Rooftop Views, Surprisingly Honest Wine Prices
Downtown · Portland · Pan-Asian · Visit Website ↗
Updated June 2026
Reviewed April 7, 2026
Wingman Metrics
You're on the 15th floor of The Nines Hotel, the city is spread out below you, and the wine list is... actually pretty good? That's not what we expected from a rooftop lounge where most places would coast on the view and charge $22 for a grocery-store Pinot. Departure doesn't do that, and that alone earns some respect.
The list is moderate in size — roughly 40 to 60 bottles — but punches well above its weight in terms of geographic range and producer quality. You've got Pieropan Soave, Walter Scott Oregon Pinot, J.K. Carriere Willamette rosé, and a Pais from Dominio del Cuarzo sitting alongside Spanish dessert pours and Italian Lambrusco rosé. It's not a deep cellar, but whoever built this list was paying attention — there's real thought behind the picks, even if the selection doesn't shift much season to season. The Riesling from Geierslay and the Specogna Sauvignon Blanc from Friuli are the kinds of left-field choices that signal someone here actually cares.
Glass pours run $14 to $22, which is genuinely refreshing for a hotel rooftop in 2024. The selection by the glass spans bubbles, white, rosé, red, and dessert wine, so you can actually drink thoughtfully across a meal rather than just defaulting to whatever's cheapest. We'd love to see the rotation move more frequently, but what's here is solid.
Garganega/Trebbiano di Soave Pieropan Veneto — $15
Pieropan is one of the benchmark producers in all of Soave — this isn't a Soave you tolerate, it's one you seek out. At $15 a glass against a $25 retail bottle, you're getting one of the best juice-to-dollar ratios on the entire list. Order it.
Pais Dominio del Cuarzo Chile
Pais is the ancient grape Chilean winemakers largely ignored for centuries and are only now rediscovering — Dominio del Cuarzo is doing serious work with it. Most diners at a Pan-Asian rooftop lounge are going to walk right past this. Don't. It's earthy, low-key, and genuinely interesting.
Crémant de Bourgogne Famille Vincent
Not a bad wine, and the markup is fair — but at $17 a glass you can get a lot more interesting on this list. The Crémant is the safe, crowd-pleasing pour that doesn't need your attention when Pieropan Soave exists at $15.
Rosé J.K. Carriere Willamette Valley OR + Departure Wings
J.K. Carriere makes a serious Oregon rosé with enough acidity and fruit tension to cut through the heat and sticky glaze on the wings. It's the kind of pairing that feels obvious in hindsight — bright, slightly savory, and it keeps your palate alive through every bite.
🎲 The Bottom Line
Departure is a rooftop lounge that somehow didn't let the view make it lazy about wine — the markups are legitimately fair, the producers are real, and there's enough range to drink well through a full meal. Send a friend here, just make sure they look past the cocktail menu.
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
Downtown · Portland · Pan-Asian
Departure is not a wine destination, but it's a better wine list than the rooftop-hotel format deserves — Oregon producers anchor it with real credibility, and the sake program adds a dimension most comparable spots ignore entirely. Send a friend here for the Walter Scott and the view; tell them to skip the predictable Italian pour.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Desert Ridge · Phoenix · Pan-Asian
For a resort restaurant in Phoenix, Kembara's wine list is genuinely above average — there's real thought behind it, especially in the white and lighter red selections that actually complement the food. The dessert wine and Port markups are a cash grab worth avoiding, but the Austrian and Alsatian options alone make it worth exploring before you default to a cocktail.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.