Michelin-starred wine game, South Coast Plaza penthouse
South Coast Metro · Santa Ana · Contemporary French · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed June 24, 2026
Wingman Metrics
Walking into Knife Pleat's penthouse perch above South Coast Plaza, the wine program announces itself immediately — this is not a list assembled by a purchasing manager checking boxes. The beverage menu reads like a love letter to France, and a sommelier appears before you've had time to wonder whether to start with Champagne (you should).
The list leans hard into France and does it with conviction — Burgundy from premier and grand cru producers in the Romanée-Conti orbit, prestige Champagne from Krug and Billecart-Salmon, Northern Rhône Syrah from Chapoutier and Jaboulet, and Loire Valley whites anchored by Domaine Huet's Vouvray. With an estimated 200–300 selections, there's real depth here across regions, not just a trophy shelf of famous labels. Gaps exist — New World representation appears minimal, which is by design rather than oversight given the contemporary French concept. If you came hoping for a California Pinot to drink alongside the duck course, you may need to have a conversation with the sommelier.
The by-the-glass program isn't publicly detailed outside the curated wine pairing, which runs $115–$175 per person alongside the tasting menu. The pairing format is really the intended delivery mechanism here — a somm-selected flight built to move with each course rather than a static list of pours. If you're not doing the pairing, ask what's open; a room running at this level almost always has bottles cracked tableside worth getting into.
Billecart-Salmon Champagne (pairing inclusion) — $115
The entry-level wine pairing anchored by Billecart-Salmon — one of the most consistently over-delivering Champagne houses relative to prestige-tier pricing — makes the base pairing the easiest math on the menu. You're getting a somm-curated flight across multiple courses for what a single bottle of Krug costs at retail.
Domaine Huet Vouvray
Most tables at a French fine-diner are hunting Burgundy and Champagne — and they should be — but Huet's Vouvray is one of the Loire Valley's great undersung whites. Whether it shows up as a demi-sec or sec depends on the vintage and the somm's call, but either way it's a wine that rewards attention and outlasts the food it's served with. Don't let it slide past you on the pairing.
Krug Grande Cuvée (à la carte)
Krug is extraordinary and we have nothing against it — but ordering it off a fine-dining list in a South Coast Plaza penthouse means absorbing serious restaurant markup on an already expensive bottle. The pairing program gives you better value per dollar. If you want Krug, drink it at the bar before dinner and let the somm handle the table.
Chapoutier Northern Rhône Syrah + Roasted duck
Northern Rhône Syrah — dark-fruited, savory, with that signature olive and cracked pepper edge — is essentially purpose-built for duck. Chapoutier's wines from Crozes-Hermitage or Saint-Joseph hit those marks without demanding the full reverence (and price) of a Hermitage, making them the smart call when the duck course lands.
🔥 The Bottom Line
Knife Pleat is the rare restaurant where the wine program earns its Michelin-starred company — deep French list, a somm who knows it, and a pairing format that actually delivers. The markups are what they are at this level, but if you're coming here, you already knew this wasn't going to be cheap.
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