Coastal Carolina's best-kept wine secret
North Myrtle Beach · North Myrtle Beach · French, Seafood
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 9, 2026
RagingWine reviewed SeaBlue Restaurant & Wine Bar’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
You don't expect to walk into a wine program this serious on a stretch of Highway 17 in North Myrtle Beach. The list lands with real weight — 200-plus selections anchored in California, France, and Italy — and it's been earning Wine Spectator's Best of Award of Excellence every year since 2012. This isn't a resort town wine list phoning it in; someone here actually cares.
The backbone is California-heavy and hits the classics hard: Caymus, Jordan, Silver Oak Alexander Valley, Stag's Leap, Rombauer, and Duckhorn are all present and accounted for. France shows up with Louis Jadot Burgundy anchoring the Old World side, and Italy gets its moment via Antinori Super Tuscans — not your corner-store chianti situation. The range runs $35 to well over $150, which means there's a real entry point for normal humans and enough ceiling to satisfy the splurge crowd. The one gap: if you're hunting for natural wine or anything outside the California-France-Italy triangle, you're in the wrong place.
Twenty to thirty-five options by the glass is genuinely impressive for a beachside restaurant, and sommelier Tracy Smith's fingerprints are all over the curation — this isn't a list of three whites and two reds on a laminated card. You can work through serious producers without committing to a full bottle, which is the right call when the table can't agree.
Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon — $65
Jordan consistently retails around $45-50, so restaurant markup here stays reasonable. It's a crowd-pleasing Alexander Valley Cab with enough structure to hold up against the filet mignon, and it won't make your eyes water when the check arrives.
Antinori Super Tuscans
Most tables at a coastal seafood spot are reaching for the Rombauer Chardonnay or Meiomi Pinot. The Antinori Super Tuscans get overlooked entirely, which is a mistake — they bring Sangiovese backbone with Cabernet muscle, and they're a natural match for the bouillabaisse in a way no one at the table sees coming.
Meiomi Pinot Noir
Meiomi is a $14 grocery store bottle. Whatever SeaBlue is charging for it, the answer is too much. There are better Pinot options on this list that cost only a few dollars more and actually taste like somewhere specific.
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon + Filet Mignon with Bordelaise Sauce
Bordelaise is a wine-based sauce that practically begs for a classic Napa Cab next to it. Stag's Leap brings enough Napa fruit and structure to stand up to the beef without bullying the sauce — it's the kind of match that makes the whole table go quiet for a minute.
🔥 The Bottom Line
SeaBlue is the rare beach town restaurant where the wine list earns as much attention as the food. Sommelier Tracy Smith runs a genuinely strong program, and the consistent Wine Spectator recognition since 2012 isn't just a wall decoration — you taste it in the selection. Send your friends here and tell them to skip the Meiomi.
Colleyville · Colleyville · French, Seafood
Next Bistro is the rare suburban Texas restaurant that earns its Wine Spectator hardware rather than just hanging it on the wall — the list is real, the producers are legit, and the France-forward direction fits the kitchen. Markups skew steep in spots, but if you navigate toward Burgundy and Alsace, you'll drink very well.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Midtown · New York · French, Seafood
Le Pavillon is one of the few Midtown restaurants where the wine list genuinely earns its own conversation — a Best of Award of Excellence that doesn't feel like a participation trophy. Bring someone you're trying to impress, or come alone and let the sommeliers do their thing; either way, you're in good hands.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Back Bay · Boston · French, Seafood
Bistro du Midi is exactly what a good French bistro wine program should be — trustworthy, thoughtful, and managed by someone who actually cares. No fireworks, but no embarrassments either, and on a street full of tourist traps, that's worth something.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
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