Solid Hotel List That Earns Its Keep
Downtown / Penn Square · Lancaster · Modern American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 18, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Plough’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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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.
East Lancaster · Lancaster · Classic Italian and Italian-American
Lombardo's won't expand your wine horizons, but it won't ruin your dinner either — order the Chianti, avoid the Santa Margherita markup, and let the kitchen do the heavy lifting. A solid neighborhood Italian that treats wine as a supporting character, not the main event.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Lancaster · Lancaster · Fine Dining / New American
Amorette is doing something genuinely rare in a city Lancaster's size — running a wine program with real depth, real staff, and a cellar worth caring about. The markups will sting on the high end, but the breadth of the list means there are smart plays available if you know where to look.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Downtown / Penn Square Rooftop · Lancaster · Rooftop Bar
The Exchange is a fine place to have a glass of wine — it's just not a fine place to think about wine. Come for the rooftop, order the Matanzas Creek, and let the view do the rest.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
New Holland Pike · Lancaster · Brewpub / Beer Hall
This is not a wine destination — it's a beer hall that happens to take Pennsylvania wine seriously enough to put together a thoughtful, all-local list at fair prices. If you're here with a non-beer drinker, they're covered, and they might even discover something worth coming back for.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Lancaster Area · Lancaster · Bottle Shop / Bar
Beer Fridge isn't a wine destination, but its nine-bottle list punches above its weight class — especially the Rioja and the Barbera. Come for the beer, stay for the pleasant surprise.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Bainbridge / Greater Lancaster · Lancaster · Winery
Nissley is a Wild Card in the best sense: you're not getting a canonical wine list, you're getting a third-generation Pennsylvania winery doing its own thing with grapes most restaurants wouldn't touch. If you're open to that, the prices alone make it worth the trip out to Bainbridge.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
Bethesda · Bethesda · Modern American
Grapeseed is the kind of place that wine-curious diners in DC should be making the trek to Bethesda for — a 325-bottle list with real range, glass pours that go well beyond the obvious, and Tuesday bottle discounts that make it a legitimate weekly ritual. It's a Wild Card in the best sense: unexpected depth in a neighborhood that didn't ask for it.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Proper
South Bethlehem · Bethlehem · Modern American
Swift is a pleasant place to drink wine in a beautiful old building — just don't expect the list to match the grandeur of the mansion. The Swift Hour deal is legitimately useful; outside of that, lean toward the European options and leave the big-ticket California bottles for someone else's table.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
Historic 25th Street · Ogden · Modern American
Table Twenty Five is a genuinely pleasant spot on a historic street that deserves a better wine pricing strategy — markups consistently run 120–150% over retail, which undercuts an otherwise thoughtful small list. Order the Gruet, skip the Prosecco, and enjoy the room.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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