Portland's Natural Wine Obsession Lives Here
Southeast Portland · Portland · New American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 9, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Dame’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Take Vibe Match and we’ll tell you what to order here.
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Dame hits you like a well-curated record collection — nothing's here by accident. Dana Frank built this program with a clear point of view: natural, low-intervention, and unapologetically interesting. It's one of the most intentional lists in Portland, full stop.
140 bottles is a serious number for a room this size, and Dame earns every slot. The list leans hard into France and Italy with genuine depth — expect Jura producers you'd have to work to find anywhere else in the city — while Eastern Europe gets a seat at the table that most Portland restaurants won't even acknowledge. Willamette Valley Pinot Noir shows up as the local anchor, but it's not a lazy hometown move; the picks are thoughtful and avoid the obvious tourist-trap labels. If you care about skin-contact wines or low-sulfur producers, this is the list you've been looking for.
The by-the-glass program runs roughly 10-16 options and rotates with the kitchen's seasonal direction, which means what's pouring tonight probably won't be pouring next month. That's a feature, not a bug — it rewards regulars and keeps things genuinely fresh. Expect at least one orange wine on the list at any given time, which tells you everything you need to know about the house philosophy.
Willamette Valley Pinot Noir — $$$
Dame's Oregon pours consistently punch above their price point — the Willamette Valley Pinot Noir selections represent some of the best local QPR on the list, especially given the quality of producers they source from.
Jura Producer Selection
Most diners sleep on the Jura bottles and go straight for familiar Burgundy or Willamette Valley. Don't. Dame's Jura selections are the kind of thing you'd normally have to fly to Lyon to drink casually with dinner.
Safe Crowd-Pleaser Picks
If you came to Dame and ordered the most recognizable label on the list, you've wasted the room. The whole point of this program is the stuff you haven't tried — playing it safe here is genuinely leaving money (and experience) on the table.
Skin-Contact White + Housemade Pasta
Dame's pasta courses have that rich, texture-forward quality that needs something with grip and oxidative character to cut through — a skin-contact white from the list delivers tannin and brightness where a regular white would just disappear.
The Bottom Line
Dame is the kind of wine program that makes you feel like you're in on something — a list built by someone who actually drinks wine and wants you to discover something new every time. Send your most adventurous friends here without hesitation.
Northwest 23rd · Portland · Rustic French / Northwest French
St. Jack is the rare Portland restaurant where the wine list earns as much respect as the kitchen. The French-Oregon axis is well-executed, the staff knows what they're talking about, and the pot lyonnais format alone is worth the trip.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Downtown · Portland · Mexico City–inspired tacos and small plates
Tope is a Wild Card in the best sense — a rooftop taqueria that's quietly assembled a natural and low-intervention wine list worth paying attention to. If you're eating here and only drinking mezcal cocktails, you're leaving half the story on the table.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Portland · Texan–Pacific Northwest, Wood-fired American
Bullard Tavern is the Wild Card badge in its purest form — a smoked-meat joint that snuck in a genuinely considered wine list without making a fuss about it. Send a friend here if they think good wine and good brisket can't coexist.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown/Waterfront · Portland · Seafood, Pacific Northwest
King Tide earns its Wild Card badge by hiding a genuinely curious, well-priced wine list inside what could easily have been a forgettable hotel seafood room. If you're eating oysters on the Willamette, you could do a lot worse than Domaine de l'Écu in your glass.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Concordia · Portland · New American
Dame is the rare neighborhood restaurant where the wine list is genuinely worth the trip on its own. Send your friends here — just tell them to skip the safe picks and trust the list.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Seasonal Rotation
Proper
Buckman · Portland · Russian/Eastern European
Kachka is the best argument in Portland for drinking wines you've never heard of — the list is adventurous, the staff backs it up, and the food was built for exactly these bottles. Send every curious wine drinker you know.
Surprising Depth
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Acceptable
7th Ave / Dolores · Carmel By The Sea · New American
Seventh & Dolores isn't a destination wine list, but it's a respectable one that at least knows where it is geographically. Come for the steak, order the Wrath, and don't expect to go down any rabbit holes.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Vail · Vail · New American
Vin48 is a genuinely surprising wine program hiding inside a Colorado ski resort, and if you're a wine-first diner passing through Vail, it absolutely warrants a stop. The markups reflect the zip code more than we'd like, but the depth and curation of the list are the real deal.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
Downtown Solvang · Solvang · New American
Root 246 is the rare hotel restaurant that actually earns your wine attention — a focused Santa Barbara County list with real producers, a sommelier who knows the material, and pricing that doesn't punish you for being curious. If you're passing through Solvang wine country, this is where you eat.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
List Variety
Markup
Glassware
Staff
Specials & Deals
Storage & Temp
