Cleveland's Own Juice, Zero Markup, All Heart
Cedar-Lee · Cleveland · Wine bar with snacks (BYOF) · Visit Website ↗
Updated June 2026
Reviewed March 22, 2026
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at CLE Urban Winery isn't a list so much as a declaration of local identity — every bottle made in-house from West Coast juice, finished right here in Cleveland Heights. It's a tasting room vibe in the best way: unhurried, unpretentious, and priced like they actually want you to drink. You walk in expecting novelty and leave genuinely surprised by how seriously they take the craft.
The portfolio is tight — maybe a dozen bottles — but it's built with intention. Reds like the C-Town Cabernet Sauvignon and North Coast Syrah anchor the lineup with West Coast sourced juice that gets CLE's own treatment, while the Cedar-Lee Chardonnay is a nod to the neighborhood itself. They're clearly not chasing breadth; they're chasing a story, and the story is Cleveland. The gap here is no imported or old-world options whatsoever, so if you're craving a Burgundy or a Rioja, this isn't your stop — but that's kind of the whole point.
We don't have a confirmed glass pour count from the research data, but the bottle pricing in the $25–$35 range suggests pours should stay reasonable if they're offering them. The wine slushie is apparently a crowd favorite — make of that what you will — but the Rust Belt Rosé as a glass pour sounds like exactly the right Friday afternoon move.
Rust Belt Rosé — $25
At $25 a bottle with zero markup over retail, this is as close to cost as you'll find anywhere. It's an honest, approachable rosé made right here in Cleveland, and the price makes it stupid easy to say yes to a second bottle.
North Coast Syrah
Everyone grabs the Cab or the Rosé, but the North Coast Syrah is the one that quietly earns your respect. Syrah from West Coast juice with a local winemaker's hand on it is an interesting proposition — skip it and you're leaving the most interesting wine on the table.
Hometown Heroes Peach Chardonnay
Peach-flavored Chardonnay is a crowd-pleaser that leans hard into novelty territory. If you want to taste what CLE Urban Winery can actually do, the Cedar-Lee Chardonnay is the better benchmark. Save the Peach for someone who orders off the dessert menu first.
Cedar-Lee Chardonnay + A charcuterie board you brought yourself
This is a BYOF spot, so pack a good charcuterie spread — cured meats, aged cheese, something briny — and let the Cedar-Lee Chardonnay do the heavy lifting. The wine's named after the neighborhood you're sitting in, you're eating food you curated yourself, and the markup is essentially zero. That's a pretty great Tuesday.
🎲 The Bottom Line
CLE Urban Winery isn't trying to compete with your city's top wine bar — it's doing something more specific and more interesting. If you want to drink locally-made wine at retail prices in a room full of people who feel like regulars, this is your spot.
University Circle · Cleveland · Regional
Table 45 is a dependable hotel wine list that punches above its Cleveland zip code — it's not adventurous, but it's not embarrassing either. Send a friend here if they want recognizable, quality bottles in a proper setting; steer them toward Jordan and Drouhin and away from the obvious crowd-pleasers.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Flats East Bank · Cleveland · Italian
Lago East Bank is a legitimately strong Italian wine program in a city that doesn't always get credit for having them — the WS Award of Excellence since 2023 is earned. Markups keep it from being a great value play, but if you're going to drop money on a bottle of Barolo anywhere in Cleveland, this is the room to do it.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Shaker Square · Cleveland · French
Edwins is one of the most genuinely interesting restaurant stories in Cleveland — a fine-dining French program run by people earning their place in the industry — and the wine list is good enough to stand on its own merits, mission aside. Send a friend here and tell them to order French across the board, from the escargot to the bottle.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Woodmere · Cleveland · American Steakhouse
J. Gilbert's is a reliable, well-stocked steakhouse list that plays it safe with California heavyweights and charges accordingly — nothing groundbreaking, but the Sunday wine deal is one of the better recurring specials in Cleveland and reason enough to plan around it. Come for the filet, drink better than you expected to.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
Gateway District · Cleveland · Italian, American, Steakhouse
The Centro is a reliable pour for downtown Cleveland — the list won't surprise you, the prices will sting a little, but it's a competent wine program for a hotel steakhouse anchored in a beautiful room. Send a friend here if they want familiar bottles and a good steak; steer them elsewhere if they're looking for anything off the beaten path.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Unknown · Cleveland · American Grill
J. Alexander's has no business having this good of a markup on their wine list, but here we are. It's a chain, it's comfortable, and it's offering pours like Austin Hope Cabernet at prices that would embarrass half the independent restaurants in Cleveland — send a friend here without hesitation.
Crowd Pleasers
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.