Hotel Wine List, Hotel Wine Effort
Downtown / East Superior Street · Duluth · Hotel Restaurant / New American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 12, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Restaurant 301 at Sheraton Duluth Hotel’s wine list and gave it The Lazy List — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Restaurant 301 reads like it was assembled by someone who Googled 'popular wine brands' and called it a day. Sixteen labels total, heavy on California staples you've seen at every airport TGI Fridays between here and LAX. It's not offensive — it's just thoroughly uninspired.
The list leans hard into crowd-pleasing California reds — Josh Cellars Cab, Meiomi Pinot, Troublemaker Red Blend — with a few token gestures toward Washington State, Argentina, and New Zealand. There's no real depth here: no interesting producers, no regional curiosity, nothing that suggests anyone with actual wine knowledge had a hand in building this. The Duckhorn Cabernet is the lone name that carries real weight, but at $165 a bottle in a hotel dining room, it's doing a lot of heavy lifting for a list that otherwise tops out at grocery store shelf presence. Italy and New Zealand get a mention in the region focus, but the actual bottle selection doesn't do much to prove it.
Fourteen of sixteen wines available by the glass is genuinely impressive on paper — you can try almost anything on the list without committing to a bottle. In practice, though, that's fourteen variations on the same safe theme: mainstream brands, familiar grapes, zero surprises. Pours run $10–$15, which is fine for what you're getting.
Brancott Estate Sauvignon Blanc — $10/glass, $35/bottle
Brancott is a reliable Marlborough producer and at $35 a bottle it's the most honestly priced wine on the list. Not exciting, but it delivers clean, citrusy New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc without the markup games happening elsewhere on this list.
Columbia Crest H3 Merlot
Most people walk right past anything labeled Merlot, especially at a hotel restaurant. Columbia Crest H3 is sourced from Horse Heaven Hills in Washington's Columbia Valley and consistently punches above its price point — earthy, structured, and more interesting than anything else in the red section here.
Duckhorn Cabernet Sauvignon
At $165 a bottle, you're paying a serious hotel premium for a wine that retails around $65. Duckhorn is great — but not this great. Save it for a proper wine bar or a retailer and spend that $165 on two bottles of something more interesting elsewhere.
The Hess Collection Cabernet + Steak
Hess Collection Mount Veeder Cab brings enough structure and dark fruit to stand up to a properly cooked steak without demanding you spend Duckhorn money to do it. It's the most sensible big-red move on a list that doesn't give you many options.
The Bottom Line
Restaurant 301 is where wine goes to coast on name recognition and hotel captive-audience pricing. If you're staying at the Sheraton and need a glass of something familiar with dinner, it's fine — but we wouldn't cross the street for this list, let alone plan a night around it.
· Duluth · Brewpub
Lake Superior Brewing has no business having a wine list this interesting, and we mean that as a full compliment. If you're in Duluth and you want to drink wine somewhere that actually thought about it, this brewpub is the surprising answer.
Surprising Depth
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Duluth · Cocktail Bar
This is a cocktail bar that slipped a legitimately interesting nine-bottle wine list into the corner without making a big deal about it — and we respect the quiet confidence. Don't come here for a deep cellar experience, but do come here knowing you have real options beyond the well liquor.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Duluth · Italian
Va Bene is presumably doing something right in the kitchen, but the wine list is a two-item afterthought that tells you this place doesn't take wine seriously. Order a glass, enjoy your pasta, and don't expect anything more.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Duluth · European / Hotel Restaurant
Midi is doing more with 38 labels than most hotel restaurants do with 80. The aromatic white selection alone makes it worth a serious look, and the pricing won't leave you feeling robbed on the way out.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Duluth · Italian-American and Pizza
Sammy's is a Duluth institution and the pizza earns its reputation — the wine list is just not the point, and the restaurant isn't pretending otherwise. Order a beer or grab the cheapest glass pour, eat the pizza, and be happy.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Canal Park · Duluth · American, Bar, Pizza
Old Chicago Duluth isn't a wine destination and doesn't pretend to be — it's a reliable fallback for the table member who wants a glass of something decent while everyone else works through the tap list. If you stick to the Ste. Michelle Riesling, you'll leave satisfied; just don't come here expecting anything that will make you put down your pizza.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· McMinnville · Hotel Restaurant / New American
Red Hills Kitchen is doing something sensible: a tight, globally-aware wine list at fair prices in a town that takes wine seriously. Every bottle available by the glass is the right call for a hotel restaurant, and the pricing won't make you wince. If you're in McMinnville and need a low-stakes, well-chosen pour before or after a winery visit, this is a perfectly good place to land.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Napa Valley · Napa · Hotel Restaurant / New American
The Elene is doing something genuinely uncommon for a Napa hotel restaurant: it's built a wine list with a real perspective. Pricing is fair, the whites and sparkling section is worth the visit on its own, and if you're tired of being handed the same Napa Cab lineup every time you sit down, this is your spot.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Downtown · Eugene · Hotel Restaurant / New American
The Wheelhouse is a perfectly fine place to drink Oregon wine if you're already at the Gordon and don't feel like walking. As a destination for wine specifically? There are better reasons to be somewhere else in Eugene.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
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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