Serious Bottles, Serious Seafood, No Excuses
Flatiron · New York · Seafood · Visit Website ↗
Updated October 2026
Reviewed April 8, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Oceans’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The list lands on your table and immediately signals that someone here takes this seriously. Four hundred-plus bottles anchored by Burgundy, Oregon, Napa, and Italy — it's the kind of range that makes you want to linger over the pages before you've even ordered bread. Brian Lieder's fingerprints are all over it, and that's a good thing.
Oregon and France are the clear twin pillars here — Domaine Drouhin and Adelsheim hold down the Willamette Valley Pinot Noir corner with real authority, while the French whites get serious with Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet and Louis Jadot Meursault sharing real estate on the same page. California chips in with Far Niente and Kistler for those who want plush, polished Chardonnay alongside their lobster. Italy earns its keep with Gaja Barbaresco and Antinori Tignanello — not obligatory name-drops, but wines that actually belong on a list this focused. The one gap: if you're hunting for value-tier everyday bottles, the $60 floor can feel like a wall.
Twenty to thirty-five pours by the glass is generous for a seafood restaurant, and the program reportedly rotates with the kitchen's seasonal direction. That said, we didn't find evidence of an active rotation cadence or a dedicated BTG feature program — what's on the list feels like it's been curated once and held steady. Still, having Alsace Riesling from Domaine Weinbach available by the glass at a place like this would be a genuine win.
Adelsheim Vineyard Pinot Noir — $60
At the entry point of the bottle list, Adelsheim punches above its price tag — classic Willamette Valley elegance, food-friendly acidity, and a name that earns its spot at the table without demanding your whole wallet.
Domaine Weinbach Riesling Alsace
Everyone at the table is reaching for Chardonnay or Burgundy, and that's exactly why you should order this. Alsatian Riesling from Weinbach is one of the great seafood wines on earth — mineral, precise, and built for oysters — and most people walk right past it.
Antinori Tignanello
Tignanello is a fantastic wine, but it's also one of the most widely distributed bottles in the country — and restaurant markups on recognizable Super Tuscans are rarely kind. At a seafood-forward spot, you're also fighting the menu. Unless you're ordering the Dover sole and insisting on red, your money works harder elsewhere on this list.
Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet + Dover Sole
This is about as close to a sure thing as wine pairing gets. Leflaive's Puligny brings that signature chalky tension and layered richness that mirrors the delicate, buttery character of Dover sole — neither one overwhelms the other, and both end up tasting better for it.
The Bottom Line
Oceans earns its Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence with a list that's genuinely deep and expertly stewarded by sommelier Brian Lieder — the markups sting a little, but the quality and range justify the trip. Send a friend here if they want to drink seriously alongside some of the best seafood in the city.
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.
· Flowery Branch · Seafood
Fish Tales is on Lake Lanier, which should be a natural setting for a thoughtful selection of cold, crisp whites. Instead, the wine program is a single bottle of heavily buttered California Chardonnay. We'd recommend sticking to whatever's on tap and revisiting the wine situation if anything changes.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Perimeter Center · Dunwoody · Seafood
Louisiana Bistreaux is genuinely worth visiting for the food — the seafood is the draw, full stop. But if wine is part of your evening, don't come here expecting the list to match the kitchen's ambition. Order the crawfish ravioli, get a cocktail or a cold beer, and save the wine exploration for somewhere that's put in the work.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Cartersville · Seafood
Maine Street Coastal Cuisine is a seafood spot that doesn't take wine seriously, and the five-label, all-$7, no-producer list makes that clear without apology. If you're here for the food, drink the cocktails or crack a beer — the wine list isn't worth the conversation.
Grocery Store
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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