Orange County Finally Gets a Wine Bar Worth Talking About
Park Place · Irvine · Wine Bar / Italian-Mediterranean Small Plates · Visit Website ↗
Updated August 2026
Reviewed June 22, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Postino Park Place’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Walking into Postino Park Place, you immediately clock that this isn't your average Irvine strip mall wine stop — the list has actual intention behind it, with small-producer labels from around the world that you wouldn't expect to find sandwiched between a parking garage and a Cheesecake Factory. The room is loud and lively in the best way, the kind of place where you linger over a second bottle without meaning to. The wine list itself reads well: not exhaustive, but clearly curated by someone who gives a damn.
The list leans global without being scattershot — you've got Pascal Jolivet Sancerre rubbing shoulders with Bodegas Muga Rioja Reserva and Bruno Giacosa Roero Arneis, which tells you the buyer isn't just filling slots. Old World producers anchor the list, but there's domestic representation too with picks like Cloudline Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley keeping things approachable. The house wines — a Bianco Di Casa white blend and Rosso Di Casa red blend — do the heavy lifting for casual tables, though they're priced like they're imported from somewhere more prestigious than they are. The Domaine de la Janasse Côtes du Rhône is a particularly sharp inclusion, bringing Rhône Valley credibility at a glass price that doesn't make you wince too hard. The one gap: no publicly available full bottle count, which makes it hard to know how deep the cellar truly goes.
Twenty to thirty options by the glass is genuinely impressive for a wine café format — most places in this category give you eight options and call it a list. The spread covers whites, reds, and sparkling with enough range that you're not locked into chardonnay or nothing. The glass pour prices sit mostly in the $12–$19 range on a normal night, which is fair enough for the market, though the Monday and Tuesday Board + Bottle deal completely changes the calculus.
Pascal Jolivet Sancerre 2022 — $18/glass, $72/bottle
At a 125% markup, this is the closest thing to a fair deal on the list. Jolivet is a benchmark Sancerre producer — mineral, precise, Loire Valley certified — and $72 for a bottle you'd pay $32 for at retail is steep in absolute terms, but by restaurant math this is practically a giveaway compared to the house pours. Order this before someone else at the table suggests the Prosecco.
Bruno Giacosa Roero Arneis 2021
Most tables skip right past this one because Arneis doesn't ring a bell. That's the point. Giacosa is one of the most respected names in Piedmont — better known for Barolo and Barbaresco — and this Roero Arneis is a crisp, floral, underrated white that most wine drinkers have never tried. At $16 a glass it's not cheap, but you're getting a producer with serious pedigree in a variety that deserves way more attention than it gets.
Anselmi Prosecco NV
At a 271% markup, this is the worst value on the list by a wide margin. You're paying $52 for a bottle of Prosecco that retails for $14. It's not a bad wine — Anselmi is a fine producer — but no Prosecco is worth a 4x markup, and there are far better ways to spend your money on this list. If you need bubbles, it exists; if you're paying attention, it doesn't.
Domaine de la Janasse Côtes du Rhône 2020 + Roasted Mushroom Fondue
Janasse's Côtes du Rhône is earthy, herb-driven, and built around Grenache and Syrah — exactly the kind of wine that wants something rich and savory across the table. The roasted mushroom fondue brings umami and depth that the wine mirrors without one overpowering the other. This is the combo you order when you want to feel like you know what you're doing.
Monday and Tuesday — Board + Bottle deal after 8 PM: a bruschetta board and a bottle of wine for $30. This is legitimately one of the better weeknight wine deals in Orange County — rotating bottle selection, no reservation required.
The Bottom Line
Postino Park Place is a genuine bright spot in a part of Southern California that doesn't exactly have a reputation for serious wine. The Monday and Tuesday Board + Bottle deal alone is worth knowing about, and the list — anchored by producers like Giacosa and Jolivet — punches well above the wine café weight class. Markups keep it from a higher badge, but for a weeknight out in Irvine, this is exactly where we'd send a friend.
· Irvine · Brazilian churrasco (rodizio steakhouse)
The real headline here is the Monday–Thursday deal: half-price South American bottles under $150, available in both the dining room and bar. That's a legitimately good incentive to plan your Fogo visit mid-week. The wine list isn't pushing any boundaries, but at half-price it doesn't need to — grab something from Argentina, let the gaucho do his thing at the table, and call it a win.
Plays It Safe
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
· Irvine · Steakhouse
Fleming's Irvine delivers exactly what it promises: a wide, competent, California-forward wine list that covers all the bases for a steakhouse crowd. The markup is real — this is not a list for value hunters — but the by-the-glass depth is genuinely good and the Loosen Bros. Riesling at $11 is the rare honest deal hiding in plain sight. If you want adventure, look elsewhere; if you want a reliable glass with your ribeye in Irvine, this gets the job done.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Irvine · New American
Benchmark is a genuinely pleasant surprise for Irvine — a short, owner-driven list that punches above its modest size by leaning hard into Paso Robles producers who actually deserve your attention. If you're a Cab-or-nothing drinker, you might feel constrained; if you're willing to follow the owner's enthusiasm toward Law Estate Grenache or a Bodega de Edgar Tempranillo, this list rewards the curious.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Irvine · New American
Reunion Kitchen isn't trying to be a wine destination, and the list proves it. Three by-the-glass pours from mass-market California producers, priced at a premium — this is a wine program on autopilot. Order a cocktail or a beer and save the wine for somewhere that actually thought about it.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Corona del Mar · Irvine · New American and Seafood
CdM is genuinely worth your Wednesday. Half-price wine on an already polished dinner menu is a real offer, and the room alone justifies a reservation. We just can't tell you which bottle to order yet — the wine program is opaque enough that you'd be flying blind without a server who actually knows the list. Come for the Dirty Pasta and the vibe; if the wine follows, consider it a bonus.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
Irvine Business Complex · Irvine · Northern Italian Steakhouse
Davio's Irvine is the wine list equivalent of a reliable business-class seat — comfortable, well-organized, and priced at a premium you'll notice. The by-the-glass program is the real strength here; thirty options with some genuinely good producers mixed in means you can eat well and drink reasonably well in the same visit. If you're hoping to geek out on the bottle list or find anything that'll make you lean forward in your chair, keep looking — but for a weeknight dinner or a client meal, this gets the job done without embarrassing anyone.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
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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