Vienna Came to NoMad and Brought Riesling
NoMad · New York · Contemporary French with Austrian influences · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed March 23, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Koloman’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
You walk into what looks like a Viennese café designed by someone who actually read art history, and then the wine list lands on your marble table like a quiet flex. It's not trying to be a steakhouse megalist — it's focused, deliberate, and built around regions most New York restaurants treat as afterthoughts. Austria, Alsace, Germany, Burgundy: this is a list with a point of view.
The 150-to-250-bottle range skews heavily toward Central Europe and the Alsace corridor, which makes complete sense given the kitchen's Austrian-French DNA. Domaine Weinbach anchors the Alsace section with the kind of Riesling credibility most lists only dream about, while Emmerich Knoll's Grüner Veltliner represents exactly the sort of serious Austrian producer that belongs here. Willi Opitz appearing on the list is a genuine signal — that's not a name you stock because a distributor pushed it; someone sought that out. Burgundy fills in the gaps without taking over the room, keeping the list honest rather than trophy-hunting.
With 12 to 20 options by the glass, Koloman isn't just pouring the safe stuff — you can reasonably expect Austrian whites and something from Alsace to show up in rotation alongside the obligatory French crowd-pleasers. The Kolfok All Universe Together from Burgenland clocks in at $19 a glass, which for a natural-leaning Austrian red is actually a fair pour in this city. Glass program reflects the list's identity rather than abandoning it for pinot grigio and cab.
Kolfok All Universe Together Burgenland Austria 2022 — $19
Retails around $30, so the by-the-glass markup is genuinely reasonable for Manhattan. You're getting a funky, food-friendly Burgenland red that fits the menu and doesn't sting on the credit card.
Willi Opitz
Most diners at Koloman are going to gravitate toward the Knoll or something French, but Willi Opitz is a cult Austrian producer with a real following among people who know. If it's on the list, it's worth asking the staff what's currently poured — these wines are low-production and rarely appear on New York wine lists.
Burgundy selections
The Burgundy section here feels like the obligatory add to keep non-Austrian tables happy, and the markups on recognizable Burgundy names tend to climb fast at restaurants in this price bracket. The kitchen isn't cooking for Burgundy — it's cooking for Grüner and Riesling. Order accordingly.
Emmerich Knoll Grüner Veltliner + Seared brook trout
Knoll's Grüner has that white pepper snap and mineral tension that cuts through the richness of seared fish without drowning it. It's essentially the Austrian answer to a perfect fish pairing, and the kitchen clearly built the menu knowing wines like this would be on the table.
The Bottom Line
Koloman is the rare New York restaurant where the wine list actually matches what's happening on the plate — if you're eating Austrian-inflected food and drinking Grüner Veltliner or Alsatian Riesling, you're doing exactly what this place was designed for. Send your wine-curious friends here without hesitation.
Midtown · New York · French Brasserie
La Grande Boucherie earns its place as a reliable stop for wine in Midtown, especially if you're leaning French. The glass list is genuinely wide and has some smart picks buried in it — the Fleurie and the Wiemer Riesling both punch above their price points. Markups trend steep as you climb the bottle list, so your money works hardest in the by-the-glass section. If you're here for the brasserie experience, the wine program holds up its end of the deal.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· New York · Steakhouse
BLT Prime's wine program is glass-only, which limits your options if you came for a big bottle moment, but the pricing is honest and the selection is more thoughtful than most steakhouses bother with. If you're keeping it casual and ordering by the glass, you can drink well here without feeling taken advantage of — and that's not nothing in this city.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· New York · Restaurant
The Palm Midtown is not where you'd expect to find Puzelat and Ruth Lewandowski sitting next to each other on a wine list — which is exactly what makes it worth a second look. Six bottles is a short menu, but all six are defensible picks at prices that don't insult you. If you're in the mood to trust the list and not overthink it, this works.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Murray Hill · New York · Classic American Steakhouse
Wolfgang's is a reliable steakhouse wine experience in the sense that you know exactly what you're getting: a list built around the bottle you already know, priced for the room you're sitting in. If you're here to close a deal over a Porterhouse for Two, the wine list will do its job without embarrassing anyone — but it's not going to surprise you, and it's almost certainly going to cost more than it should. Go in with eyes open and a strong second-choice red in mind.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· New York · Mediterranean
Zaytinya's wine list is a rare thing in New York: a focused, regionally coherent program that commits hard to Greek and Eastern Mediterranean varieties without making you feel like you need a flashcard to order. The by-the-glass selection alone — 18 options, all under $18, featuring producers most wine lists wouldn't touch — makes this worth visiting even before the food arrives. If you eat here and order a Cabernet, that's on you.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
SoHo · New York · Italian
A long bottle list with Italian, Burgundy and Champagne sections, fronted by a 22-wine glass page. For a glass, try the Skerk Orange Wine from Friuli at 25/95, and for a bottle on a lighter budget, the Volpaia Vermentino at 60; upstairs in the café, the labeled list pours Palistorti di Valgiano's orange Tuscan blend at Glass $22. Confirm prices before you order, because the site's Upstairs Café dinner menu and the beverage PDF do not match. This unrated guide covers the posted wine lists, not service, storage or markups.
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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