Ocean views, serious California pours, Maine magic
Cape Elizabeth · American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 7, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Sea Glass’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
You're sitting inside a coastal Maine inn with the Atlantic doing its thing outside the window, and then the wine list lands — 150-plus bottles deep, anchored by California and France, with a Best of Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator to back it up. It's more serious than the setting lets on. That's a good surprise.
The list leans hard into California and Burgundy, which turns out to be exactly right for the food coming out of this kitchen. Ridge Monte Bello and Kistler Chardonnay sit at the top end, while Jordan Cab and Sonoma-Cutrer Russian River Ranches handle the middle tier without embarrassing themselves. Louis Jadot fills in the French lane credibly. Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir is a smart regional nod — Pacific Northwest sneaking in alongside the French and Californian heavyweights. The gaps are real: no meaningful Southern Hemisphere presence, minimal Italy, and the list won't excite anyone chasing grower Champagne or natural wine — but that's not what this place is going for.
Somewhere between 12 and 20 pours by the glass, which is a solid offering for a coastal New England inn restaurant. Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling showing up on the by-the-glass program is a genuinely smart move given all the seafood on this menu. We'd like to see more rotation, but what's here is well-chosen.
Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling — $50
Off-dry Washington Riesling at the low end of the price range with the ocean right outside — it's the most versatile pour on the list for a menu built around lobster, scallops, and swordfish. Hard to beat the value here.
Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir
Most people at a coastal Maine spot are reaching for Chardonnay or a big California red, but this Oregon Pinot — Burgundian winemaking applied to Willamette Valley fruit — is the sleeper hit on this list. It bridges the French and American halves of the wine program and holds up beautifully against richer seafood preparations.
Jordan Winery Cabernet Sauvignon
Jordan is fine wine, full stop — but it's also widely distributed and easy to find at retail for significantly less than restaurant pricing. You're not discovering anything here, and the markup on a recognizable label like this rarely works in your favor. Spend those dollars on the Ridge Monte Bello instead if you want California Cab.
Kistler Vineyards Chardonnay + Pan-seared scallops
Kistler is big, structured California Chardonnay with enough weight to stand up to the sear on the scallops and enough acid to cut through whatever butter or cream is involved. This is the kind of pairing that makes the ocean view feel earned.
The Bottom Line
Sea Glass is a coastal inn restaurant punching well above its category on the wine front — the Wine Spectator credential is legitimate, the California and Burgundy anchors are sound, and the Riesling-forward glass program is tailor-made for Maine seafood. It's not going to blow out a wine obsessive, but for everyone else eating with a view of the Atlantic, this list genuinely delivers.
· Yountville · American
RH Yountville is a genuinely beautiful place to drink wine — the room earns that much on atmosphere alone, and the California-forward list will keep most guests happy without any friction. But in Yountville, where the competition includes some of the most serious wine programs in the country, 'happy without friction' isn't the same as memorable. Go for the experience, order confidently by region, and don't expect the list to surprise you.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Bakersfield · American
Yard House Bakersfield is a beer hall that happens to sell wine, and the list makes no effort to hide that. Markups are aggressive, selections are safe to the point of being anonymous, and the only reason to open a bottle here is if your table voted against another round of IPAs. If you're wine-focused, redirect your budget to the Jean-Luc Colombo Rosé by the glass and call it a night.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Yountville · American
The Kitchen at Priest Ranch is a one-winery show, and that's exactly the point. If you want to spend an evening exploring what a single Napa estate produces across whites, rosé, Zinfandel, Merlot, and multiple Cabernet expressions — including older large-format bottles — this is a genuinely interesting way to do it. Just don't come expecting breadth or outside discovery. Send a friend here if they love Priest Ranch or want to.
Plays It Safe
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
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