Temple Kitchen + Bar

The wine list at Temple Kitchen + Bar reads like a greatest-hits album you've heard a hundred times — recognizable names, nothing too risky, nobody leaving confused. For a craft American bar in Hilo, it does the job. It's just not trying very hard to do more than that.

Forty-seven labels sounds promising until you start reading: William Hill Chardonnay, Franciscan Cabernet, MacMurray Pinot Noir — these are hotel bar staples, not destination pours. There's a surprising amount of bubbles for a Hawaii bar town, with multiple Cavas (Freixenet, Avinyo, Bella Mistala) and a couple of Prosecco options giving the sparkling section more energy than the reds. The French influence from Les Jamelles shows up in both Viognier and Pinot Noir, which is a mild nod toward something beyond the California comfort zone. The Tentadora Malbec from Valle de Cafayate is the one genuine outlier — a South American detour in an otherwise entirely predictable lineup.

The list carves out dedicated by-the-glass sections for whites, reds, and bubbles, which tells you they're at least thinking about the glass program as its own thing. The Cava selection by the glass is genuinely the most interesting part of what's on offer — three different expressions is more than most places bother with. We'd just want to know how often those pours rotate, because this list has the feel of something that hasn't changed since opening day.