Ohio's Best Kept Bordeaux Secret
Moreland Hills · Moreland Hills · Farm to Table, French
Reviewed April 9, 2026
Wingman Metrics
Walking into Cru Uncorked feels like someone airlifted a Bordeaux château into the suburbs of Cleveland — plush furnishings, period antiques, vineyard art on the walls. The wine list arrives with the same energy: thick, serious, and clearly curated by people who actually care. This is not an accident of a wine program.
With 350 to 500 selections anchored in Bordeaux, Burgundy, and California, the list reads like a greatest hits of the wine world's most reliable address book. Château Lynch-Bages and Château Margaux sit comfortably alongside Stag's Leap Cask 23 and Joseph Phelps Insignia — this is a room where the heavy hitters show up. Burgundy lovers get a proper nod with Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet and Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin, covering both ends of the prestige spectrum. If there's a gap, it's likely in natural wine and anything adventurous outside the classic Old World and California axis — but that's not what Cru is going for, and they'd probably be fine with you knowing that.
Twenty to thirty-five by-the-glass options is a genuinely impressive pour program for a restaurant at this scale, with prices running $12 to $25. The range covers enough ground that you can explore without committing to a bottle — which, at this list's upper end, is a real consideration. We'd love to see more rotation and a clearer signal of what's pouring fresh week-to-week.
Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir — $45–$60 (estimated bottle range based on list)
Drouhin Oregon sits in the sweet spot — serious Burgundian DNA, Oregon terroir, and a price point that doesn't require a conversation with your accountant. On a list full of four-figure bottles, this one earns its seat at the table without the sticker shock.
Duckhorn Vineyards Merlot
Merlot gets dismissed constantly, and that's good news for anyone paying attention. Duckhorn's Napa Merlot is structured, age-worthy, and consistently underordered — which means your server isn't tired of it yet and might actually pour you something memorable.
Opus One
Opus One is the wine equivalent of ordering the most expensive thing on the menu to impress your date. It's a fine wine — nobody's arguing that — but at a French château-vibed restaurant with actual Bordeaux on the list, paying a predictable restaurant markup on Opus One when Lynch-Bages exists is a choice we can't endorse.
Château Lynch-Bages + Filet Mignon
Lynch-Bages is a Pauillac built for red meat — firm tannins, dark fruit, and enough structure to go the distance against a properly seared filet. It's the kind of pairing that doesn't need explanation at the table, just a moment of silence after the first sip.
🔥 The Bottom Line
Cru Uncorked is doing something genuinely rare for northeast Ohio — running a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence program with two named sommeliers in a setting that could hold its own in any major market. The markups will sting on the high end, but the list depth and staff knowledge make this the kind of place worth the drive and the bill.
Nantucket · Nantucket · Farm to Table, French
The Company of the Cauldron earns its Wine Spectator nod — this is a focused, fairly priced list that understands its audience and the food it's serving. Not the most adventurous wine program on the island, but on a candlelit night in Nantucket with lobster in front of you, it more than does the job.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Downtown Steamboat Springs · Steamboat Springs · Farm to Table, French
Harwigs is the kind of place that rewards guests who actually look at the wine list — a Burgundy-forward, thoughtfully curated program that has no business being this good in a ski town, and we mean that as a genuine compliment. If you're passing through Steamboat and care about what's in your glass, make the reservation.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Stowe · Stowe · Farm to Table, French
Alpine Hall earns its Wine Spectator hardware — the list is solid, the storage is right, and there are genuinely good bottles in here if you know where to look. It's not a destination wine experience, but for a ski lodge in Stowe, it's doing the work where it counts.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
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