Bay Views, Serious Bottles, Zero Compromise
Cannery Row · Monterey · Farm to Table · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 8, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Coastal Kitchen’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
You sit down, Monterey Bay sprawling outside the window, and the wine list lands like it has something to prove. Two hundred to three hundred fifty bottles deep, with California heavyweights shoulder-to-shoulder with serious French and Italian producers — this is not a list that coasted on the view. The Best of Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator since 2023 is hanging in the right restaurant.
California anchors the list hard — Kosta Browne Pinot Noir, Kongsgaard Chardonnay, Marcassin Chardonnay, and Darioush Cabernet Sauvignon are all here, which tells you sommelier Sarah Kabat isn't cutting corners on the home-state lineup. France shows real intention too: Louis Jadot Puligny-Montrachet and Chateau Montelena Chardonnay sit alongside Gaja Barbaresco representing Italy with full authority. There's a local angle baked in with Bernardus Winery and Scribe Winery making appearances, which feels right given the Monterey County address. The gaps, if any, are on the natural wine and Southern Hemisphere fronts — but this list isn't trying to be everything, and it doesn't need to be.
Eighteen to twenty-eight pours by the glass at $12–$22 is a genuinely strong program — that's enough range to take a real trip through the list without committing to a bottle. We'd want to know which producers rotate through the glass program, but with a list this caliber and a dedicated sommelier running the floor, the by-the-glass game should reflect the cellar's ambitions rather than just clearing slow movers.
Scribe Winery Chardonnay — $45
Scribe is a Sonoma producer doing serious work at prices that still feel fair, and on a list where bottles run to $180, finding them here at the lower end of the range is the move for anyone who wants California Chardonnay without the Kongsgaard sticker shock.
Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir
Most tables are going to reach for the Kosta Browne on name recognition alone, but Domaine Drouhin Oregon is one of the Willamette Valley's foundational producers — Burgundian DNA, Pacific Northwest fruit — and it tends to sit at a price point that makes it the smartest Pinot on the list.
Marcassin Chardonnay
Marcassin is a legitimately great wine and the cult pricing reflects that — but on a list anchored in a fine dining tourist corridor, the markup on already-expensive cult Chardonnay is going to sting. Unless you're celebrating something worth the receipt, the same money goes further elsewhere on this list.
Bernardus Winery Pinot Noir + Pan-seared halibut with seasonal vegetables
Bernardus is planted ten miles from this restaurant in the Carmel Valley — you're drinking local in the most literal sense. The Pinot's bright acidity and restrained fruit won't bulldoze a delicate halibut, and there's something right about putting a Monterey County wine next to Monterey County seafood.
The Bottom Line
Coastal Kitchen earns its Wine Spectator hardware — this is a deep, confident list run by someone who clearly cares, in a room that already has everything going for it. Markups drift steep in spots, but the range and the sommelier on the floor make it worth the splurge.
Carmel Valley · Monterey · Californian / Fine Dining
Lucia has the bones of a serious wine program — sommelier on staff, strong regional identity, and a setting in Carmel Valley that practically demands a good bottle. We just can't verify the specifics well enough to point you toward a particular pour or call out the markups with any precision. Go in expecting a deep, well-kept list with hotel-restaurant pricing to match, and let the sommelier do the heavy lifting. It's worth the conversation.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
· Monterey · Wine bar
If you're rolling through Monterey and want something more interactive than staring at a laminated wine list, The Wine Experience is a legitimate detour — especially for anyone curious about what the Santa Lucia Highlands and San Benito County are actually producing right now. We'd send a curious friend here without hesitation; we'd just tell them to skip any expectations of a formal dinner and lean into the tasting-room energy instead.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Occasional
Acceptable
Carmel-by-the-Sea · Monterey · Continental / Fine Dining
Anton & Michel is the kind of room where the wine list serves the occasion rather than the other way around — and for a special-occasion dinner over beef Wellington or rack of lamb, that might be exactly what you want. We'd love to get a full look at current pricing before giving this a stronger endorsement, but the Central Coast regional focus is a legitimate draw for anyone who wants to drink local in one of California's best growing corridors. Go for the room, stay for the lamb, and ask your server what's drinking well off the list right now.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Monterey · Wine bar / Tasting room
De Tierra is a focused, fairly priced producer tasting room that makes a real argument for Monterey wine without inflating the ego or the prices. If you're driving the 68 corridor or wandering through the peninsula, this is worth a stop — just go in knowing you're here for one winery's story, not a deep-dive across regions.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Monterey · Wine Bar / Bistro
A Taste of Monterey is exactly what it advertises — a tight, local-first wine list that doubles as a crash course in what the Central Coast can do with white grapes. Pricing is honest, the regional focus is genuine, and the Wrath Falanghina alone is reason enough to pull up a stool. If you're eating along the Monterey waterfront and want something more interesting than a tourist-trap wine list, this is worth the detour.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Carmel-by-the-Sea · Monterey · French / Italian
La Bicyclette is a solid dinner-out destination where the wine list plays a supporting role to a room that's doing a lot of the heavy lifting. The French and California lean makes sense, and the overall experience is charming enough that you probably won't leave disappointed — just don't arrive expecting wine-list fireworks. It's worth a visit for the atmosphere and food; the wine is along for the ride.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Delafield · Delafield · Farm to Table
I.d. is a comfortable, well-credentialed choice for wine in the Delafield area — the Wine Spectator recognition is earned and the list does its job without embarrassing anyone. Just don't come here looking to be challenged; come here looking to drink something familiar and good with a solid farm-to-table meal.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Chetek · Chetek · Farm to Table
A remote Wisconsin retreat with a Wine Spectator credential, an on-staff wine pro, and a focused California list is exactly the kind of unexpected find we love flagging. If you're making the trip to Canoe Bay — and it's worth making — the wine program won't let you down.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Delavan · Delavan · Farm to Table
Opus is the wine overachiever in a room that wasn't expecting one — a thoughtfully curated list in a historic Wisconsin inn that earns its Wine Spectator badge without relying on it as a crutch. If you're driving out to Delavan for a tasting menu, the wine list is a genuine reason to stay the full night.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
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