Champaign's Bubbly Secret With Surprising Depth
· Champaign · Wine Bar / New American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · September 8, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Sun Singer Restaurant’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
Sixty-four labels in Champaign, Illinois is not what you expect walking into a mid-sized college town. The list leads heavy on sparkling — seven glass pours of bubbles before you even get to the whites — which tells you exactly what this place thinks a night out should feel like. It's ambitious in the right direction.
The sparkling program is the obvious centerpiece: Laurent-Perrier Brut anchors the top end at $19.75 a glass, while Segura Viudas and Freixenet give budget-conscious drinkers real options without punishing them. The still wine list is leaner — the bottle section surfaces gems like the Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina and Jim Barry Waterville Riesling, which are genuinely interesting picks for a list this size. The house wine lineup (Chardonnay, Merlot, Shiraz, Zinfandel, Cab, Blush — all $8) is the predictable padding you'd expect, but it doesn't drag down the rest. Where the list shows its age is in the reds: bottle coverage seems thin based on what's visible, and there's no obvious deep-cellar play for anyone looking to push past the fizz.
Thirty-five glass pours on a 64-label list is a genuinely generous ratio — you can spend a whole evening here without committing to a bottle. The sparkling-by-the-glass selection alone spans Champagne, Crémant, Cava, and Prosecco, which is more than most dedicated wine bars manage. The $7.75 Lunetta Prosecco entry point keeps things accessible without feeling cheap.
Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina 2023 — $31
Feudi di San Gregorio is one of the most reliable names in Campania, and Falanghina at $31 a bottle is a genuine deal — this wine routinely retails for $18-22, so the markup is restrained and the quality-to-price ratio is real.
Cascina Pain d'Or 'Serena' Sweet Red Wine 2021
Most people walk right past sweet reds, and that's their loss. This Piedmontese offering at $27 a bottle is the kind of low-alcohol, lightly fizzy, food-friendly red that's become a cult favorite in Italy but still flies completely under the radar in the States — it's the sleeper pick on this list.
House Chardonnay
Eight bucks a glass sounds reasonable until you realize you're one step above a box wine situation with zero producer transparency. With a Falanghina or a Riesling this close in price, there's no reason to default to the nameless house pour.
Jim Barry Waterville Riesling 2023 + Charcuterie Board
Clare Valley Riesling has the acidity to cut through cured meats and aged cheeses, and Jim Barry's Waterville bottling brings enough lime and slate character to hold its own against strong flavors without overwhelming anything on the board.
The Bottom Line
Sun Singer is punching well above its weight for central Illinois — the sparkling program alone makes it worth a detour, and the bottle list has enough personality to reward anyone willing to look past the house pours. Send your wine-curious friends here without hesitation.
South Champaign · Champaign · Farm-to-Table / American
Harvest Market Farmhouse is a perfectly fine neighborhood wine program that punches above its weight exactly once a week — on Mondays, when half-price bottles turn a predictable list into a genuinely good deal. The rest of the week, it's a reliable pour with fair markups, just don't come here looking for discovery.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
South Champaign · Champaign · Italian
Napoli's isn't a wine destination, but it's not trying to be — the list is honest, the prices are fair, and the Italian bottles genuinely complement the food. Send a friend here for dinner without hesitation; just don't send them expecting to discover anything new.
Plays It Safe
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Champaign · Champaign · Diner / Cafe
Lazy Daisy has no business having a wine list this thoughtful, and that's exactly why it earns a Wild Card. Four bottles, zero pretension, and at least two genuinely interesting pours — we'd absolutely tell a friend.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Champaign · Champaign · Mexican
Fiesta Café is a genuinely fun spot for margaritas and big burritos, but the wine list is purely ceremonial — it exists so they can say they have one. Come for the drinks menu, not the wine list.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Champaign · Champaign · Steakhouse
LongHorn Champaign has a wine list that exists so you can say you had wine with dinner — not much more than that. If you're here for the steak, grab the J. Lohr and move on; if you came for the wine list, recalibrate your evening immediately.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Unknown · Champaign · Steakhouse
Texas Roadhouse is a perfectly good place to eat a steak and destroy a basket of rolls — just do yourself a favor and drink a beer or a bourbon instead. The wine list is grocery-store inventory at chain-restaurant markups, and no amount of country music can dress that up.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Medford · Wine Bar / New American
The Beatrice is a small list done with more care than you'd expect from a mid-sized Oregon city wine bar. It won't blow your mind, but it's the kind of place where you can trust a glass recommendation and not feel burned.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Ann Arbor · Wine Bar / New American
Vinology is doing something genuinely interesting for Ann Arbor — a globally curious, fairly priced wine list with real depth by the glass and producers you won't find at the Italian place down the street. We'd send a friend here specifically for wine, which is not something we say lightly.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Downtown · Stamford · Wine Bar / New American
Uncorked Stamford is a reliable landing pad after work — not a destination for serious wine drinking, but a competent, comfortable room with a list that does its job. Send a friend here for drinks before dinner, not for the bottle list itself.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
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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