 — $110
At 120% markup it's not cheap, but Beaune Blanc at this level from a quality producer is genuinely hard to find on a restaurant list at any price. Retail is $50, and you're getting a bottle with real Burgundian character — this is the one to order when you want to feel like you found something.
Giuseppe Rinaldi
Most tables here are probably gravitating toward the French heavy-hitters, which means the Rinaldi Barolo options are flying under the radar. Rinaldi is one of the great traditionalist producers in Piedmont — old-school style, long aging, real complexity — and a list that carries them at all deserves to have them ordered.
Dauvissat Petit Chablis 2019
At $95 on a retail base of $40, this is a 138% markup on what is, by design, a lighter entry-level Chablis. Dauvissat is a legendary name but Petit Chablis is not their statement wine. With a list this deep, your $95 works a lot harder elsewhere.
Raveneau Chablis + Red Shrimp
Raveneau's Chablis has that saline, mineral edge that's almost oceanic on its own — put it next to the red shrimp and the whole thing clicks into focus. It's the kind of pairing that makes you understand why people obsess over this producer.
The Bottom Line
Claud is the real deal — an 800-bottle cellar with a rotating shortlist, a staff that clearly knows what's in it, and a downtown bistro format that makes the whole experience feel accessible rather than precious. The markups are steep and that's the one gripe, but when the list is this good, most people will pay it.
Midtown · New York · French Brasserie
La Grande Boucherie earns its place as a reliable stop for wine in Midtown, especially if you're leaning French. The glass list is genuinely wide and has some smart picks buried in it — the Fleurie and the Wiemer Riesling both punch above their price points. Markups trend steep as you climb the bottle list, so your money works hardest in the by-the-glass section. If you're here for the brasserie experience, the wine program holds up its end of the deal.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· New York · Steakhouse
BLT Prime's wine program is glass-only, which limits your options if you came for a big bottle moment, but the pricing is honest and the selection is more thoughtful than most steakhouses bother with. If you're keeping it casual and ordering by the glass, you can drink well here without feeling taken advantage of — and that's not nothing in this city.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· New York · Restaurant
The Palm Midtown is not where you'd expect to find Puzelat and Ruth Lewandowski sitting next to each other on a wine list — which is exactly what makes it worth a second look. Six bottles is a short menu, but all six are defensible picks at prices that don't insult you. If you're in the mood to trust the list and not overthink it, this works.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Murray Hill · New York · Classic American Steakhouse
Wolfgang's is a reliable steakhouse wine experience in the sense that you know exactly what you're getting: a list built around the bottle you already know, priced for the room you're sitting in. If you're here to close a deal over a Porterhouse for Two, the wine list will do its job without embarrassing anyone — but it's not going to surprise you, and it's almost certainly going to cost more than it should. Go in with eyes open and a strong second-choice red in mind.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· New York · Mediterranean
Zaytinya's wine list is a rare thing in New York: a focused, regionally coherent program that commits hard to Greek and Eastern Mediterranean varieties without making you feel like you need a flashcard to order. The by-the-glass selection alone — 18 options, all under $18, featuring producers most wine lists wouldn't touch — makes this worth visiting even before the food arrives. If you eat here and order a Cabernet, that's on you.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
SoHo · New York · Italian
A long bottle list with Italian, Burgundy and Champagne sections, fronted by a 22-wine glass page. For a glass, try the Skerk Orange Wine from Friuli at 25/95, and for a bottle on a lighter budget, the Volpaia Vermentino at 60; upstairs in the café, the labeled list pours Palistorti di Valgiano's orange Tuscan blend at Glass $22. Confirm prices before you order, because the site's Upstairs Café dinner menu and the beverage PDF do not match. This unrated guide covers the posted wine lists, not service, storage or markups.
Downtown Bend · Bend · Contemporary
Dear Irene is a Wild Card in the best sense: a compact, thoughtful wine program with legitimately shocking by-the-glass pricing tucked inside one of Bend's splashier dining rooms. Send your friends here — just make sure they order the Penner-Ash before they even look at the cocktail menu.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Durham · Durham · Contemporary
Little Bull is a genuinely fun Durham spot, and the kitchen clearly cares — but the wine program is coasting on markups that don't match the quality of what's in the bottles. Until the list gets a serious rethink, we'd order cocktails or a beer and save the wine budget for somewhere that respects it.
Plays It Safe
Gouge
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
New Orleans · New Orleans · Contemporary
Saffron NOLA remains an open question until we get eyes on the actual list. For now, it reads as a reliable neighborhood option where the wine won't blow your mind but probably won't disappoint either—assuming they're paying attention.
Solid Range
Fair
Acceptable
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
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