Westchester's Coziest Wine Hideout Punches Up
Bronxville · White Plains · Wine Bar & Small Plates · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed September 12, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Ernie's Wine Bar + Eats’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Walking into Ernie's, you get the immediate sense that this place actually gives a damn about wine — rare for a suburban strip, rarer still for a room this small. The dim lighting and tight quarters set a mood that says linger, order another glass, maybe stay for the live music. This isn't a restaurant that happens to have wine; it's a wine bar that happens to have food.
The list skews international in a way that feels genuinely curious rather than curated for show — pulling from Champagne, Spain, South Africa, New Zealand, and California, with a nod to Sauternes for anyone paying attention. That's a solid spread for a neighborhood wine bar of this size. The regional mix suggests someone behind the list has actual opinions, not just a distributor's catalog. Gaps exist, naturally — this isn't a deep cellar situation — but what's here seems chosen with intention.
We don't have an exact count on the glass pours, but the format of the space and the discounted happy hour program both suggest a rotating, reasonably sized by-the-glass selection. The $3-off-any-glass deal running Monday through Thursday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. is modest but real — and in a town where wine bars routinely charge Manhattan prices, that window matters.
Monday–Thursday — $3 off any glass of wine from 4:30–6:30 p.m., per Westchester Magazine. Not a true half-price night, but a consistent daily happy hour deal worth knowing.
The Bottom Line
Ernie's is the kind of neighborhood wine bar Westchester needs more of: unpretentious, genuinely wine-forward, and priced like they actually want you to order a second glass. If you're in the area on a weekday, hit that happy hour window and settle in.
· White Plains · Brazilian Steakhouse
Fogo de Chão White Plains is not a wine destination, but it's not trying to be. The by-the-glass program is wide enough to find something that works with the meat parade, the Malbec lineup is appropriately on-theme, and the $10 entry point keeps things accessible. Markups trend steep as you climb the list, so stay in the $10–$20 glass range and you'll leave satisfied. Send a friend here for the beef; the wine is just along for the ride.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· White Plains · Steakhouse
This appears to be a Restaurant Week wine promotion rather than Benjamin Steakhouse's full list, and we'd want to see a complete menu before rendering a final verdict on the overall program. Based on what's sourced here, though, the wine offering is thin for a steakhouse of this caliber — if you're coming for a serious bottle of Cab with your dry-aged ribeye, call ahead and ask what's actually on the full list.
Grocery Store
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Occasional
Acceptable
· White Plains · Steakhouse
The Capital Grille Stamford isn't going to excite anyone who takes wine seriously, but it's not the embarrassment that many chain steakhouse lists are either. The Prüm Riesling and Substance Cab punch above their price points, and 23 BTG options gives you real flexibility. Just go in knowing the markups are aggressive and the list hasn't changed since someone in a corporate office approved it — probably over a Meiomi.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· White Plains · Italian
La Bocca is a polished, reservation-worthy Italian room in White Plains with a wine identity that leans on Italy's marquee regions — safe, serviceable, and priced for a special-occasion crowd. Until we can get eyes on the actual list and confirm what's pouring, we'd treat the wine program as a pleasant companion to the food rather than a destination in its own right. Ask the staff for their recommendation and see what happens.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· White Plains · Spanish tapas & wine bar
Buleria is doing the right things — an actual Spanish-leaning list at fair prices in a market that could easily get away with slapping Malbec and Pinot Grigio on a page and calling it done. It's not a destination wine list, but it's a genuinely solid one, and that's worth something.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
White Plains · White Plains · Persian & Mediterranean Wine Bar
Shiraz Kitchen is the kind of unexpected wine find that makes suburban dining worth exploring — a Persian restaurant in White Plains with an honest, curious wine list and glass pour access to nearly everything on it. If you're in Westchester and tired of the same old Chardonnay-and-Cabernet loop, this is your move.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
San Luis Obispo · San Luis Obispo · Wine Bar & Small Plates
15 Degrees C is exactly the kind of neighborhood wine bar SLO deserves — approachable, well-stocked, and staffed by people who know what they're doing. We'd send a friend here without hesitation, especially if they want a proper glass of Central Coast wine without a crash course in pretension.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Seasonal Rotation
Proper
· Coeur d'Alene · Wine Bar & Small Plates
Studio 107 is the kind of place that earns its Wild Card badge by existing at all — a genuine wine bar in a mid-size Idaho city, tucked inside an art gallery, with enough self-awareness to keep the list focused instead of pretending to be something it's not. If you're in Coeur d'Alene and want a glass of something French with a charcuterie board surrounded by local art, this is your spot.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Fort Collins · Wine Bar & Small Plates
Taste & Savor punches well above its strip mall zip code — a legit wine bar with knowledgeable staff and a deal-friendly Monday program worth building a night around. We'd send a wine-curious friend here without hesitation, and probably join them.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Active Program
Proper
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