800 Bottles Deep in SoMa
SoMa · San Francisco · Mediterranean, European
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 8, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Luce’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Luce lands with real weight — we're talking 800 to 1,200 selections inside a hotel restaurant that could have coasted on InterContinental brand safety and a few safe Napa pours. Instead, it reads like someone actually cares, with California, France, and Italy all given serious attention. This is a list built for lingering.
California gets the marquee treatment — Harlan Estate, Screaming Eagle, Ridge Monte Bello, Caymus Special Selection, and Opus One all make appearances, which tells you this is a list angled toward big-wallet Napa devotees. But Italy is where things get genuinely interesting: Giacomo Conterno and Bruno Giacosa representing Barolo, Antinori's Tignanello anchoring the Supertuscan corner. France rounds it out with Château Margaux and Domaine Leroy Burgundy pulling serious weight. Kistler Chardonnay holds it down on the white side of California. The gaps are minor — if you want esoteric natural wine or deep Southern Hemisphere exploration, look elsewhere.
Twenty to thirty-five pours by the glass is a strong program, with prices running $15 to $30 — not cheap, but reasonable for the caliber of the room and the list behind it. We'd expect the glass selection to mirror the list's California and Italian focus, which means you can drink well without committing to a bottle. Rotation details are thin from the outside, but the range suggests they're not just pouring one red and one white and calling it a day.
Antinori Tignanello — $XX
Tignanello is a benchmark Supertuscan that punches at a level well above most bottles on a restaurant list at its price point — Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon blended with enough structure to handle the lamb and the pasta. If it's priced anywhere near fair here, it's the move.
Bruno Giacosa Barolo
Most tables at a spot like this are eyeing the California cult bottles, which means the Giacosa Barolo gets slept on. That's a mistake. Giacosa is one of the foundational names in Piedmont — serious, age-worthy wine that rewards anyone willing to look left on a list full of Napa trophy hunters.
Screaming Eagle
We get it — it's iconic. But Screaming Eagle at a hotel restaurant means you're paying a premium on top of an already stratospheric secondary market price. The wine is real, but the markup story here almost certainly isn't in your favor. Save the cult Cab splurge for somewhere with corkage or a tighter margin.
Kistler Chardonnay + Pan-seared sea bass
Kistler brings enough richness and texture to stand up to a properly seared piece of sea bass without steamrolling the fish. It's California Chardonnay done right — no butter bomb, all tension — and it makes a hotel restaurant dinner feel like the right call.
The Bottom Line
Luce earns its Best of Award of Excellence and then some — this is a serious wine list in a room that backs it up with proper glassware and staff who know what they're pouring. Prices run steep across the board, but if you're eating at a hotel restaurant with 1,000 bottles and a Domaine Leroy on the list, you already knew that going in.
Embarcadero · San Francisco · Peruvian Seafood
La Mar is a great dinner — the ceviche alone is worth the trip — but the wine list is along for the ride rather than driving it. Order something crisp and cold, enjoy the view, and don't overthink it.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Union Square · San Francisco · American
The Rotunda is a lunch experience first and a wine destination a distant second — the list is safe, the markup is real, and you're largely paying for the address and the atmosphere. Come for the crab salad and the occasion, order something bubbly, and don't go in expecting a serious wine program.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
San Francisco · San Francisco · Wine bar & bottle shop
Bodega SF is what happens when someone actually gives a damn about the list instead of just checking a box. Twenty-six bottles, almost all pourable by the glass, priced fairly, and built around grapes most wine bars wouldn't dare touch — send your adventurous friends here and tell them to skip the safe picks.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
San Francisco · San Francisco · Wine bar
Fig & Thistle is for people who trust a short menu built by someone with a point of view — thirteen bottles, all pouring, all worth talking about. If you need a fallback Cab or a recognizable label to feel safe, this isn't your spot. If you don't, this absolutely is.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
San Francisco · San Francisco · Steakhouse
STK San Francisco has the bones of a wine program and the ambition of a hotel minibar. With only three by-the-glass pours, a list built entirely around safe brand names, and steep markups baked into the concept, this is a place to order a cocktail or splurge on a specific bottle you already know you want.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· San Francisco · Wine Tavern
Big Finish is doing something genuinely different — an all-glass list built around obscure varietals, serious fortified wine, and pricing that doesn't punish curiosity. Send anyone here who wants to drink something they've never tried before and walk away feeling like they learned something.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Roscoe · Roscoe · Mediterranean, European
Hidden Creek is doing something genuinely unexpected for its zip code — a Wine Spectator-recognized list anchored in serious French and Italian producers, on a wedding estate in Illinois. It's not a destination wine bar, but if you're already there, order something from Piedmont and lean in.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Greensboro · Greensboro · Mediterranean, European
Green Valley Grill is doing something genuinely rare for a mid-size Southern city — maintaining a list serious enough to warrant a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence year after year, without pricing out everyone who isn't on an expense account. If you're in Greensboro and you care about wine, this is your destination.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Varietal Specific
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Beverly Hills · Beverly Hills · Mediterranean, European
The Terrace is a legitimately deep, thoughtfully assembled list wearing resort hotel clothes — don't let the parasols fool you. If you're in Beverly Hills and want to drink something serious alongside Mediterranean food in a genuinely beautiful setting, this is where we'd send you.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Varietal Specific
Willing but Green
Active Program
Proper
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