Sushi and Burgundy Walk Into a Gondola
Vail Village · Vail · Japanese · Visit Website ↗
Updated September 2026
Reviewed April 11, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Makoto’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Opening a wine list at a Japanese restaurant in ski country and finding Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Domaine Leflaive sitting next to Kistler and Ridge is not something we expected, but here we are. The list is compact — somewhere in that 150-250 bottle range — and makes no apologies for its Franco-Californian lean. It's curated with intent, which already puts it ahead of most mountain resort lists where the wine program is clearly an afterthought.
France and California are the twin anchors, and the list leans hard into prestige: Bordeaux classified growths, Louis Jadot, Domaine Leflaive's Puligny-Montrachet, and the kind of Burgundy names that make grown adults do math at the table. On the California side, Kistler Chardonnay, Opus One, and Ridge Monte Bello show up as the heavy hitters — not adventurous picks, but serious ones. What's missing is any real depth outside those two regions; if you're hunting German Riesling or an Austrian Grüner to go with your nigiri, you'll be disappointed. That said, for a Japanese restaurant of this caliber in Vail, the sheer seriousness of the selections is genuinely surprising and earns its Wine Spectator Award of Excellence — granted since 2024 — without question.
The by-the-glass program runs 12-20 options in the $12-$25 range, which is reasonable for Vail where every pour feels like it's priced for altitude. We don't have granular data on exact rotation, but with sommelier Rodrigo Santillan on staff, the glass list should reflect the broader France-California focus. Whether it refreshes seasonally or just sits there is unclear, but the presence of a dedicated sommelier at least suggests someone's paying attention.
Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello — $60–$150 (bottle range estimate from list)
Monte Bello is one of California's most age-worthy Cabernet blends, and at a restaurant where the bottle list skews toward trophy Burgundy and Bordeaux, it can look like a bargain by comparison. It's the kind of wine that rewards anyone willing to look past the French labels.
Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet
Most diners here are reaching for the reds, but Leflaive's Puligny is one of the great white Burgundies in the world — precise, mineral, and cut through with enough acidity to handle the umami weight of Edomae-style sushi. It's hiding in plain sight on this list and almost nobody orders it with raw fish, which is their loss.
Opus One
Opus One is a perfectly fine wine that has been on every upscale American restaurant list since 1991. At Vail prices, you're paying a double premium — once for the brand, once for the mountain. The money goes further almost anywhere else on this list.
Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet + Edomae-style sushi
The saline minerality and restrained oak in Leflaive's Puligny-Montrachet mirror the clean, precise flavors of Edomae sushi — vinegared rice, fresh fish, minimal intervention. It's not an obvious call, but it's the right one.
The Bottom Line
Makoto is a Wild Card in the best sense: nobody expects serious Burgundy and California cult bottles in a Japanese restaurant at 8,150 feet, but here they are. The markups will sting, but if you're already eating here, you've already made peace with Vail pricing — lean into the Leflaive and don't look back.
· Vail · Gastropub
Here's the one concrete reason to pay attention to Capitol Public House's wine program: Wednesday half-price bottles. That single policy can turn an unremarkable list into a genuinely good deal. If you're a local in Eagle or passing through on a Wednesday, plan accordingly — even a middle-of-the-road bottle at half price is worth the stop. For everything else, manage expectations and let the whiskey bar do the talking.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
· Vail · Latin-inspired small plates
Barriosocial is doing something genuinely unexpected in Vail: a wine list that reflects the food's Iberian DNA instead of defaulting to crowd-pleasing New World reds and overpriced Champagne by the bottle. The by-the-glass program alone — 20 options, fair pricing, real producers — is worth the visit. If you're eating in the mountains and actually care what's in your glass, this is the room.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Vail · Hotel Bar & New American
The Lobby Bar is fine — and in Vail, fine is doing a lot of heavy lifting. The list is short, static, and priced for people who just got off the mountain and aren't reading the bill too closely. If you're here, order the Grochau Pinot and call it a night; don't come looking for discovery.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Vail · Italian
La Nonna is an Italian restaurant in a ski resort town that somehow assembled one of the more thoughtful grower Champagne lists in Colorado — and that's genuinely worth acknowledging. Markups run steep across the board, which is par for the Vail course, but if you order smart (Mignon, Larmandier-Bernier, the Correggia sparkler), you'll drink better than almost anywhere on the mountain. Come for the pasta, stay for the bubbles.
Surprising Depth
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Vail · New American
Larkspur has the bones of a Reliable — a thoughtful regional spread, a polished dining room, and a kitchen putting out serious plates like the Creekstone Farms strip loin and Ahi tuna crudo that deserve equally serious wine. We just don't have enough list detail to hand you a confident pick or warn you off a specific bottle. If you're heading here, ask the server what's drinking well right now and set a firm price ceiling before you open the book — Vail markups are real and they are not shy.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Vail · Steakhouse
Russell's isn't trying to be a wine destination and doesn't need to be — but the list is better than the room probably demands. Fair pricing, a genuine global reach, and twenty pours by the glass make this a steakhouse wine program worth engaging with. Order the Fincas de Ganuza, skip the Laurent Perrier, and leave the mountain resort markup where it belongs: on the cocktail list.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Duluth · Japanese
Haru Ichiban is not a wine destination, and that's fine — plenty of great Japanese restaurants aren't. But if wine matters to you at dinner, this list gives you nothing to work with: no producers, no prices, no effort. Come for the food, skip the wine, and maybe order the Choya Plum Wine if you want something that at least fits the vibe.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Roswell · Japanese
Tanaka's wine list is functional in the same way a vending machine is functional — it technically dispenses what you need, but no one's excited about it. The pricing is fair and the Umeshu is a genuine bright spot, but seven bottles at a sit-down Japanese restaurant in 2024 signals that wine just isn't a priority here. Order the sake, or bring your own if corkage allows.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Jersey City · Japanese
For a Japanese lounge with a 21-bottle list, Stingray is doing more work than it has any reason to. The Grüner, the Loire whites, and that Grand Cru Champagne are all legitimate finds at prices that won't sting. If you're nearby and want something better than the usual sushi-spot house white, this is worth the detour.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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