Art gallery wine list, no white walls
SoHo · New York · American, Farm to Table · Visit Website ↗
Updated August 2026
Reviewed April 8, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Manuela’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The list lands with the quiet confidence of a place that knows exactly what it's doing. For a farm-to-table spot tucked into SoHo's art world adjacency, 350-500 bottles anchored by DRC, Rousseau, and Giacomo Conterno is not what you expect. It's a serious cellar wearing a casual sweater.
France and Italy carry the room — Burgundy runs deep with Leroy and Domaine de la Romanée-Conti alongside Rousseau's Gevrey, while the Italian chapter brings Giacomo Conterno Barolo and Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco for the kind of depth you don't usually find next to a wood-fired carrot dish. California holds its own with Ridge, Stag's Leap, and Harlan rounding out the New World presence, and Spain earns its spot with López de Heredia Rioja that deserves far more attention than it usually gets. The Rhône chapter with Chapoutier and Guigal is solid rather than revelatory, but it fills the gap competently. Where the list thins out is in natural wine and anything south of the equator — this is an old-world-leaning, classically trained list.
Sixteen to twenty-four pours is a genuinely generous by-the-glass program, and at $15-$30 the ceiling is high enough that you're likely getting real wine rather than bulk filler. We'd push staff to walk you through what's rotating — the range is there, but without a dedicated sommelier on the floor, you're navigating somewhat on your own.
Muga Rioja Reserva — $60–$75 (bottle estimate)
Muga punches well above its price point in this zip code — it's the bottle on this list that lets you drink seriously without committing to a triple-digit Burgundy. Classic Tempranillo structure, built for the wood-fired proteins on this menu.
López de Heredia Rioja Viña Tondonia
Most tables walk right past this for a California Cab or a familiar Burgundy, which is a mistake. Tondonia is one of the most singular wines made anywhere in the world — oxidative, amber-edged, and aged in a way that has nothing to do with fashion. If it's on the list, order it.
Harlan Estate
Harlan is a trophy wine and it's priced like one — restaurant markup on a bottle that already retails at $300+ puts this well out of value territory. The wine is extraordinary, but you're paying for the name on the table, not the juice in the glass.
Giacomo Conterno Barbera d'Asti + Housemade pasta
Conterno's Barbera brings enough acid to cut through rich pasta and enough fruit to complement without overwhelming — it's the move when you want Italy on the plate and Italy in the glass without breaking into the Barolo budget.
The Bottom Line
Manuela's wine list is quietly one of the better-stocked rooms in SoHo — the pedigree of producers here belongs in a serious wine bar, not a neighborhood farm-to-table. Markups keep it from being a full Rager, but if you know what you're looking for, you'll drink very well.
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.
Clipper Mill · Baltimore · American, Farm to Table
True Chesapeake is an oyster-first menu with a Maryland wine section, so order the wine around the oysters. Start with the Philippe Guerin Muscadet (13 | 45) alongside whichever oysters are on today's half-shell list, then try the Old Westminster 'Brine' (12 | 42) for a Maryland white. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or retail markups, so confirm today's pours, prices and the happy hour and Wednesday offers.
Wallingford · Seattle · American, Farm to Table
Atoma is the rare neighborhood restaurant where the wine list was clearly built by someone who actually cares — Old World focus, fair prices, and a 2025 Wine Spectator credential that's earned rather than inherited. If you live near Wallingford and haven't been drinking Friulian whites with your pasta here, you're leaving value on the table.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Dorset · Dorset · American, Farm to Table
Barrows House isn't destination wine drinking, but it's honest, fairly priced, and thoughtfully stocked for what it is — a warm New England inn that wants you to enjoy your meal. If you're staying the night, you won't regret working through this list.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
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