Isidore

Walking into Isidore, you don't expect a 150-plus bottle list anchored by Ridge Monte Bello and Kistler Chardonnay — this is San Antonio's Pearl District, not the Napa Valley wine country circuit. The midcentury room, open hearth, and farm-driven menu set expectations for something local and unpretentious, which makes the serious California and French backbone feel like a genuinely pleasant surprise. It's the kind of list that earns its Wine Spectator Award of Excellence rather than just hanging it on the wall.

The list leans hard into California and France, and it leans well — Ridge Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon, Kistler Chardonnay, Patz & Hall Pinot Noir, and Au Bon Climat all show up alongside Domaine Weinbach Alsace Riesling, Louis Jadot Burgundy, and Chateau Pichon Longueville Bordeaux. That's a tight but credible roster, covering the Cali prestige lane and enough French depth to keep things interesting. Domaine Drouhin Oregon bridges the Old World-New World gap nicely and signals that whoever built this list actually thought it through. The gaps are real — don't come hunting for Spanish, Italian, or anything south of the equator — but what's here is well-chosen.

Twelve to twenty pours is a healthy range for a restaurant this size, and the $12–$18 price band keeps things accessible without feeling like a dive pour situation. With sommelier Sarah Bacinich steering the ship, you can trust the glass program isn't just an afterthought plucked from the bottle list's leftovers. We'd push staff on what's open and rotating — a list this caliber often has something good available by the glass that doesn't make it onto the printed menu.