Great Views, Grocery Store Wines
Unknown · Portsmouth · Bar / Rooftop · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 24, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Portsmouth Gas Light Co. – Rooftop’s wine list and gave it The Lazy List — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Take Vibe Match and we’ll tell you what to order here.
Wingman Metrics
The rooftop itself is genuinely fun — open air, downtown Portsmouth below you, cold drink in hand. But the wine list reads like someone grabbed whatever was on sale at the distributor and called it a day. If you came up here hoping to drink well, adjust your expectations now.
The list runs 20-35 bottles and leans on California, Italy, and France — but not the interesting parts of any of those places. We're talking Apothic Red, Cupcake Prosecco, and Barefoot Moscato territory: brands you'd find stacked at the end of a supermarket aisle. Francis Coppola Diamond Collection is the apparent top-shelf red, which tells you everything you need to know about the ambition level here. There are no real producer stories, no regional depth, and nothing that would make a wine-curious drinker lean in.
Eight to fourteen pours by the glass, which sounds promising until you realize the pool they're drawing from. Expect the usual suspects — a house red, a house white, something bubbly, probably Kim Crawford for the Sauvignon Blanc slot. Rotation appears minimal; this list doesn't change much with the seasons.
Francis Coppola Diamond Collection Cabernet Sauvignon — $42
It's the least bad option on a list that isn't trying hard. Retails around $18, so the markup is still steep, but at least you're getting a recognizable, consistent wine rather than rolling the dice on something cheaper here.
Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc
It's not a hidden gem in any universe outside of this list — but on a warm night on this rooftop, a cold glass of Kim Crawford is doing exactly what you need it to do. Sometimes context is everything.
Barefoot Moscato
A $7 retail wine priced at $24 a bottle. That's a 243% markup on something you can grab at any gas station. Hard pass.
Mionetto Prosecco DOC Treviso + Wood-fired pizza
Bubbles and pizza is a dependable combo anywhere, and Mionetto is a step up from Cupcake in the sparkling department. The acidity cuts through the cheese and char without demanding your full attention — which is fine, because the view is the real attraction up here.
Wednesday — Wine-down Wednesday: half off all bottles of wine. Promotion appears to apply venue-wide across Grill and Rooftop.
The Bottom Line
Come for the rooftop, stay for the vibe — but don't come for the wine. The Wednesday half-price bottle deal is the one reason to order a bottle, and even then, temper your expectations accordingly.
New Castle · Portsmouth · Hotel Restaurant / New American
Salt Kitchen & Bar is a perfectly adequate place to drink wine if you're already staying at the Wentworth, but we wouldn't recommend driving out to New Castle for the list. Order the local seafood, pick something coastal to drink, and enjoy the view — that's the real value here.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Market Street · Portsmouth · Italian
Dolce Vita is a reliable neighborhood wine bar with enough Italian depth to satisfy anyone who came to drink well with their dinner. The markups on the California heavy-hitters are a soft deterrent, but lean Italian and you'll leave happy.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Portsmouth · French patisserie, crêperie, and wine bar
La Maison Navarre is a genuine Wild Card — a French patisserie and crêperie in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, that actually bothered to build a coherent, France-only wine list to match. It's not deep, it's not adventurous, but it's honest and well-matched to what's on the plate, and that's more than most places manage.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
West End · Portsmouth · Global Street Food / Eclectic American
STREET is a genuinely fun, globe-trotting neighborhood spot that deserves a wine list as curious as its food — instead it has six grocery-store staples marked up steep and left on autopilot. Order a cocktail, enjoy the Bibimbap, and don't overthink the wine.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Unknown · Portsmouth · Modern Mexican
Vida Cantina is a genuinely fun spot for food and cocktails, but the wine list is on autopilot — overpriced California standards with no imagination and no connection to the kitchen. Order a mezcal cocktail, grab the Vinho Verde if you insist on wine, and don't come here expecting anything more.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Portsmouth · American Grill
Skip the Gas Light on any night but Wednesday — half off all bottles turns a steep list into a genuinely solid deal and makes this a legitimate downtown Portsmouth option. The rest of the week, order a beer.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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