Barolo and Burgundy done dead serious
West Chelsea · New York · American
Updated October 2026
Reviewed April 8, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Crane Club’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Crane Club lands like a quiet flex — 400-plus selections in a moody West Chelsea dining room that clearly takes itself seriously. The Piedmont and Burgundy sections alone could keep you occupied for an entire dinner. This is not a list assembled by committee or a beverage director phoning it in.
The spine of this list is Italian and French, and both are built with real conviction. Piedmont is the headliner: Giacomo Conterno, Bartolo Mascarello, and Bruno Giacosa represent Barolo at its most traditional and uncompromising, while Gaja and Bruno Rocca anchor a Barbaresco section that doesn't skip legs. Burgundy runs just as deep, with Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Leroy, and Rousseau doing exactly what you'd expect them to do on a list that earned a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence in its first year of eligibility. There's even a Barolo Chinato section for digestifs, which tells you everything about how seriously the team thinks about the full arc of a wine-driven dinner.
Twenty to thirty-five pours by the glass is a generous program for a room this calibrated, and the $15–$30 range reflects genuine quality rather than filler. We'd expect the Nebbiolo-based Langhe selections to do heavy lifting here — approachable entry points into the same regional DNA that defines the bottle list. Rotation frequency isn't confirmed, but a staff this deep in sommeliers suggests the glass program isn't just set and forgotten.
Langhe Nebbiolo — $15-$20
As a by-the-glass pour, a well-chosen Langhe Nebbiolo gives you the Barolo experience — same grape, same terroir philosophy — without the sticker shock of the prestige bottles. It's the smartest drink in the room if you're watching your tab.
Barolo Chinato
Most tables walk past the digestif section entirely. Barolo Chinato is a bittersweet, fortified, aromatized wine made from Nebbiolo — it's the kind of thing serious Italian wine lovers seek out and most American diners have never encountered. Order it after dinner and thank us later.
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti
It's on the list, it's the real thing, and the markup on DRC in a New York fine-dining room will make your eyes water. Unless someone else is paying, there are extraordinary bottles here at a fraction of the price that will make you just as happy.
Bartolo Mascarello Barolo + Wood-fired meat
Mascarello's traditionally made Barolo — firm tannins, tar, roses, the whole classic package — finds its foil in the char and fat of a wood-fired preparation. The smoke softens the wine's edges and the wine cuts right through the richness. This is the pairing that justifies the whole evening.
The Bottom Line
Crane Club is a serious wine destination wearing a stylish restaurant's clothes — the Piedmont and Burgundy depth alone earns its Rager badge. Prices climb fast once you go deep, but the staff and the list give you every tool to spend wisely.
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 Roswell · Roswell · American
Canton St. Social is a solid neighborhood restaurant in historic downtown Roswell, and the wine program appears to be built for exactly that — supporting a good night out without overcomplicating things. We don't have enough sourced wine data to tell you what to order, which means your best move is to ask your server what's pouring well that night and go from there. Worth a visit for the food and atmosphere; the wine list is a work in progress as far as our research goes.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Worcester · American
The Boynton is a great neighborhood spot for a cold beer, a burger, and a game — and that's exactly what it should be. The wine program is along for the ride, not driving the car. If wine matters to you tonight, this isn't your destination; if you're here for the food and the vibe, order a beer and enjoy it.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Atlanta · Atlanta · American
Hard Rock Cafe Atlanta's wine list is a Lazy List by every measure — grocery store brands, steep markups, no specials, and a rotating staff with little incentive to know what's in the glass. If you're here for the memorabilia and the atmosphere, lean into a cocktail or a beer. If wine is non-negotiable, the Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling or Columbia Crest Cab will get you through the night without regret.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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