Solid Hotel List That Earns Its Keep
Downtown / Penn Square · Lancaster · Modern American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed July 18, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Plough’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Plough's wine list arrives looking exactly like what it is: a tight, approachable hotel-restaurant program built to please without offending. Fifteen labels, familiar names, nothing that makes you stop and think — but also nothing that makes you put it down in frustration. At $12–$15 a glass and $42–$52 a bottle, the pricing is refreshingly honest for an upscale downtown Lancaster spot.
The list casts a wide geographic net — California, France, Italy, Spain, New Zealand, Argentina — but skims the surface of each region rather than diving deep. You get one Beaujolais-Villages from Château de Varennes, one Albariño from Licia in Galicia, one Malbec from High Note in Mendoza: a sampler platter, not a study. There's no real cellar depth here, no aged bottles, no small-production producers to get excited about — La Crema and Campo Viejo are grocery-store staples, not discoveries. That said, the bones are decent: the French and Spanish picks show at least some editorial intent beyond pure crowd-pleasing.
The by-the-glass program is where Plough actually shines relative to expectations — roughly 12–14 options covering whites, reds, rosé, sparkling, and even a Moscato for the sweet-tooth contingent. That's a lot of pours for a 15-label list, meaning nearly the entire cellar is accessible by the glass, which is a genuine convenience for tables that can't agree on a bottle. Rotation doesn't appear to be a priority, but the range means most people at the table will find something that works.
Château de Varennes Beaujolais-Villages — $42/bottle
Beaujolais-Villages at $42 is a fair deal in a restaurant setting, and it's the most food-friendly bottle on the list. Light, fruity, slightly earthy — it works with almost everything on a farm-to-table menu and won't bulldoze whatever you ordered.
Licia Albariño, Galicia, Spain
Most tables at a Modern American spot like this will gravitate toward Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc without a second thought. The Licia Albariño is the smarter move — briny, stone-fruit forward, and built for food in a way that the Loire Chardonnay simply isn't.
Stemmari Moscato, Sicily, Italy
Stemmari is a high-volume Sicilian producer you'll find at every Olive Garden adjacent spot in America. Sweet, low-stakes, and not worth the pour at a restaurant charging upscale prices — if you want something sweet and Italian, you're better off finishing with a cocktail.
Lapis Luna Pinot Noir, North Coast, California + Seasonal farm-fresh entrée
Lapis Luna is a soft, accessible North Coast Pinot that won't fight with anything delicate or vegetable-forward on Plough's seasonal menu. It's a safe anchor for a table ordering across the board — light enough for fish, structured enough for pork or mushroom dishes.
The Bottom Line
Plough isn't a destination wine list, but it's a fair and functional one — honest pricing, decent glass selection, and just enough global range to keep things interesting. If you're in Lancaster for the food and the vibe, the wine program won't let you down; just don't come expecting to be surprised.
Downtown · Lancaster · French Bistro
Barberet isn't a wine destination, but it's doing something rarer — matching a focused, honest wine program to food that actually deserves it. If you're in Lancaster and want a French dinner that doesn't embarrass itself on the wine side, this is your spot.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Lancaster · Winery tasting room / Wine bar
Waltz Vineyards is a solid local winery doing honest work with Pennsylvania fruit and keeping prices in a range that makes experimentation easy. If you're in Lancaster and want to drink local without getting gouged, this is the right stop.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Lancaster · American Fine Dining / Steak & Seafood
The Greenfield is a reliable, well-meaning wine program dressed up in fine dining clothes — it won't embarrass you on a special occasion, but it won't give you a story to tell either. Order the scallops, pick something from Pennsylvania if you can find it, and let the room do the heavy lifting.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Lancaster · Cocktail & Wine Bar / Small Plates
Proof is doing something genuinely rare in the Pennsylvania mid-market: building a wine list that respects its customers' curiosity without gouging them for it. If you're within driving distance of Lancaster and care at all about drinking something you've never heard of, this is your spot.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Lancaster · Wine Bar / Italian Small Plates
Vine Bar is a genuine surprise in a city that doesn't get enough wine credit — a small, Italy-obsessed red wine list with real depth and genuine curiosity behind it. If you know enough to appreciate Gamay del Trasimeno and three-cru Barolo in the same room, make the trip.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Lancaster · Italian / Wood-fired
LUCA isn't trying to be a wine bar, but whoever put this list together has better taste than most Italian restaurants twice its size. For Lancaster, this is genuinely worth ordering a bottle over.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Midtown · Atlanta · Modern American
Epicurean Atlanta is a perfectly respectable place to drink wine over dinner, especially if you're already there for the food — the Bang Bang Shrimp and Pulpo Asado alone make a case for showing up. But without more transparency on what's actually in the list and at what prices, we'd encourage you to ask your server direct questions before committing to a bottle. Hotel markups are real, and a little pushback goes a long way.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
SoHo · New York · Modern American
A wine list that opens with Champagne sorted by sub-region, gives Burgundy separate white and red sections, and has four wines at $65. Start with the $65 Vollenweider Felsenfest Riesling or the $80 Domaine Migot Gamay, and check current prices because the PDF is undated. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Camperdown · Greenville · Modern American
Start with the Selbach 'Incline' Riesling at $13/glass, then ask about the Château Belá Slovakian Riesling at 55 if you want something unusual. Confirm vintages, since the list is linked as 6-11-26. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or retail markups.
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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