Monet's Garden Has a Serious Wine Cellar
Greater Princeton Area / Hamilton · Princeton · French-Inspired Contemporary American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed July 23, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Rat's Restaurant’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Nine hundred bottles deep in a restaurant that looks like someone transplanted a French impressionist painting to central New Jersey — yeah, you notice the wine list before you notice anything else. It lands on the table with the weight of a serious commitment. The setting does a lot of work to frame expectations, and for once, the list mostly delivers.
The list leans hard into Bordeaux and broader France, which makes complete sense given the Giverny aesthetic, but California shows up in force too — Duckhorn, Goldeneye, Frank Family, Jordan — the kind of Napa and Sonoma names that anchor a fine-dining list without taking too many risks. Italy gets a seat at the table, though it feels more like a supporting role than a full chapter. The reserve list goes deep enough to surface a 1945 Château Margaux, which is either a flex or a genuine collector's corner depending on how seriously you take this place — we take it seriously. Gaps exist in the Southern Hemisphere and anything remotely natural or adventurous, so if you're hunting Jura or Georgia, look elsewhere.
The happy hour window — Tuesday through Friday, 4 to 7 PM — cuts glass pours to half price, which is the real reason to time your visit strategically. The full by-the-glass count isn't published, but given the 900-bottle depth, the pour selections feel curated rather than exhaustive. The Decoy Brut Cuvée NV has appeared on the events side, suggesting bubbles by the glass are in the rotation.
Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley 2018 — $110
At roughly 69% over retail, Jordan is the least punishing bottle on a list that otherwise leans into steep markups. It's a crowd-pleasing, food-friendly Cab that holds its own at the table without requiring a second mortgage.
Goldeneye Anderson Valley Pinot Noir 2017
Most people at a French-inspired restaurant default to Burgundy or Bordeaux and sleep on the Goldeneye entirely. Anderson Valley Pinot at this age has developed enough complexity to hold up against the richer dishes here, and it tends to fly under the radar next to splashier Napa names on the list.
Masi Campofiorin Rosso del Veronese 2018
At $48 for a bottle that retails around $20, this is the steepest markup in the visible pricing data — north of 140%. Campofiorin is a perfectly fine everyday wine, but it has no business being a splurge at a destination restaurant. Pass and put that money toward something better.
Goldeneye Anderson Valley Pinot Noir 2017 + Escargots
Snails in butter and herbs need something with enough acidity to cut through the richness but enough red fruit to not disappear. The Goldeneye's cooler-climate profile and earthy undertones make it a genuinely interesting call here rather than the reflexive Burgundy reach.
Tuesday–Friday — Half-price wines by the glass during happy hour, Tuesday through Friday from 4 PM to 7 PM. The single best reason to plan your visit around the clock.
The Bottom Line
Rat's is a destination restaurant that takes its wine program seriously — 900 bottles, a sommelier on staff, and a reserve list with actual depth earn it that much. The markups are real and you'll feel them, but if you time it right with happy hour, this is one of the better wine experiences in the Princeton orbit.
· Princeton · Steakhouse
Ruth's Chris Princeton delivers a competent, corporately assembled wine program that covers the bases without taking any real swings. Markups are steep across the board — this is not the place to drop serious money on a bottle — but the all-by-the-glass format and the Trimbach and Catena Zapata picks give you room to drink well if you choose carefully. Come for the steak; drink strategically.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Palmer Square · Princeton · Italian / Pizza & Wine Bar
Teresa's has the bones of something genuinely good — a wine-bar concept in a charming Princeton setting, with an Italian-leaning list and the kind of casual-but-intentional vibe that makes you want to linger over a second glass. We'd call it a Wild Card because the setup is promising and the concept is right, but without a fully sourced list in hand, we're betting on potential as much as proof. Worth a walk-in to find out.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Princeton · Wine Shop with Tastings
Princeton Corkscrew is doing something genuinely useful: shop-floor pricing on a focused, mostly Old World list that punishes nobody for wanting to drink well without a restaurant markup. The Dubreuil-Fontaine Beaune Premier Cru at $67.50 and the Tardieu-Laurent Rhône Blanc at $19 both represent the kind of value that makes a wine list worth paying attention to. If you're in Princeton and care about what's in your glass, this deserves a stop.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Princeton · Italian / American
Metro North's wine program is honest, approachable, and priced fairly for what it is — a crowd-pleasing list that gets out of the way and lets you eat dinner. If you're looking for discovery or depth, you won't find it here, but if you want a glass of something reliable at a fair price, the Nebbiolo and the Rosso di Montalcino are quietly doing the real work on this list.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Princeton · Farm-to-Table / New American
Brick Farm Tavern has no business having a wine list this interesting, and that's exactly the point. The markups are real — this isn't a value destination — but the curation earns genuine respect, especially with the local Unionville pours and the Slovenian Rebula Brut as curveballs. If you're driving out to Princeton for the farm-to-table experience anyway, the wine list is a legitimate reason not to skip it.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Princeton · Italian / Pizza
LaScala's Fire Princeton offers a functional, crowd-friendly wine list that does the job without making any bold moves. The by-the-glass selection is genuinely broad and pricing stays reasonable at the lower end, but markups on recognizable names like Kim Crawford and Veuve Clicquot are steep enough to notice. Send a friend here for a casual pizza night — just point them toward the Vermentino or the Prosecco and away from the big-name bottles.
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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