Grocery-shelf labels hiding a serious back cellar
Inman Square · Boston · Contemporary American · Visit Website ↗
Updated July 2026
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · March 25, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Puritan & Company’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The first page of the wine list reads like a chain restaurant's greatest hits — Meiomi, Kim Crawford, Kendall-Jackson — and your heart sinks a little. Then you flip the page and find Occhipinti, Peter Lauer, and a Cour-Cheverny from Cazin, and suddenly you're paying attention. This list has a split personality, and the good half is genuinely worth your time.
Underneath the crowd-pleaser veneer, Puritan & Company is quietly running a thoughtful, import-forward bottle list with real range. The Loire Valley shows up twice and earns it — Serge Laloue's Sancerre and Cazin's Cour-Cheverny are exactly the kind of picks you don't expect from a Cambridge neighborhood spot. Sicily gets a nod via Occhipinti's SP68 Bianco, and the German section, anchored by Peter Lauer and J.J. Christoffel, suggests someone here actually cares about Riesling. The California and New World stuff is mostly filler, but it's there for the table that just wants a Malbec and doesn't want to think about it.
The by-the-glass program runs 10-15 options and leans heavily on the accessible end of the list — think Rainstorm Pinot Gris and Joel Gott Sauvignon Blanc rather than anything from Sicily or the Saar. It gets the job done for casual weeknight drinking but doesn't showcase the more interesting bottles hiding in the back half of the list. If you're sitting down for a full dinner, the bottle program is where Puritan actually earns its keep.
Cazin 'Vendanges Manuelles' Cour-Cheverny, Loire — $35
A hand-harvested Romorantin from one of the Loire's most underrated appellations at $35 is a genuine steal. Retail on this is $22, so the markup is the lightest on the list, and the wine itself — mineral, taut, and unlike anything else you'll drink this year — punches well above its price tag.
J.J. Christoffel 'Erdener Treppchen' Spätlese, Mosel
Most tables will walk right past this and order the Kendall-Jackson. Don't. Christoffel's Erdener Treppchen is a classic Mosel Spätlese from one of the great old estates — honeyed peach and slate minerality in equal measure. At $60 it's not cheap, but this is the kind of bottle you'd pay significantly more for at a proper wine bar.
Wycliff Brut Champagne, CA
Wycliff is budget sparkling wine at a not-budget price in a restaurant context. With Moët on the same list, and frankly with the quality of the bottles available elsewhere, there is no scenario where this is the right call. If you want bubbles, spend a few dollars more and get the real thing.
Roark Wine Company Chenin Blanc, Santa Ynez + Smoked bluefish pâté
Chenin Blanc's combination of bright acidity and slight waxy texture is purpose-built for smoky, rich fish spreads. The Roark from Santa Ynez brings enough fruit weight to stand up to the smoke without stepping on the delicate bluefish, and the acidity cuts through the fat in the pâté cleanly. This is the pairing the kitchen probably didn't intend but would absolutely approve of.
The Bottom Line
Puritan & Company is a better wine destination than its opening lineup suggests — if you know where to look, you'll find a genuinely exciting selection of Old World and domestic bottles at fair markups. Come for the lobster risotto, stay for the Riesling you didn't see coming.
Back Bay · Boston · Italian
Keep a white-glass budget below $20 with the posted Bollini or CasalFarneto options. Want reserve Nebbiolo? Compare the $36 Barbaresco with the $46 Barolo after checking pour sizes. Menu-based guidance checked in September 2026; prices and availability can change.
Back Bay · Boston · Northern Italian
Start with the $65 Ceretto white or $70 Borgoluce bubbles. For Barolo in a smaller format, ask about the $95 Paolo Scavino half bottle. These are posted-menu choices checked in September 2026, not an onsite tasting or assessment of service.
· Boston · Brazilian Steakhouse
Fogo de Chão is here to sell you a meat experience, and the wine list is an afterthought that exists to support that mission — not elevate it. Stick to the Zuccardi Malbec or the Garzón Albariño and spend your energy on the food.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Boston · Steakhouse
STK Boston has the square footage, the lighting, and the noise level of a place that should have a serious wine program — instead it has 142 labels of stuff you've already tried. Order a cocktail, or pick the most interesting bottle you can find and move on.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Seaport District · Boston · Greek
Trade is doing something genuinely rare in Boston: taking Greek wine seriously and giving diners the tools to explore it without a lecture. If you're eating anywhere near the Seaport and curious about what's actually in your glass, this is the move.
Surprising Depth
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Financial District · Boston · American Steakhouse
The Vermilion Club isn't trying to reinvent the steakhouse wine list, and it doesn't need to — the California depth is real, the execution is consistent, and it delivers exactly what a power-lunch crowd in the Financial District wants. Just know what you're walking into: this is Cab country, the markups are steakhouse-standard steep, and adventurous wine drinkers should calibrate expectations accordingly.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Sandy Springs · Sandy Springs · Contemporary American
Atlas runs one of the most ambitious by-the-glass programs in the Atlanta metro — 48 options with genuine depth, from grower Champagne to Sicilian Nerello to serious Burgundy. The markup is real and the pricing at the top end gets aggressive, but there are legitimate values buried in the list for anyone willing to look past the Dom Pérignon. If you care about wine and find yourself in Sandy Springs, this is where you go.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Taos · Contemporary American
NOSA is doing something genuinely rare: curating a short, smart, globally curious wine list in a place where no one would expect it. The pricing is fair, the picks are specific, and the list has a clear point of view. If you're driving through Taos and care about what's in your glass, this is the room to be in.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Taos · Contemporary American
medley. has no business running a wine list this considered in a small New Mexico mountain town, and yet here we are. Pricing is fair across the board, the selection leans curious over commercial, and the rosé section alone is worth the visit. If you're in Taos and care about what's in your glass, this is where you eat.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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