Fine Dining Vibes, Grocery Store Wine List
Downtown / Aurora Street · Ithaca · Fine Dining / International
Reviewed July 22, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Mahogany Grill’s wine list and gave it The Lazy List — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Mahogany Grill carries itself like a proper fine dining destination — reservations recommended, white tablecloth energy, shrimp in a martini glass. Then the wine list arrives and the illusion cracks. This is a grocery store run dressed up in a blazer.
The list reads like someone grabbed whatever was on sale at Wegmans and called it a wine program. You've got Cupcake, Cavit, Hob Nob, and Meiomi sharing space with Ruffino Chianti and Trapiche Malbec — all perfectly drinkable wines, but none of them belong on a fine dining list at fine dining prices. The one genuinely interesting pour is Bully Hill Love My Goat Red, a local Finger Lakes nod that at least shows some regional awareness. Washington State gets token representation via Chateau Ste Michelle and Charles Smith's The Velvet Devil, but that's the ceiling of ambition here. For a restaurant in the heart of New York's most celebrated wine region, the Finger Lakes is almost entirely absent — a missed opportunity that's frankly hard to forgive.
We don't have confirmed glass pour counts or prices, which is itself telling — a list worth bragging about tends to get talked about. What we can say is that the by-the-glass candidates skew heavily toward mass-market brands: Meiomi Pinot Noir, Hob Nob Red Blend, Oyster Bay Rosé. Functional, recognizable, and about as exciting as a Tuesday night flight delay.
Bully Hill Love My Goat Red — null
No confirmed price, but as the only local Finger Lakes pour on the list, it's the one bottle that makes sense in context. If you're eating in Ithaca, you should be drinking New York — and this is your only real shot at it here.
Charles Smith The Velvet Devil Merlot
Most people sleep on Washington Merlot, but Charles Smith makes a genuinely solid version. It's the most interesting non-local bottle on an otherwise flat list, and it tends to outperform its price tag.
Cupcake Sauvignon Blanc
You can buy this at any gas station with a wine license. At fine dining markup prices, there's no version of this that's a good deal — and it sets a low bar for what the kitchen is trying to do.
Ruffino Chianti + Pasta dinner entree
Chianti and tomato-based pasta is one of those combinations that just works on a chemical level — the high acidity cuts through rich sauce and keeps everything bright. It's the most natural fit on a list that isn't trying very hard to fit anything.
The Bottom Line
Mahogany Grill is a fine restaurant that hasn't extended that care to its wine program — the list is mass-market, the Finger Lakes is a ghost, and the fine dining pricing makes it sting. Order the shrimp cocktail, drink the Bully Hill, and temper your expectations.
· Ithaca · Southwestern / New American
Agava's wine program is essentially a placeholder — no producers named, no prices published, no apparent effort to connect the Southwestern-leaning menu to anything interesting in the glass. Ithaca sits in the heart of Finger Lakes wine country, making this omission especially puzzling. Order a cocktail, or bring your own bottle if corkage is an option.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Ithaca · Hotel bar / seasonal restaurant
For a hotel bar in wine country, this list punches above its category — the Finger Lakes producers are legitimate, the Saperavi alone is worth a detour, and the overall curation signals actual effort. Pricing at a lakeside inn will likely sting, and without confirmed by-the-glass options or staff expertise, you may need to advocate for yourself. Come ready to order by the bottle, pick something local, and enjoy the view.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Ithaca · New American
The Rook is swinging for something more interesting than its size suggests, and the range of regions and styles — Txakoline, Verdicchio, Barolo rosé, orange Garnacha — earns genuine respect for a 12-bottle list. Pricing skews steep at the top end, and the lack of any documented reds from classic regions is a real hole. If you're an adventurous drinker who's tired of the same wine list at every New American spot, this is worth exploring — just go in knowing you'll probably land in the $45–$56 range to find the value.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Ithaca · Brasserie / New American
Simeon's wine list does its job without breaking a sweat — it's approachable, reasonably priced, and quietly proud of the Finger Lakes producers it stocks. The by-the-glass selection is the real strength here; if you're in Ithaca and want to explore local wine without committing to a bottle, this is a perfectly decent place to do it.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Ithaca · Northern Italian
Mercato is a well-regarded local staple with the right regional instincts — Italian roots, Finger Lakes ambition, and a warm room that earns its reservations. We'd feel comfortable sending a friend here for a solid bottle of wine with dinner, but we'd tell them to ask questions at the table, because we can't yet confirm the specifics behind the list. Worth a visit; worth a deeper look once a full wine list is in hand.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
South Hill / Elmira Road corridor · Ithaca · Steakhouse
Texas Roadhouse Ithaca is not a wine destination, and it's not trying to be — the list is short, the producers are supermarket-tier, and the markups on house pours are quietly aggressive. Come for the bread and the steak; if you need wine, order one glass and make peace with it.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Occasional
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
List Variety
Markup
Glassware
Staff
Specials & Deals
Storage & Temp
