Sonoma's Backyard, Bottled and Done Right
Healdsburg Plaza · Sonoma · Fine Dining / New American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 26, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Dry Creek Kitchen’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
Six hundred labels in Healdsburg wine country — this is not an accident. Dry Creek Kitchen wears its address like a badge of honor, and the wine list backs it up immediately with a depth and regional focus that makes clear someone here genuinely cares. It reads less like a restaurant wine list and more like a love letter to Sonoma County.
The list is anchored in Sonoma — Russian River Valley, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma Coast — and it name-drops producers that wine nerds actually get excited about: Rochioli, Williams Selyem, Cobb, Morlet, A. Rafanelli, Donelan. These aren't grocery store fillers or vanity labels; these are wines that take years to source and require relationships to get. There's also a Champagne presence (Palmer & Co Blanc de Noirs out of Reims) that signals the list doesn't just wave the local flag — it knows when to reach across the Atlantic. If there's a gap, it's that 600 labels centered so heavily on one region can feel myopic to someone craving a red Burgundy deep dive, but that's a philosophical quibble, not a real complaint.
Twenty-plus by-the-glass options is genuinely generous for a fine dining room, especially when the pours skew toward serious producers rather than anonymous négociant bottles. We'd expect the glass program to rotate seasonally given the caliber of the list — a place stocking 2021 Cobb Riesling isn't pouring it by accident. That said, we don't have confirmed rotation details, so treat this as a high-probability upside rather than a guarantee.
2021 A. Rafanelli Merlot, Dry Creek Valley — Unknown
Rafanelli is a cult Dry Creek producer with a mailing list that most people never crack. Getting their Merlot on a restaurant list at any price is a coup — and drinking it five minutes from the vineyard is the whole point of being in Healdsburg.
2021 Cobb Riesling, Abigail's Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
Most people scroll past Riesling at a Sonoma restaurant assuming it's an afterthought. A Cobb Riesling from Abigail's Vineyard is anything but — it's a cold-climate, site-driven white from one of the Coast's most meticulous producers, and it will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about California Riesling.
MV Palmer & Co Blanc de Noirs, Reims, Champagne
Palmer & Co is a solid cooperative Champagne but it's widely available and not exactly an undiscovered gem. In a room full of Rochioli and Williams Selyem, spending up on a Champagne that you can find at a decent wine shop feels like leaving money on the table. Order something you can only get here.
2018 Donelan Syrah Cuvée Christine, Sonoma County + Grilled or roasted meat entrée
Donelan's Cuvée Christine is a Northern Rhône-style Syrah with enough savory backbone and dark fruit weight to stand up to anything coming off a serious grill or roast. In a New American kitchen with access to premium local proteins, this is the bottle you order when you want the wine to match the moment.
The Bottom Line
Dry Creek Kitchen is the rare restaurant where the wine list is genuinely worth the trip on its own merits — deep, local, curated by someone with taste and access. If you're in Sonoma and you care about wine, this is a must.
Sonoma Plaza / Downtown Sonoma · Sonoma · Wine Tasting with Rotating Chef-Driven Pop-Ups
Bedrock is not a wine list — it's a focused argument for why old-vine California deserves your full attention. If you're in Sonoma and you skip this, you're doing it wrong.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Occasional
Proper
Healdsburg · Sonoma · Sandwiches / Wine Bar
Troubadour is the kind of place that makes you reconsider your lunch plans — in the best possible way. If you're in Healdsburg and you care about what's in your glass, this sandwich shop deserves your full attention.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Healdsburg · Sonoma · Spanish tapas
Bravas is a Wild Card in the best sense: a casual, loud, share-everything tapas bar in the middle of Sonoma Wine Country that actually built a wine list with a brain. It won't blow your mind, but it will keep your glass interesting all night without emptying your wallet.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Healdsburg · Sonoma · Small Plates / New American
Chalkboard isn't trying to be a destination wine bar — it's a polished Healdsburg restaurant that takes its wine list seriously enough to stock Rochioli, Copain, and Ridge alongside Taittinger and actually price them like they want you to order a second bottle. Send a friend here and tell them to start with the Sauvignon Blanc.
Solid Range
Fair
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Healdsburg Plaza · Sonoma · Upscale farm-to-table / modern California
The Matheson has built one of the most genuinely exciting wine programs in Sonoma wine country — the Wine Wall alone is worth the trip, and the depth of the broader list shows real intention. The markups on trophy bottles are hard to ignore, but if you play the Wall smart, you'll drink far better here than almost anywhere else in Healdsburg.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Seasonal Rotation
Proper
Healdsburg · Sonoma · Modern American
Valette is the wine country restaurant experience done right — deeply local, properly staffed, and serious about what's in the glass, even if the markups ask you to pay for the zip code. Send your friends here if they're already in Healdsburg; just tell them to skip the Phelps.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
· Medford · Fine Dining / New American
Alchemy is doing something genuinely interesting in Southern Oregon — a sparkling-centric wine program with real depth and fair pricing that you wouldn't necessarily expect to find in Medford. If bubbles are your language, this list is worth the trip.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Roanoke · Fine Dining / New American
Table 50 does more with 68 labels than most fine dining rooms do with twice as many — the fortified wine section alone earns it a second look. If you're eating in Roanoke and care about what's in your glass, this is where you go.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Bent Street / Historic District · Taos · Fine Dining / New American
Lambert's is a reliable dinner destination in Taos, and the wine list won't ruin your night — but it won't make it either. Send a friend here for the elk tenderloin; tell them to order the Duckhorn and not overthink it.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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