More wine ambition than you'd expect here
East Side · Bloomington · Japanese (sushi, hibachi, and classic Japanese dishes) · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 10, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Mori Japanese Restaurant’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
You walk into a relaxed Japanese spot on Bloomington's East Side expecting a short list of generic house wines, and the menu surprises you — 56 labels with Vega-Sicilia and Ghost Block sitting next to your teriyaki chicken. It's an odd mix, but there's clearly someone here who wanted to do more than coast. The ambition is real, even if the execution doesn't always match.
The list leans hard on California and Spain, with Argentina and France rounding things out. Big-name bottles dominate — Duckhorn, The Prisoner, Veuve Clicquot, Kamen — which signals a crowd-pleaser strategy rather than any deep curation. The real standout is the Vega-Sicilia Valbuena 2015 and the Mauro VS 2017, two Spanish reds that feel genuinely out of place in the best possible way. What's missing: whites, any serious Burgundy or Loire representation, and anything that would actually complement delicate sushi without overpowering it.
Nineteen by-the-glass options is a generous pour program for a mid-casual Japanese restaurant in a college town — that's a real commitment. Pricing runs $8–$14 per glass, which is reasonable, though the selection mirrors the bottle list's California-heavy, bold-red bias. Don't expect a crisp Muscadet or a dry Riesling to match with your sashimi; you're mostly choosing between reds and maybe a Champagne option.
Catena Alta Malbec — $25
Catena Alta punches well above its entry-level price — this is a serious Mendoza Malbec from one of Argentina's benchmark producers, and at the low end of their bottle range, it's the smartest spend on the list.
Mauro VS 2017
Most people at a Japanese restaurant are reaching for Duckhorn on autopilot. The Mauro VS 2017 from Castilla y León is a structured, age-worthy Spanish red that most diners will walk right past — their loss.
Veuve Clicquot Brut
At $120 a bottle, you're paying well above what this widely-available Champagne is worth anywhere — this is a label people recognize, and Mori knows it. Pop it at the grocery store for a fraction of the price.
8 Years in the Desert Blend + Spicy Tuna Roll
The bold, slightly jammy character of this Orin Swift blend has enough fruit weight to stand up to sriracha heat without completely burying the tuna — it's not a textbook match, but it works on the flavor level in a way that a timid pour wouldn't.
🎲 The Bottom Line
Mori is swinging bigger on wine than any casual Japanese spot in Bloomington has a right to, and we respect the effort. The markups and the California-red tunnel vision hold it back from being a destination wine stop, but if you're already there for sushi, there's a genuinely interesting bottle or two worth finding.
Downtown Bloomington · Bloomington · Eclectic Cafe / Breakfast & Brunch
Come to the Runcible Spoon for the atmosphere, the eggs, and the coffee — the wine list is an afterthought and the restaurant knows it. If you need something in a glass, the Graffigna Malbec won't embarrass you, but don't build your evening around the wine program.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
West Side · Bloomington · American / Comfort Food
Cheddar's Bloomington is a perfectly fine place to eat a big plate of comfort food, but the wine program is an afterthought at best and a quiet ripoff at worst. Order a cocktail, order a beer, or bring your own if they allow it — just don't come here expecting wine to be part of the night.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Bloomington · Modern Mexican
La Una Cantina is a genuinely fun night out — order the mezcal, order the tacos, and don't overthink the wine list because the restaurant clearly didn't. If wine is your thing, this is a cocktail night.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Bloomington · Turkish / Mediterranean
Anatolia is a Wild Card not because the list is adventurous top to bottom — it's mostly not — but because a Turkish restaurant in a college town with 27 glass pours, a Gigondas, a Jadot Pouilly Fuissé, and an actual Turkish wine from Kavaklidere is doing something more interesting than the Caymus-heavy lineup suggests. Come for the food, skip the safe American blockbusters, and let the Kavaklidere or Gigondas do the heavy lifting.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Bloomington · Indian (Northern and Southern), Halal-friendly
Taste of India is clearly beloved for its food, and it should be — but the wine list is an afterthought that no one has revisited in a while. Order a mango lassi, a Kingfisher if they have it, or save the wine for a restaurant that's actually trying.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Near Campus · Bloomington · Southern / American
Southern Stone is the rare casual restaurant where the wine pricing actually respects your wallet — the list is about as exciting as a supermarket aisle, but at these markups, we're not complaining. Send a friend here if they want an honest glass with their shrimp and grits and don't want to think too hard about it.
Crowd Pleasers
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
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