The Cathedral. Burgundy Nerds, Welcome Home.
Upper East Side · New York · French · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 5, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Daniel’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Daniel arrives like a small encyclopedia — and we mean that with full respect, not sarcasm. Nearly 2,000 selections spanning the greatest appellations in France make it immediately clear this program is taken seriously, staffed seriously, and priced accordingly. You're not here for a casual Tuesday glass; you're here because you mean it.
Burgundy and Bordeaux are the twin engines, and both run deep — we're talking Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Henri Jayer Vosne-Romanée, Armand Rousseau Chambertin, and Leroy Musigny in the same cellar, which is not a sentence you type without pausing for a moment. The Rhône section is equally serious with Chave Hermitage and Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape holding court, while Champagne covers Krug Clos du Mesnil, Salon Blanc de Blancs, and Jacques Selosse for the grower crowd. Germany gets proper respect with Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling on the list, a name that signals the team isn't just checking boxes. The one honest note: this list skews almost entirely Old World — if you're hunting New Zealand Pinot or California Cab, you're in the wrong room.
Around 20–30 pours by the glass, with prices ranging from $18 up past $150 — so yes, a single glass here can cost more than a bottle elsewhere, and that's a feature not a bug depending on your mood. The selection rotates and reflects the depth of the cellar, meaning you can genuinely find something interesting without committing to a full bottle. For a kitchen this serious, it's a strong program that lets a solo diner or a two-top access wines they'd otherwise need a small loan to buy outright.
Dom Pérignon 2015 — $450
At a restaurant at this level, $450 for a vintage Dom is actually in the neighborhood of reasonable — you're not getting gouged on a name that moves at every steakhouse in Midtown. It's the entry point to the Champagne section that doesn't feel like punishment, and the 2015 is drinking beautifully right now.
Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Kabinett 2020
Most tables at Daniel are locked in on Burgundy before they sit down, which means the German section gets glanced at and ignored. That's a mistake. Egon Müller's Kabinett is one of the most elegant, age-worthy whites in the world, and at $285 it's not cheap — but relative to everything else on this list, it's a steal and a conversation starter.
Château Margaux 2019
At $1,100 a bottle with no retail comparison available, we can't tell you this is a bargain — and it almost certainly isn't. The 2019 vintage is young, tight, and needs time it's not going to get on your dinner table tonight. If Bordeaux is the move, there are better-drinking options at lower prices elsewhere on this list.
Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne 2019 + Pheasant with foie gras and black truffle
La Landonne is Guigal's darkest, most muscular single-vineyard Côte-Rôtie — pure Syrah with iron, smoke, and serious structure. Against pheasant layered with foie gras and black truffle, the wine's savory depth and earthy backbone match the dish note for note without either one flinching. This is why French wine and French food evolved together.
Monday — Half-price wine on Monday evenings — which, at Daniel's price points, is genuinely significant. A bottle that's $400 on Saturday becomes a much more approachable Monday decision.
The Bottom Line
Daniel holds a Wine Spectator Grand Award for a reason — this is one of the finest restaurant wine programs in the United States, full stop. Prices are steep across the board, but if you're going to spend real money on wine at dinner, there are very few rooms in this country better equipped to make it worth it.
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.
River Market · Kansas City · French
A French-led list with 25 two-price wines up front and a long run of Burgundy, Bordeaux and Rhône bottles behind them. Start with the Chinon Le Garenne at 42 or the Cornas 'Granit 60' at 88, ask which number is the glass price, and confirm prices, since the page is undated. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Union Square · San Francisco · French
A 66-page list that starts with a 20-pour glass page and moves quickly into Burgundy, Rhône and Bordeaux bottles priced in the hundreds and thousands, so decide early whether you are drinking by the glass or committing to a bottle. Start with the $20 Chablis or the $23 Corsican red, and confirm today's list because it carries no print date. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Meatpacking District · New York · French
A French wine list with a wide price ladder: $16 glasses, $40 half bottles and $60 full bottles at the bottom, Pétrus and Domaine de la Romanée-Conti at the top. Start with the $16 Famille Coulon Rhône white by the glass, or spend $115 on the Marcel Deiss Alsace pinot noir, and check prices because the two PDFs show different bottle prices for Delos. This unrated guide covers the posted wine lists, not service, storage or markups.
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
List Variety
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Staff
Specials & Deals
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