Eastown's Best-Kept Wine Surprise
Eastown · Grand Rapids · Farm-to-table American with Italian-influenced pastas and pizza · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed June 28, 2026
Wingman Metrics
For a neighborhood farm-to-table spot in Eastown, the wine list at Terra GR punches well above its weight class. Twenty-nine labels sounds modest until you clock Jasnières Chenin Blanc, López de Heredia Tempranillo, and Vio Pigato from Liguria sharing space with the usual suspects. Someone here is paying attention.
The list splits its personality between adventurous Old World picks and crowd-friendly New World anchors, and mostly pulls it off. The Italian section alone — Isole e Olena Chianti Classico, D Franco Serra Nebbiolo, Château de la Font du Loup Châteauneuf-du-Pape — reads like a well-curated wine bar rather than a neighborhood pizza joint. Austria and the Loire Valley make appearances too, which is genuinely unexpected for Grand Rapids. The weak spots are exactly where you'd expect: the mass-market bottles like J Lohr Cabernet and Meiomi Pinot Noir drag the list down and get hit with markups that are hard to justify.
Eighteen by-the-glass options on a 29-bottle list is an unusually high ratio, which means most of what's interesting is actually accessible without committing to a full bottle. Glass pours run $10–$15, which is reasonable for the quality level when you're pouring from the good side of the list. We'd steer hard toward the Old World selections here — the interesting stuff is what earns that range.
Isole e Olena Chianti Classico — $52
One of the most respected names in Chianti Classico, Isole e Olena consistently over-delivers at any price point. At $52 on a restaurant list, this is the pick — structured Sangiovese that handles the squid ink bucatini and wood-fired pizza without flinching.
Vio Riviera Ligure di Ponente Pigato
Pigato from Liguria is obscure enough that most tables will walk right past it, which is exactly why you shouldn't. This is a coastal Italian white with real character — herbal, saline, slightly textured — and seeing it on a menu in Eastown, Michigan is genuinely surprising. Order it.
Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling 2022
At $32 a bottle for something you can find at Meijer for $11, this is the worst value on the list at a 191% markup. Washington Riesling at grocery store quality and boutique restaurant pricing — skip it and put that money toward the Fabelhaft Riesling from Germany instead.
Jasnières Chenin Blanc + Squid Ink Bucatini with crab and sofrito
Loire Chenin Blanc has the acidity to cut through rich, briny crab and the texture to hold up to squid ink pasta without getting lost. Jasnières specifically runs leaner and more mineral than Vouvray, which makes it a sharper match for the sofrito's brightness.
🎲 The Bottom Line
Terra GR earns its Wild Card badge by hiding a genuinely thoughtful wine list inside what looks like a casual neighborhood restaurant — the Old World selections are worth the trip, even if the mass-market bottles come with markups that'll make you wince. Stick to the interesting stuff and you'll drink well.
Downtown / Amway Grand Plaza · Grand Rapids · Spanish / Modern European
MDRD is a Wild Card because it earns its badge the hard way: a hotel rooftop in the Midwest has no business carrying Bodega Chacra or a thoughtful local Michigan Pinot, and yet here we are. Markups keep it from being a destination wine list, but if you're already up there for the views and the paella, there are worse ways to spend your glass pours.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Grand Rapids · New American / Teaching Restaurant
A teaching restaurant that could embarrass a few actual restaurants on the wine front — fair prices, genuine producers, and a France-meets-Michigan list that has more intention behind it than most spots charging twice as much. Go in without expectations and leave genuinely impressed.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
Downtown · Grand Rapids · Fondue-focused American/Swiss-style chain
The Melting Pot's wine list is the dining equivalent of a reliable sedan — it gets you where you're going without any surprises, good or bad. Send a friend here for the experience, not the wine, but reassure them they won't be embarrassed by what's in the glass.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Kentwood / Southeast · Grand Rapids · Upscale Casual American
Cooper's Hawk Kentwood is exactly what it is — a well-run chain winery restaurant with fair prices, a crowd-pleasing list, and staff that's enthusiastic if not deeply expert. Don't come here expecting to find your new favorite grower Champagne; do come here knowing you'll drink something decent without getting gouged.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Midtown · Grand Rapids · Gastro Pub / Contemporary American Comfort Food
The Friesian is a neighborhood pub that happens to have wine — and there's nothing wrong with that. Come on a Wednesday when glasses are half price, order the Tempranillo or the Malbec, and stop overthinking it.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
Downtown · Grand Rapids · Casual Italian-American, Sports Bar
Uccello's Downtown is a perfectly solid place to watch a game and eat a pizza — just don't show up expecting the wine list to match the ambition of the kitchen. Order the Nero d'Avola, grab it during happy hour if you can, and save your serious wine drinking for somewhere else.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Occasional
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.