A brewery that actually thinks about wine
Downtown South Bend · South Bend · Gastropub with American BBQ and Brewery · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 9, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Crooked Ewe Brewery & Ale House’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
You walk into a brewery and fully expect the wine list to be three bottles of Barefoot and a Meiomi. Crooked Ewe surprises you. Eight wines, all by the glass, and the list reads like someone actually consulted a map of Europe before ordering.
For a gastropub where beer is clearly the headliner, the wine lineup punches above its weight. You've got Burgundy Chardonnay from Vignerons Réunis, a Provence rosé from Maîtres Vignerons de la Vidaubanaise, Marine Descombe Beaujolais, and CVNE Rioja sharing the card alongside Italian staples like Stivali Pinot Grigio and Montefresco Montepulciano. These aren't big grocery-store brands — they're small co-ops and regional producers that a casual diner won't recognize but a curious one will appreciate. The gap here is depth: no bottle list, no verticals, no reserve options — what you see is all you get.
All eight wines are available by the glass, priced between $7 and $12, which is genuinely refreshing in a mid-market gastropub setting. There's no rotation program we could confirm, and the list appears stable rather than seasonal. Still, eight thoughtfully chosen pours beat the usual four-bottle filler list at comparable spots.
Stivali Pinot Grigio delle Venezie — $7
Seven dollars for a legitimate Italian Pinot Grigio — not a private-label supermarket pour — is the best deal on the list. Retail sits around $9, and the markup is practically nonexistent. Order it without thinking twice.
Marine Descombe Beaujolais
Most people at a BBQ gastropub aren't ordering Beaujolais, and that's a mistake. It's light, it's fruity without being sweet, and it actually works with smoky pork in a way that a heavy Cab never will. This bottle gets ignored every time someone orders 'something red' and defaults to Montepulciano.
Moletto Prosecco
At $10 a glass for Prosecco in a brewery setting, you're better off putting that money toward a craft pour. The bubbles are fine, but there's nothing here that earns a premium over the $7 Pinot Grigio, and the brewery's own offerings will outperform it on value and interest every time.
CVNE Rioja + BBQ Brisket
Rioja's tempranillo-driven earthiness and dried fruit character cuts through the fat of slow-smoked brisket without fighting the smoke. CVNE is one of the most consistent names in the region and holds its own against a heavily seasoned rub. This is the one combination on the menu where the wine list and the kitchen actually talk to each other.
🎲 The Bottom Line
Crooked Ewe is a brewery first and a wine bar never — but for what it is, the wine program shows real effort and real value. If you're dragged here by a beer-loving group and need something in a stem, you'll be fine.
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