Beach bar wine that won't embarrass you
Perry Mill Wharf / Lower Thames · Newport · Casual American bar food and pizza · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed July 24, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Surf Club’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Eleven bottles, eleven by-the-glass options — they've committed to a fully by-the-glass program, which is exactly what a laid-back Thames Street bar should do. Nobody's coming here to crack open a vertical of Barolo, and Surf Club knows it. The list is short, unpretentious, and priced to move.
This is a crowd-pleaser list with a few quietly interesting choices hiding in plain sight. You've got your Italian stalwarts (Voga Pinot Grigio, La Marca Prosecco), your French basics (La Poule Blanche Sauv Blanc, The Pale Rosé), and a California contingent anchored by Wente Chardonnay and J. Lohr Hilltop Cab. What breaks the monotony is Stolpman's Sauvignon Blanc from Ballard Canyon — a producer doing serious work — and the Vajra Rosabella Rosé out of Piedmont, which is a genuinely thoughtful pick for a pizza-and-wings spot. The list won't win awards for depth, but it covers the bases without insulting anyone.
Everything on the bottle list is available by the glass, which is a win for tables that can't agree on a direction. Prices run $10–$14, which is very reasonable for Newport's tourist-heavy waterfront corridor. No obvious rotation or seasonal program — this list feels like it was set and left alone, but what's here is poured at honest prices.
Vajra Rosabella Rosé — $12/glass
G.D. Vajra is a legitimate Piedmont producer making serious Barolo and Barbera — this rosé is their casual sipper, and it's vastly more interesting than the generic Provence rosés clogging every other Newport menu. At $12 a glass next to a wood-fired pizza, it's a no-brainer.
Stolpman Sauvignon Blanc
Stolpman is a Ballard Canyon name that wine people recognize immediately and everyone else walks right past. Their SB is brighter and more structured than your typical California SB — at $14/glass it's the most interesting pour on the list and nobody at the next table is ordering it.
Wycliff Sparkling Rosé
Wycliff is a budget California sparkling brand built for grocery store shelves. At $10/glass it's not egregiously priced, but with a bottle of La Marca Prosecco or even the Lambrusco available, there's no reason to settle for this one.
Lambrusco Chilled Bubbly Red + Chicken wings
Chilled, slightly fizzy, a little fruit-forward — Lambrusco cuts through fatty fried wings better than almost anything else on this list. It's also fun, which matches the Surf Club energy exactly.
The Bottom Line
Surf Club isn't a wine destination, but it's a fair, unpretentious bar list with a couple of genuinely good picks tucked in. Order the Stolpman, grab a slice, and enjoy the lawn. That's the move.
· Newport · Fine Dining / New American
Castle Hill's wine list is a quiet overachiever in a setting that could easily get away with doing far less. The by-the-glass depth is real, the format variety is a genuine bonus, and the Lustau Fino alone justifies scanning the list carefully. Prices trend steep as you'd expect from a waterfront inn, but the curation earns some goodwill — just don't autopilot to the Cabernet.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Newport · Seafood / Clam Shack
Flo's is a genuine New England institution for fried clams and clam cakes, and we'd happily eat there any day of the week. But the wine program is essentially non-existent — two options, one of them a mystery, and one of them a Champagne marked up 100%. Order the ice cold beer instead; it's literally on the menu as the drink of choice, and they're not wrong.
Grocery Store
Gouge
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Newport · Wine bar / small plates
Bar 12 is a well-priced, no-drama wine stop in a city where wine lists can get away with being lazy and expensive. The selection is commercial and safe, but the Grüner and the Willamette Pinot Noir show someone made at least a couple of interesting calls. If you want a solid glass without a markup headache, it delivers — just don't come looking for discovery.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Newport · Winery Tasting Room
Greenvale Vineyards is a legitimate reason to detour off Bellevue Avenue. The estate list is small but not lazy — the Ramato alone earns the visit — and at $25 to $40 a bottle, you're paying tasting room prices, not restaurant markups. If you're spending a day in Newport, this is where you buy a bottle for the waterfront, not where you linger over a three-course dinner.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Outskirts / North End · Newport · Farm-to-Table / Winery Restaurant
Brix isn't trying to be a destination wine list — it's trying to be a great ambassador for one vineyard's work, and it mostly succeeds. Send your curious friends here; send your Burgundy obsessives somewhere else.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Lower Thames · Newport · Farm-to-Table / New American
TSK is quietly one of the better wine lists in Newport, which is a town that doesn't exactly set a high bar — but this one would hold its own in most cities. If you're eating farm-to-table food and want a bottle that actually matches the kitchen's ethos, this is your spot.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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