Tacos, Tequila, and a Surprise Wine Punch
Historic Hill · Newport · Contemporary Mexican · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed July 23, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Perro Salado’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Walking into a converted historic Newport house to find a Mexican restaurant with a wine list that actually thought about what it was doing is its own kind of pleasant surprise. The list is short — ten labels, full stop — but it doesn't feel lazy. Someone made deliberate choices here, and that matters more than page count.
Italy, California, France, and Spain all show up, which gives you enough geographic range to avoid feeling boxed in. The picks skew food-friendly — a Gavi, a Languedoc red, a Cava — which is smart for a menu built around bold mole, citrus-forward ceviches, and braised meats. There are no deep-cellar trophies here, but Las Darons from Languedoc and Roussely's Loire Sauvignon Blanc signal that someone was paying at least a little attention when they put this together. The glaring gap is anything remotely Latin American, which feels like a missed opportunity for a Mexican restaurant.
The entire list is available by the glass, which we respect — no awkward half-list situation where the interesting stuff is bottles-only. At $9–$14 a pour, the pricing is honest for Newport, where restaurants routinely treat wine as a luxury tax. The Segura Viudas Cava at $9 is the obvious opener.
Segura Viudas Cava — $9/glass, $36/bottle
Quality Spanish Cava at this price in Newport is genuinely rare. Crisp, dry, and effervescent enough to cut through chips and salsa or a plate of carnitas — it's doing a lot of work for very little money.
Las Darons Languedoc
Most people at a Mexican restaurant are reaching for a Cab or something familiar. Las Darons is a Southern French red that brings enough dark fruit and earthy weight to handle mole without steamrolling everything on the plate — and it's the kind of wine that makes you feel like you know something the table next to you doesn't.
Kings Ridge Pinot Noir
At $54 a bottle, Kings Ridge is punching well above its actual weight class. It's a perfectly decent Oregon Pinot, but it's a grocery-store-tier bottle and you can find it for under $15 retail. That markup is the one place this list loses the plot.
Roussely L'Escale Sauvignon Blanc + Grilled octopus (pulpo)
Loire Sauvignon Blanc and grilled seafood is a classic for a reason — the wine's bright acidity and herbal edge play off the char on the octopus and keep everything feeling clean and light.
The Bottom Line
Perro Salado isn't a wine destination, but it's trying harder than it has to, and the pricing keeps it honest. If you're in Newport and want something interesting in the glass without a side of sticker shock, this cozy spot on Charles Street earns its spot on your radar.
· Newport · Fine Dining / New American
Castle Hill's wine list is a quiet overachiever in a setting that could easily get away with doing far less. The by-the-glass depth is real, the format variety is a genuine bonus, and the Lustau Fino alone justifies scanning the list carefully. Prices trend steep as you'd expect from a waterfront inn, but the curation earns some goodwill — just don't autopilot to the Cabernet.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Newport · Seafood / Clam Shack
Flo's is a genuine New England institution for fried clams and clam cakes, and we'd happily eat there any day of the week. But the wine program is essentially non-existent — two options, one of them a mystery, and one of them a Champagne marked up 100%. Order the ice cold beer instead; it's literally on the menu as the drink of choice, and they're not wrong.
Grocery Store
Gouge
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Newport · Wine bar / small plates
Bar 12 is a well-priced, no-drama wine stop in a city where wine lists can get away with being lazy and expensive. The selection is commercial and safe, but the Grüner and the Willamette Pinot Noir show someone made at least a couple of interesting calls. If you want a solid glass without a markup headache, it delivers — just don't come looking for discovery.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Newport · Winery Tasting Room
Greenvale Vineyards is a legitimate reason to detour off Bellevue Avenue. The estate list is small but not lazy — the Ramato alone earns the visit — and at $25 to $40 a bottle, you're paying tasting room prices, not restaurant markups. If you're spending a day in Newport, this is where you buy a bottle for the waterfront, not where you linger over a three-course dinner.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Outskirts / North End · Newport · Farm-to-Table / Winery Restaurant
Brix isn't trying to be a destination wine list — it's trying to be a great ambassador for one vineyard's work, and it mostly succeeds. Send your curious friends here; send your Burgundy obsessives somewhere else.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Lower Thames · Newport · Farm-to-Table / New American
TSK is quietly one of the better wine lists in Newport, which is a town that doesn't exactly set a high bar — but this one would hold its own in most cities. If you're eating farm-to-table food and want a bottle that actually matches the kitchen's ethos, this is your spot.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
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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