Upstate's Punk-Leaning Natural Wine Hideout
Midtown/Broadway · Kingston · Seasonal California-inspired, natural wine-focused · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed July 24, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Sonder Kingston’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The list at Sonder hits you like a well-curated record collection — not enormous, but every pick feels intentional. This isn't a restaurant that stumbled into natural wine; it's the whole point. Bosnia, Savoie, Emilia-Romagna, and the Loire all sharing space on a single page says a lot about the ambition here.
Thirty-plus bottles covering Italy, France, Spain, Austria, Germany, Chile, Portugal, and the U.S. is a tight but genuinely global sweep for a neighborhood spot in Kingston. The through-line is low-intervention winemaking — producers like the Languedoc blend behind 'Autochtones' and the Emilia-Romagna Barbera-Croatina 'Distina' signal a kitchen that actually drinks this stuff. The Loire gets proper attention, with the Kalamite 2022 and the Dinocheau Touraine Chenin Blanc both making an appearance. The gaps are real — don't come looking for a deep Burgundy bench or Napa firepower — but that's a feature, not a bug.
Sixteen by-the-glass options is genuinely impressive for a room this size, and the range tracks the bottle list in all the right ways: obscure grapes, unfashionable regions, producers you probably haven't heard of yet. At $12–$22 a pour, you can graze through the list without doing the math all night. Rotation appears tied to the season and what's available, which keeps things honest.
Dinocheau 2022 Touraine Chenin Blanc — $13/glass, $50/bottle
Touraine Chenin Blanc this clean rarely shows up for this kind of money. At $13 a glass you're drinking one of the Loire's most food-friendly grapes without any of the sticker shock that follows it into trendier rooms.
Distina 2022 Emilia-Romagna (Barbera, Croatina)
Barbera-Croatina blends from Emilia-Romagna are genuinely undersung, and most people will walk right past this for something more familiar. Don't. It's the kind of bottle that makes you want to stay for one more round.
Alphee 2019 Savoie Chardonnay
At $22 a glass or $88 a bottle, this is the one spot where the math stops working. Savoie Chardonnay is lovely, but there are better-value pours on this exact list that will keep your wallet intact.
Autochtones 2022 Languedoc + Small plates from the seasonal menu
The Autochtones is built for grazing — it's got enough fruit and enough edge to play against salty, acidic, vegetable-forward small plates without dominating anything on the table. At $16 a glass, you can pour liberally and still feel like a responsible adult.
The Bottom Line
Sonder is exactly what Kingston needed and what most mid-sized American cities are still waiting for: a genuinely curious natural wine program in a room that doesn't take itself too seriously. Send your adventurous friends here without hesitation.
· Kingston · New American, Hotel Restaurant
Restaurant Kinsley is a hotel restaurant that treats wine as a utility — something to have on the table, not something to think about. The $10 flat pricing is fair and the Crémant is a bright spot, but five labels with no rotation and no depth is a hard sell if wine is part of why you're going out. Drink the bubbles, enjoy the room, and don't come here expecting a wine experience.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Kingston · Italian, Pizza and Pasta
Lola Pizza isn't trying to be a wine bar, but it's clearly not phoning in the list either. The natural wine orientation and Italian varietal focus are smart choices for the food coming out of that kitchen. We'd go back — and we'd let the list surprise us.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Kingston · Mexican Grill
Los Jalapenos isn't trying to be a wine destination, and the list makes that abundantly clear. At $7 a glass across the board the pricing is hard to argue with, but when you don't know what producer you're drinking, cheap doesn't feel like a win — it just feels anonymous. Order a margarita and save the wine night for somewhere else.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Kingston · Wine bar, small plates
Brunette is exactly the kind of neighborhood wine bar that mid-size cities desperately need — small, smart, and staffed by people who can actually talk to you about what's in the glass. The France-and-Germany backbone, the jewel-box intimacy, and the knowledgeable staff make this a genuinely worthwhile stop in Kingston, especially if you're pairing a pour with the baked oysters or working through the charcuterie. We'd send a friend here without hesitation.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Kingston · Bottle shop
Kingston Wine Co. is not trying to be everything to everyone — it stocks twenty bottles of stuff its buyers actually believe in, prices them honestly, and trusts you to figure out the rest. If you're in the Hudson Valley and you care about what's in your glass, this is a mandatory stop. Walk in, pick up the Leclair Gamay and the Tenuta Sella, and thank us later.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Kingston · American Diner
Boulevard Diner is almost certainly a perfectly fine place to eat a stack of pancakes or a club sandwich. The wine list, however, is an afterthought — six anonymous varietals with no pricing, no producers, and no personality. Order the coffee.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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