Sonoma's Backyard Poured With Unexpected Range
Healdsburg Avenue / Hotel Healdsburg · Healdsburg · American / Small Plates / Wine Bar · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed July 26, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Spoonbar’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
You're sitting in a hotel bar in the middle of Sonoma wine country, and the list actually earns its address — this isn't a lazy tourist trap with inflated Kendall-Jackson markups. At 110 labels with a clear local obsession and a few curveball French detours, Spoonbar signals that someone put real thought into this. The price range ($40 to $186) keeps it accessible without being cheap.
The list leans hard into Sonoma's greatest hits — Russian River Valley, Alexander Valley, Sonoma Coast — and does it well, with producers like Failla and Wayfarer showing up alongside more approachable picks. What makes this a Wild Card is the Southern French thread running through it: Carignan and Viognier from the South of France sitting next to local Zinfandel and Pinot is not something you expect from a hotel restaurant in wine country. The Alexander Valley Cabernet range spans $59 to $186, giving you real options at multiple price points. Gaps exist — if you want to wander outside Sonoma and South France, the list won't take you far — but what's here is curated, not just dropped in.
Nineteen by-the-glass options is a strong number, priced between $13 and $17, which is honest for Healdsburg. The Flowers Rosé of Pinot Noir at $13 is a legitimately good pour at a fair entry price, and the Failla Sonoma Coast Pinot at $17 by the glass is one of the better deals you'll find in town. Rotation isn't clearly documented, but the range covers sparkling, rosé, white, and red without doubling up on obvious crowd-pleasers.
Failla Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 2023 — $17/glass, $64/bottle
Failla is a serious Sonoma Coast producer whose bottles regularly fetch $50+ at retail. Getting it by the glass at $17 or by the bottle at $64 is a fair deal in a market where similar producers get marked up ruthlessly. If you're here for one wine, this is it.
Spicy Vines 'Zin Master' Zinfandel
Most people in Healdsburg skip the Zin in favor of Pinot or Cab, but this pour at $15/glass ($56/bottle) is the list's personality wine — it leans into the region's old-vine Zinfandel heritage without apology. Easy to overlook, hard to regret.
Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley 2020
Jordan is perfectly fine wine, but at $120 a bottle it's trading on name recognition more than value. Jordan retails widely in the $50-$60 range, making this a steep 2x+ markup for a label you can find at most grocery stores. Spend that money on the Wayfarer Chardonnay instead.
Wayfarer Fort Ross-Seaview Chardonnay + Seafood
Wayfarer's Fort Ross-Seaview Chardonnay is a cool-climate, restrained white — more tension and salinity than butter and oak. That profile cuts right through rich seafood dishes and complements anything from the sea without overwhelming it. At $168 it's a splurge, but this is the bottle to open if you're doing it right.
The Bottom Line
Spoonbar punches above its hotel-bar weight class with honest pricing, a genuine Sonoma focus, and enough French intrigue to keep things interesting. If you're eating in Healdsburg and want a solid glass of local wine without getting gouged, this is a reliable stop — and occasionally a great one.
· Healdsburg · California Seafood
Handline earns its Wild Card badge not because the wine list is extraordinary on paper, but because the combination — California seafood, counter service, string lights, Sonoma-focused wine — shouldn't work this well and somehow does. If you're road-tripping through wine country and want a low-pressure lunch with local pours and grilled oysters, this is exactly the kind of detour worth making. Just go in knowing the wine list is supporting cast, not the headline act.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Healdsburg · Steakhouse
Stark's is the rare steakhouse that treats wine as something other than an afterthought or a cash grab. The list is compact but genuinely considered, markups are fair across the board, and the full bottle-to-glass availability is a policy every restaurant should copy. If you're eating in Healdsburg and want to drink well without overpaying, this is a legitimate stop.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Healdsburg · Italian
Ciao Bruto is running one of the smallest and most coherent wine lists in wine country, which is either audacious or brilliant — probably both. If you want a 200-label deep-dive, go somewhere else. If you want eight smart picks at prices that won't make you wince, this is the move in Healdsburg.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Healdsburg · Wine Bar
Maison is what happens when someone builds a wine bar list with genuine curiosity instead of a regional checklist — you're in the heart of Sonoma Wine Country and the list keeps pointing you toward Mosel Riesling, Douro whites, and 1934 Madeira. The by-the-glass program alone justifies a visit, and the pricing is fair enough that you can explore without flinching. If you're in Healdsburg and you actually care about wine, this is the stop.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Healdsburg · New American
The Spinster Sisters are doing something genuinely unusual in Healdsburg: running an adventurous, globally-minded wine list at prices that don't make you do math before ordering a second glass. If you care even a little about wine, this list is worth your time — and if you're a local Sonoma drinker who wants to try something that isn't another Valley Chardonnay, this is exactly the detour you've been looking for.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Healdsburg · Seafood
The Marshall Store earns its reputation as a low-key, scenic spot for fresh West Coast oysters and smoked salmon — and if that's your mission, it delivers. But the wine program is effectively an afterthought: undocumented, uncurated, and not a reason to visit. Bring a bottle from one of the Healdsburg producers down the road, check the corkage policy at the door, and spend your energy on the food.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
MIA
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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