Brooklyn's Best Kept Natural Wine Secret
Clinton Hill · New York · Wine Bar with seafood and vegetable-focused small plates · Visit Website ↗
Updated April 2026
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · March 23, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Place des Fêtes’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The list lands like a love letter to grower producers and natural wine without being smug about it. Eighty-plus bottles, anchored by France and Spain, and not a Yellow Tail in sight. This is a neighborhood wine bar that actually respects the neighborhood.
The French backbone runs deep — Foillard's Morgon, Overnoy's Arbois, and Clos Rougeard's Saumur-Champigny on the same list is not a coincidence, that's a buyer with taste and connections. Spain gets serious treatment too, with southwest and Catalan producers filling out a side of the list that most New York restaurants either ignore or phone in. Cornelissen's Etna Rosso brings some volcanic Sicily into the mix, keeping things genuinely eclectic. The gaps are minor: if you need a big Napa Cab or a household-name Bordeaux, you're in the wrong room, and honestly, good.
Sixteen to twenty-four pours by the glass is generous for a room this size, ranging from around $15 to $23. The by-the-glass program skews natural and Spanish, with markups that run about 50-67% over retail — aggressive on paper, but fair for a Brooklyn wine bar pouring wines this interesting. Rotation appears to be driven by what the kitchen and buyers are excited about, not just what moves fast.
La Grange de Père Ubu — $15
A Loire producer that punches well above its price point, and one of the more approachable pours on a list that can lean adventurous. At the lower end of the by-the-glass range, this is where you start the night.
Pierre Overnoy Arbois
Overnoy is one of the foundational names in natural wine and genuinely hard to find by the glass anywhere. Most people at the table will order the Foillard without blinking — walk past it and ask about this one instead.
Unspecified Spanish natural wine by the glass at $23
At $23 a glass with a retail equivalent around $14, you're hitting the steeper end of their markup range. Without knowing exactly what's in the pour, this is where the math stops feeling generous. Drop down a tier and you'll drink just as well for less.
Cornelissen Etna Rosso + Sardine
Nerello Mascalese from the slopes of Etna has the salinity and acidity to cut through oily fish without bullying it. Cornelissen's version brings a wild, mineral edge that plays off the brine of the sardine in a way a rounder red never would.
🎲 The Bottom Line
Place des Fêtes is the kind of wine bar that makes you resent every other wine bar for not trying harder. Send your friends here, especially the ones who say they don't know much about wine — this list will change that.
Midtown West · New York · Russian-American
The Russian Tea Room treats wine as an afterthought dressed up in Champagne flutes — five famous labels at punishing prices with no range, no by-the-glass program, and no apparent curiosity about wine beyond what looks impressive on a table. Go for the spectacle, order the caviar, but don't come here expecting a wine list.
Grocery Store
Gouge
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· New York · Restaurant
David Burke Tavern's list is a Chardonnay lover's comfort zone with a solid sparkling section propping up the top — but the narrow focus and steep pricing mean you're paying for familiarity, not discovery. Send a friend here if they want California whites and a glass of Champagne; send them somewhere else if they want to explore.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· New York · Restaurant
Corima's wine list is proof that ten well-chosen bottles beat a hundred thoughtless ones every time. If you care about what's in your glass, this place is worth your attention.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
West Village · New York · American
Cecchi's is first and foremost a bar, but the wine list is more serious than the neon and noise suggest. Steep markups are the main ding — but if you know what to order, there's real pleasure here.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Acceptable
SoHo · New York · Steak House, Small Plates
The Corner Store is a reliable, well-credentialed wine list doing exactly what a good SoHo steakhouse should — France and California, done with intention, in a room that makes you want to order another bottle. Just watch the markup on the big Bordeaux names and let the Rhône or Burgundy side show you a better time.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Tribeca · New York · American
Farra is punching above its weight class for a neighborhood wine bar, and the Wine Spectator nod is earned — just know that the serious bottles come with serious prices, and the no-sommelier setup means you're doing some of the navigating yourself. Worth it for anyone who knows what they want; potentially overwhelming for those who don't.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Varietal Specific
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
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