Solid pours, no fuss, eat your fish
Midtown · Kingston · Japanese / Sushi · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed July 24, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Sushi Makio’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Sushi Makio is short, unpretentious, and exactly what you'd expect from a neighborhood sushi spot that knows its lane. There's no natural wine rabbit hole here, no obsessive Burgundy curation — just a practical list that gets out of the way and lets the fish do the talking. That's not an insult; it's just the reality.
The list leans heavily on California and Italian crowd-pleasers — Franciscan Cab, Cline Zinfandel, Caposaldo Pinot Grigio — the kind of bottles you've seen a hundred times but won't argue with. New Zealand gets a nod via Kono Sauvignon Blanc, which is actually a decent match for raw fish. The most interesting corner of the list is the Japanese wine section: Hakutsuru Plum Slim Wine, Choya Umeshu, and Choya Yuzu Wine are genuinely fun options that most sushi spots ignore entirely. Don't sleep on those.
Eight to twelve options by the glass in the $9–$14 range is a reasonable spread for a restaurant this size. The pricing is honest — you're not being gouged for a midweek tuna roll dinner. Rotation appears static, so don't expect anything new on your third visit.
Kono Sauvignon Blanc — $9–$14 by the glass
Crisp, grassy New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is one of the most food-friendly pours you can order with sushi. At this price point, it's a no-brainer — cuts through the richness of salmon and complements lighter rolls without competing with the fish.
Choya Yuzu Wine
Most people breeze past the Japanese wines and go straight for the Pinot Grigio. Don't. Choya's Yuzu Wine is tart, citrusy, and genuinely fun — it tastes like it was made to sit next to a plate of nigiri. Order it, be different, enjoy yourself.
Franciscan Cabernet Sauvignon
A big California Cab is just the wrong call at a sushi restaurant. Heavy oak and tannin fighting with delicate raw fish is nobody's good time. The wine isn't bad on its own terms, but ordering it here is like bringing a snowblower to the beach.
Natura Unoaked Chardonnay + Sashimi
Unoaked Chardonnay is one of the cleaner, brighter white wine styles you can order — no butter, no vanilla, just fresh fruit and acidity. That lightness lets clean sashimi flavors come through without the wine steamrolling everything on the plate.
The Bottom Line
Sushi Makio's wine list is modest but functional, with honest pricing and a smart nod to Japanese wine options that most spots never bother with. We'd happily send a friend here for a low-key sushi night — just order the Yuzu Wine and leave the Cab alone.
· 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
· Missoula · Japanese / Sushi
SakeTome's wine list is small, but it earns its Wild Card badge by making thoughtful choices most Montana restaurants wouldn't bother with — Austrian whites, obscure Italian reds, a Beaujolais that actually belongs at a sushi dinner. Pricing and by-the-glass details remain unconfirmed, which keeps it from climbing higher, but if you're eating sushi in Missoula and want something more interesting than a default Chardonnay, this list gives you real options.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Buckhead · Atlanta · Japanese / Sushi
Brush is doing something genuinely unusual: running a geographically adventurous wine program inside a polished omakase-capable sushi restaurant in Buckhead. The sommelier presence gives us real confidence in the curation, even if pricing likely skews upscale to match the room. If you're going for the uni carbonara udon or the wagyu mazamen, let whoever's working the floor guide you — that's exactly what they're there for.
Surprising Depth
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Wilson · Jackson Hole · Japanese / Sushi
Start with the $16 Ca' Vittoria Prosecco, or the $17 Pascal Biotteau Anjou Blanc if you want a white by the glass. If you book the omakase, the restaurant says a wine or sake pairing is an additional $50 for four 3 oz pours. Confirm current availability and prices. This unrated guide covers the posted list, not service, storage or retail markups.
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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