Solid hotel wine list that earns its keep
Downtown · Winston Salem · Contemporary American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed June 25, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Sir Winston Wine Loft & Restaurant’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Walking into Sir Winston, you get the sense that someone actually thought about the wine program — this isn't a hotel bar afterthought with four Cabs and a Pinot Grigio. The list is broad, international, and clearly meant to impress, which it mostly does. The room backs it up: polished and grown-up without being suffocating.
At an estimated 150-200 labels, the list covers a lot of ground — California dominates as you'd expect, but there's genuine range here with Spanish Garnacha Blanca and Tempranillo, an Argentine Malbec, German Riesling, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, and Sicilian Moscato rounding things out. The Opus One appearance signals they're aiming at serious wine drinkers, not just satisfying the table that orders whatever sounds familiar. That said, the depth is wider than it is deep — you won't find much in the way of grower Champagne, aged Burgundy, or serious Italian reds. The regional North Carolina angle in the food menu doesn't quite make it to the wine list, which is a missed opportunity given how the local wine scene has grown.
Twenty-plus options by the glass is genuinely generous, and the 6 oz versus 9 oz pour split gives you flexibility — ideal if you want to work through a few bottles' worth of variety across a meal. The glass list leans accessible: Meiomi Pinot Noir, Louis M. Martini Cab, Whispering Angel Rosé — crowd-pleasers, not barn-burners. Rotation appears limited; this feels like a list that gets revisited annually rather than seasonally.
Campo de Borja Garnacha Blanca — $10
Spain's Garnacha Blanca is chronically underrated and rarely this affordable at a hotel restaurant. It's textured, dry, and interesting — a steal compared to everything around it on this list.
J. Baumer Riesling (Rheinhessen)
Most tables at a place like this are going to reach for the Whispering Angel or something California. The Rheinhessen Riesling is the sleeper — dry, precise, and completely out of place in the best way on a list otherwise dominated by New World crowd-pleasers.
Meiomi Pinot Noir
Meiomi is fine, but it's a $14 retail bottle that earns restaurant markup fast. You can do better almost anywhere else on this list, and at these prices you're paying for the brand recognition more than the wine.
Matsu Tempranillo + Brussels Sprout Tacos
The earthy, slightly funky char on those Brussels sprout tacos wants something with grip and a little rusticity — the Matsu Tempranillo from Spain brings both without steamrolling the vegetable-forward dish.
The Bottom Line
Sir Winston is the rare hotel restaurant that makes a real effort on wine, and for Winston-Salem, that counts for a lot. Pricing runs steep enough that you'll feel it by the second bottle, but the selection earns at least one visit from anyone who takes wine seriously.
· Winston Salem · Bakery / Cafe
Camino Bakery shouldn't have a wine list this considered, and yet here we are. Bottles top out at $29, most land between $14 and $19, and the selection skews curious rather than safe — Txakoli and orange wine at a Winston-Salem bakery is genuinely unexpected. If you're nearby and want a low-pressure bottle without the restaurant markup, this is a legitimately good stop.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Winston Salem · Thai
Thai Harmony is genuinely worth visiting for the food — the khao soi and kai yang have real fans for a reason, and the downtown space is one of the better dining rooms in Winston-Salem. But come for the kitchen, not the cellar. Until the wine program shows us something specific worth recommending, you're better off ordering a Thai iced tea and saving the wine for another night.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Winston Salem · Modern Mexican
Alma Mexicana is a genuine wild card — a modern Mexican restaurant in Winston-Salem with a wine program that's quietly pointing at Old World Europe instead of the expected California house pour. We need the full list to give you the real numbers, but the instinct here is good enough to warrant ordering something other than a margarita.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
· Winston Salem · Wine Bar / Bottle Shop
The Caviste is doing something genuinely weird for Winston-Salem — a curated, Austria-only bottle shop with prices that should embarrass most restaurant wine lists. If you're even slightly curious about Grüner Veltliner or natural-leaning reds, this is a low-risk, high-reward detour.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Winston Salem · Winery Tasting Room / Light Bites
Divine Llama is a fun, farm-genuine detour if you're exploring North Carolina wine country and want something local and unpretentious. Don't come for depth or discovery beyond the estate — come for the story, the setting, and a glass of Traminette you probably wouldn't have ordered anywhere else.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
· Winston Salem · American Cafe
West End Cafe isn't a wine destination, but it's a perfectly decent place to drink something decent without overpaying for it. Send a friend here if they want wine with dinner and aren't looking to make an event out of it.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Vinings · Atlanta · Contemporary American
So has a wine list built to please a suburban dinner crowd without ruffling any feathers, and it largely succeeds at that narrow goal. The markup is real — most bottles sit at 3–4x retail — but the by-the-glass breadth gives you options to keep the tab reasonable. If you're a wine-first diner, this isn't your destination; if you're here for the scene and the food, you'll find something perfectly fine to drink.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Toledo · Contemporary American
Sabira has built something genuinely worth noticing for Toledo: a compact, mostly European list that takes real swings with appellations like Grasparossa di Castelvetro and Vernaccia di San Gimignano. Pricing data isn't available to us, and the BTG program is unclear — so call ahead or ask on arrival. If the staff knows this list as well as whoever curated it seems to, this is an easy recommendation for anyone tired of the same regional Chardonnay-and-Cab circuit.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Sarasota · Sarasota · Contemporary American
A one-page list that mixes Greek, Italian and French bottles with Cristal, Taittinger and Laurent-Perrier Champagnes, and posts many prices as two unlabeled numbers. Start with the Gai'a Assyrtiko (70 / 17) alongside the wood-fired octopus, or take the Les Girelles Picpoul (48 / 12) on a Tuesday, when the list says bottles at $99 and less are half off (bubbles and Champagne excluded). This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups, and the list carries no printed date, so confirm current availability and ask which number is the glass.
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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