Bistro Charm With a Familiar Pour
Lake Jeanette / Northern Greensboro · Greensboro · Seafood, Steak, and American with Southern/French Influence · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed June 25, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed MJ's Restaurant and Catering’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
MJ's pulls you in with its converted-house bistro charm — two decks, full bar, the kind of place that feels like a local secret. The wine list, though, doesn't quite match that personality. It's approachable and inoffensive, built for the crowd that knows what they like and doesn't want any surprises.
The list leans heavily on familiar grocery-aisle names — Bogle, Kendall-Jackson, Alamos, Clean Slate — with a few steps up like Maso Canali and Louis Jadot for guests willing to spend a little more. Star Wine List does mention Jura and Beaujolais representation, which hints at some curatorial ambition buried somewhere on the menu, but the visible backbone is firmly safe-harbor California and international crowd-pleasers. There's a transatlantic spread here — Italy, Germany, France, Napa — but depth within any single region is thin. The La Pella Napa Valley feature at wine dinners suggests the kitchen and front-of-house care more than the everyday list lets on.
By-the-glass starts at $7 and tops out around $9, which is genuinely refreshing in a mid-range dining scene that loves to gouge. The pour selection mirrors the bottle list — Bogle Chardonnay, Alamos Malbec, Clean Slate Riesling — so you're not getting anything adventurous, but you won't feel ripped off either. No obvious rotation program in place; this reads as a set list that doesn't change much season to season.
Maso Canali Pinot Grigio Trentino — $9 glass / $32 bottle
At roughly 113% markup over a $15 retail bottle, this is the most honest deal on the list. It's a real wine from a real producer in Trentino — not a mass-market pour — and at $9 a glass it drinks well above its station here.
Clean Slate Riesling
Most tables at a steakhouse-leaning bistro skip straight past Riesling, but at $7 a glass this German off-dry pour is the sleeper move. It's light, a little sweet, a little citrusy — and it cuts right through MJ's richer seafood dishes in a way the Chardonnay crowd hasn't figured out yet.
Bogle Chardonnay
Seven dollars sounds cheap until you remember you can grab this off a grocery end-cap for $10 a bottle. It's not a bad wine, it's just a nothing wine — and in a room serving $31–$50 entrees, you deserve more than a weeknight supermarket pour.
Houchart Rosé + Sautéed Shrimp
A dry Provençal rosé from Houchart brings enough acidity and stone-fruit brightness to lift buttery sautéed shrimp without fighting it. It's the kind of pairing that makes the food taste better and the wine taste more intentional than the rest of the list.
The Bottom Line
MJ's is a genuinely pleasant neighborhood spot with fair pricing and food worth the drive, but the wine list is coasting on brand recognition rather than curation. Send a friend here for dinner — just temper their wine expectations going in.
South Elm · Greensboro · Wine bar & cheese
Lewis & Elm earns the Wild Card badge because it's the kind of unexpected neighborhood wine bar that punches well above its zip code — a sommelier-curated list leaning into Tuscany, Greece, and Sicily inside a cozy South Elm storefront is not what most people expect to find in Greensboro. We'd happily send a friend here for a flight and a cheese board, and tell them to actually listen to whatever the staff recommends. Just know that our sourced pricing detail is thin right now, so go in with curiosity and ask questions — that's the right posture for a place like this anyway.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
· Greensboro · New American and Wine Bar
1808 Craft & Vine is doing something quietly smart: a fully by-the-glass list at prices that don't punish curiosity, with enough international range to keep things interesting. We don't know the food, we don't know the staff, and the list isn't going to wow a Burgundy collector — but if you're in Greensboro and want to drink something you'd never order at a chain steakhouse, this is the move.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Greensboro · Wine and Cocktail Bar
Marjae's is doing something genuinely uncommon for a mid-size Southern city: running a wine-forward space with actual expertise behind it, at prices that won't make you wince. We'd send a friend here for a low-key date night or a Thursday tasting without hesitation — just go in ready to ask questions, because the staff seems like they actually want to answer them.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
· Greensboro · Cocktail and Wine Bar
Bitters Social House isn't trying to be a wine destination, and it doesn't pretend to be — but the pricing is genuinely fair, a couple of producer picks show real effort, and the by-the-glass setup means you can drink well without committing to a bottle. If you're in Greensboro and need a glass before or after dinner, this is a perfectly honest place to have one.
Crowd Pleasers
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Greensboro · Italian Steakhouse
Giovanni's is a reliable neighborhood anchor — the room is good, the food has a loyal following, and the Italian reds give you enough to work with if you dig past the Sand Point labels. We'd send a friend here for dinner without hesitation; we'd just steer them straight toward the Barolo or Brunello and skip the California filler.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Greensboro · Steakhouse
Fleming's Greensboro is doing more than most chain steakhouses bother to do with wine — 42 by-the-glass options and actual Alsatian whites on a Greensboro wine list deserves acknowledgment. The markups are real and the list isn't going to surprise anyone who's been to a Fleming's before, but if you're eating a bone-in ribeye and want a proper glass without guesswork, this delivers.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
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.
List Variety
Markup
Glassware
Staff
Specials & Deals
Storage & Temp
