Peninsula Grill

Peninsula Grill's list runs over 400 selections, and the Champagne section alone is worth the visit. By the glass you get Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label at $24 and Laurent-Perrier Brut at $20, plus Raventós i Blanc rosé at $14 for a smarter entry. The bottle list is where it gets real: Bollinger Special Cuvée at $200, Krug Grand Cuvée at $450, Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle at $465, and grower options like Vilmart Grand Cellier at $170 and Veuve Fourny Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru at $125. Domestic Chardonnay includes Kistler Les Noisetiers at $90 and Hope Well Eola-Amity Hills at $175. Italian whites show up with Angelo Negro Arneis at $50 and Cantina Tramin Unterebner Pinot Grigio at $75. Red Burgundy runs from Fixin villages to Premier Cru monopoles. California Bordeaux varieties go deep with Duckhorn, Pahlmeyer, and Trespass Cabernet Franc at $230. South American picks like Zorzal Eggo Cabernet Franc at $60 add real value. This is a list that rewards patient reading.

Four hundred selections with serious Champagne depth, Red Burgundy from villages to Premier Cru, and a California Bordeaux bench that stretches from $80 to $230. The sommelier is described by guests and engaged. But the real kicker is Wine Wednesday: half-price on select bottles from the cellar. That transforms a steep-markup fine-dining list into one of the best wine values in Charleston one night a week. If you can time your visit to a Wednesday, this is a different conversation entirely. On every other night, the mid-tier Champagne growers and that $60 Zorzal Eggo Cab Franc are where the smart money goes.