Southern comfort, passable wine, no complaints
Downtown · Montgomery · Southern-influenced global brasserie / fusion · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · June 29, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Kinsmith’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Walking into Kinsmith — a polished, restored historic space inside the Trilogy Hotel — you expect the wine list to match the room's ambition. It mostly doesn't. What you get is a 27-label list that leans hard on familiar California names and plays it safe at every turn.
The list reads like a greatest-hits of recognizable grocery-store labels: Josh Cellars, Joel Gott, and The Calling anchor the red side, with Faust as the lone reach toward something more serious. There's a lone South African entry — Riebeek Cellars Pinotage — that at least shows someone glanced at a map outside California. The 'global brasserie' branding promises more than the list delivers; you won't find anything from France, Italy, Spain, or anywhere else that might actually challenge a diner. Gaps are wide and obvious.
Twenty-four by-the-glass options sounds impressive until you realize the list is only 27 bottles deep — almost everything is available by the glass, which is convenient but doesn't signal curation so much as simplicity. At $10–$28 a pour, you're paying upscale prices for mid-shelf bottles, so choose carefully. There's no evidence of rotating BTG specials or a chalk board moment.
Riebeek Cellars Pinotage — By the glass
It's the only wine on this list that makes you look twice. Pinotage is underordered everywhere, which means it often gets poured fresh and handled well. At a restaurant full of Gulf seafood and Southern smoke, this earthy, fruit-forward South African red is the most interesting conversation starter on the menu.
Calera Pinot Noir
Calera has been quietly making serious Central Coast Pinot for decades, long before it was fashionable. Most people skip past it toward the louder California names, but it's the most legitimate bottle on the list — and probably the most food-friendly with Kinsmith's lighter seafood-forward dishes.
Josh Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon
You can grab this at any gas station in Alabama for around $15. At restaurant markup, you're paying a significant premium for a bottle that has no business being on a menu that charges $20–$35 an entree. Order literally anything else.
Calera Pinot Noir + Gulf seafood special
Calera's Pinot brings enough red fruit brightness and structure to stand up to a rich Gulf fish preparation without steamrolling it — a rare trick for a red wine, and exactly what you want when the kitchen is leaning into shellfish and coastal flavors.
The Bottom Line
Kinsmith is a beautiful room serving interesting food, and the wine list is the least interesting thing about it. Go for the Gulf seafood, order the Calera or the Pinotage, and keep your expectations calibrated to a solid hotel restaurant rather than a destination wine program.
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Bonefish Grill isn't trying to be a wine destination, and the three-label bar menu makes that abundantly clear. Order a cocktail, enjoy the fish, and save your wine curiosity for a restaurant that shares it.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Cloverdale · Montgomery · French Wine Bar
Frenchie's is doing something genuinely rare for Montgomery — committing to a French wine bar identity in a city that mostly plays it safe — and that alone earns them the Wild Card. Come for the duck confit and the atmosphere; just go in ready to explore rather than expecting a deep, curated cellar.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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La Jolla isn't trying to be a wine destination, but it's putting in more effort than most restaurants in Montgomery. Fair prices, a surprising Loire pick hiding in plain sight, and enough glass options to keep the table happy all night.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Central is the kind of place where the wine list supports the meal without stealing the spotlight — which is exactly what a restaurant like this needs. Send your friends here for dinner; just steer them toward the Rhône white or the Pinot Gris and away from the Rombauer markup.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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The Tipping Point is a solid neighborhood spot that happens to have wine, not a wine destination that also serves food — and that's okay. If you're here for the patio, the burgers, or a casual weeknight out, grab the rosé or the Malbec and don't overthink it.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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