Monterey County on a steakhouse menu
7th Ave / Dolores · Carmel By The Sea · New American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 29, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Seventh & Dolores’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Seventh & Dolores reads like a love letter to Monterey County, which is either charming or limiting depending on your mood. It's tight, focused, and doesn't stray far from California — which makes sense for a steakhouse sitting inside one of the most wine-rich counties in the state. The format is clean, the prices are steakhouse-elevated, and it's clear the kitchen, not the cellar, is running the show here.
The list leans hard into Monterey County and Santa Lucia Highlands, which gives it a sense of place that most steakhouse lists completely ignore. Bernardus and Wrath anchor the Pinot Noir side, both solid producers with real regional credibility. Scheid Vineyards shows up too — a name that doesn't get enough credit given how much land they farm across Monterey. The gap is depth: there's not much to explore beyond California, and if you want a Burgundy or a Barolo with your ribeye, you're out of luck.
Ten options by the glass is respectable for a restaurant at this price point, running $13–$20 a pour. The glass program mirrors the bottle list — California-centric, approachable, not wildly adventurous. Rotation doesn't appear to be a regular thing, so what you see is likely what you'll always get.
Wrath Pinot Noir — $45
Wrath is the real deal from Santa Lucia Highlands — high-elevation fruit that punches well above its bottle price. At the lower end of the bottle range here, it's the smartest play on the list.
Scheid Vineyards Pinot Noir
Most people walk right past Scheid because the name doesn't carry the cachet of bigger Monterey players. That's a mistake — they farm thousands of acres across some of the county's best sites, and the Pinot Noir consistently overdelivers for what it costs.
Mer Soleil Reserve Chardonnay
Mer Soleil is a fine wine, but it's widely distributed and easy to find at retail for significantly less. At steakhouse markup, you're paying a premium for a bottle that doesn't require a restaurant to discover. The money is better spent elsewhere on this list.
Bernardus Chardonnay + Ribeye steak
This might feel counterintuitive — Chardonnay with ribeye — but Bernardus' Monterey bottling has enough weight and acidity to cut through the fat, especially if you're getting some compound butter or a pan sauce involved. It's a confident call that the table will remember.
✔️ The Bottom Line
Seventh & Dolores isn't a destination wine list, but it's a respectable one that at least knows where it is geographically. Come for the steak, order the Wrath, and don't expect to go down any rabbit holes.
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