Solera

Walking into Solera, you half-expect a perfunctory margarita list with a few token reds tucked in the back. What you actually get is a focused, Spain-forward wine program that takes its subject seriously enough to stock Txakolina in Baton Rouge — which is either ambitious or crazy, and we mean that as a compliment. The bar-forward energy matches the list: social, a little loud, and more interesting than you'd predict.

The list runs 40 to 60 bottles and stays almost entirely in its lane — Spain, Spain, more Spain, with a Louisiana-inspired wink here and there. You've got the expected pillars covered: Albariño from Rías Baixas, Tempranillo from Rioja and Castilla y León, Garnacha from the inland, and Cava for bubbles duty. What earns real credit is the inclusion of Txakolina from Getariako — a briny, low-alcohol Basque white that most restaurants in this city have never heard of and wouldn't dare put on a list. The gaps are real though: no Sherry program to speak of, no Verdejo, and the Priorat reference on the list seems to be more aspiration than depth. Still, for a Spanish tapas spot in the Deep South, this is a genuinely coherent effort.

Twelve to eighteen pours by the glass is a strong showing, running $9 to $16 — and the range tracks the bottle list well enough that you can actually explore the Spanish regions without committing to a full bottle. The real move is Wine Wednesday, when select bottles go half-price, effectively turning a steep markup situation into something approaching fair. We'd love to see more glass rotation, but what's there is serviceable.