Solid Island List With Mainland Ambitions
· Honolulu · Restaurant · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed July 18, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Merriman's Honolulu’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Merriman's Honolulu is tighter than you'd expect from a flagship Hawaii dining destination — 63 labels isn't a deep cellar, but it's organized and shows some genuine thought. There's a clear California lean with enough European cameos to keep things interesting. It reads like a list curated by someone who cares, even if the budget constraints show.
California dominates, which makes geographic sense but limits the adventure — you've got heavy hitters like Failla from Sonoma Coast, Frog's Leap out of Napa, and Melville's Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir doing the heavy lifting. There's a nice Euro thread running through with La Chablisienne Chablis, Auchère Sancerre, La Rioja Alta Viña Alberdi, and the always-solid La Quercia Montepulciano d'Abruzzo giving Old World representation. The small format section is a genuinely smart touch — half-bottles of Krug, Ramey Russian River Chardonnay, and Staglin Cabernet let you splurge without committing to a full bottle. Gaps show up in the natural wine department and anything from the Southern Hemisphere, which keeps this list from feeling truly global.
Fifteen pours across sparkling, white, rosé, and red is a respectable by-the-glass program for Hawaii, where wine programs often feel like an afterthought. At $15–$25 per glass, you're paying island-premium pricing, but the lineup includes legitimate picks like Matthiasson Grenache Rosé and Mönchhof Estate Riesling from Mosel that you don't typically find on BTG lists. The rotation feels static rather than seasonal — no evidence this gets refreshed with any urgency.
La Rioja Alta Viña Alberdi, Rioja 2022 — $40-range bottle
Viña Alberdi is one of the most consistently over-delivering Riojas on the market — classic Tempranillo structure, genuine age-worthiness, and a name that commands respect without demanding a premium. On a list where bottles climb to $325, this is where you put your money.
Giocato Pinot Grigio, Goriska Brda 2024
Most people skim past Pinot Grigio assuming it's grocery store neutral. Goriska Brda sits on the Slovenia-Italy border and produces structured, textural whites that bear zero resemblance to the flabby stuff. This is the sleeper on the list.
Krug Grande Cuvée Brut (375ml)
Krug is always a flex and it's never a value — a 375ml half-bottle of Grande Cuvée at Hawaii restaurant markup is going to cost you serious money for half the bottle. Unless someone else is paying, there are smarter ways to celebrate here.
Failla Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast 2024 + Fresh island fish (chef's catch)
Failla's Sonoma Coast Chardonnay is restrained, coastal, and bright — the kind of wine that doesn't fight fresh Pacific fish, it amplifies it. The natural acidity cuts through any richness while keeping the ocean-forward flavors front and center.
The Bottom Line
Merriman's Honolulu delivers a wine list that punches above the typical Hawaii resort-area offering — genuinely good producers, a clever small-format section, and enough variety to reward a curious drinker. The pricing skews steep and the list won't surprise anyone, but you won't be embarrassed ordering here either.
Kahala · Honolulu · Italian
Arancino at The Kahala is doing something genuinely unusual for a hotel-adjacent Italian restaurant in Hawaii — it's built a list around obscure Northern Italian producers that most diners won't recognize, and that's exactly the point. Markups are on the steeper side and we can't vouch for glassware or staff knowledge from the available data, but the wine selection itself earns respect. If you know your Nebbiolo from your Barbera, this list rewards attention.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Honolulu · Seafood
Mina's Fish House isn't building a wine program — it's building a dessert wine moment, and that is a genuinely uncommon thing to find at a restaurant of this profile. If you're eating dinner here, you'll need to source your table wine elsewhere on the menu or order cocktails; this list doesn't cover that ground. But if you want to close out a Four Seasons meal in Honolulu with a glass of 2013 Tokaji Aszú or something out of the Madeira cellar, this is a quietly excellent place to do it.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Waikiki · Honolulu · Italian
Quiora isn't trying to be a wine destination, and it doesn't need to be — it's a 22-label Italian restaurant list on a rooftop in Waikiki with an ocean view doing the heavy lifting. But the list is genuinely considered, the glass-pour selection is deep for the size, and pricing is fair by hotel standards. If you're eating here, drink the Tintero rosato or the Selbach Riesling and enjoy the sunset.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Waikiki · Honolulu · Italian / Californian Coastal
Botanico is doing something genuinely unusual for Waikiki — building an Italian-forward wine list with real regional depth and mostly fair pricing in a place where restaurants routinely treat wine as an afterthought. The by-the-glass program alone is worth a seat at the bar. If you care at all about what's in your glass, this belongs on your radar.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Honolulu · Hawaii Regional
Moku Nui is a casual Hawaii Regional spot that has no business running a wine list this thoughtful — and we mean that as high praise. Fair glass prices, a sommelier clearly making intentional choices, and enough variety to reward the curious drinker. If you're eating here, skip the default beer order and let someone at the table order the Vouvray.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Waikiki · Honolulu · Seafood
Azure is a genuinely lovely place to drink wine — the setting does a lot of heavy lifting and the France-Italy-Hawaii focus is a sensible match for the island seafood menu. Just go in knowing resort markup is real, and if the tasting menu with wine pairing is available, that's likely your best shot at getting something memorable poured without having to guess blind from the list.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Memorial · Houston · Restaurant
A flexible list for Memorial's upscale tavern: 20 pours by the glass in 6 oz or 9 oz sizes, plus bottle sections for Burgundy, Bordeaux, Piedmont and Tuscany. Start with the $18 Condado de Haza Tempranillo or the $22 Girard Bourgogne by the glass, and look at the Bordeaux spotlight if you are ordering steak. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
· Scottsdale · Restaurant
A long, Burgundy-and-Bordeaux-heavy list with a 24-pour glass page that starts at 13. Try the Maysara Momtazi Pinot Noir 2016 or the Sandy Cove Sauvignon Blanc from the glass page, and confirm what is open and what the two numbers mean. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
· Providence · Restaurant
A mostly Italian and Californian list that is easy to scan but vague about what its two-price entries mean. Order the Terrazas Malbec or the Demarie Arneis, ask which price is the pour, and confirm current prices before you go. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, 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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