Great Views, Decent Pours, Watch the Markup
Fairhaven · Bellingham · American, Bar · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 10, 2026
RagingWine reviewed The Black Cat’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The Black Cat leans hard into its setting — exposed brick, bay views, warm lighting — and the wine list follows suit: approachable, unpretentious, and built for a neighborhood crowd rather than anyone hunting down a grower Champagne. It's the kind of list where you recognize most of the names because you've seen them at Costco, and that's not entirely a knock. What it is, though, is a reminder to order carefully.
The list clocks in at around 20–30 bottles with a genuinely decent regional spread: Washington State gets proper representation with Chateau Ste. Michelle, Maryhill, Boomtown, and Revelry, which is the right call for a Bellingham bar that should be flying the PNW flag. Spain shows up with a couple of solid value plays — the Anciano Crianza Tempranillo and Rene Barbier — and Portugal gets a nod with the Passatempo Vinho Verde. The weak spots are Italy (one Montepulciano doesn't constitute a category) and California (Leese-Fitch and Coastal Vines are grocery-tier at best). There's nothing wrong with this list if you know where to look, but there's also nothing on it that'll make you put down your fork to take a photo.
Roughly 10–12 pours by the glass is respectable for a neighborhood bar, and the glass price points — last verified around $6–$9 — are easy on the wallet even if the bottle markups are not. The by-the-glass selection mirrors the bottle list without much curation: what you see is what you get, and rotation doesn't appear to be a priority. Still, for a casual dinner with bay views, a $7–$8 pour of the Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling gets the job done.
Passatempo Vinho Verde — $22
Vinho Verde is criminally underordered at American bars, and at the low end of the bottle range here, it's the smartest play on the list — crisp, slightly effervescent, and built for casual food. Skip the safe Chardonnay and grab this instead.
3-Year Anciano Crianza Tempranillo
Most people at a bar like this reach for the Malbec or the Cab and never look twice at the Spanish section. The Anciano Crianza is a legitimate wine with actual oak aging and more structure than anything else in this price neighborhood — it's the quiet overachiever on a list full of crowd pleasers.
Leese-Fitch Pinot Noir
The markup data here is telling: an unnamed 'cheapie Pinot' was spotted at $70 a bottle against $15–$17 retail — a 300%+ markup that tracks with how California bargain-bin Pinots tend to get priced on lists like this. Leese-Fitch is that wine. It's fine at $14 retail; it is not fine at bar prices. Order something else.
Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling + Prime Rib
Washington Riesling with prime rib sounds contrarian until you actually try it — the wine's natural acidity and faint sweetness cut through the richness of the beef in a way that a heavy Cab just bulldozes past. It's the move on Sunday nights when the prime rib special is running.
✔️ The Bottom Line
The Black Cat is a genuinely good neighborhood spot with a wine list that mostly gets out of its own way — just steer toward the Washington and Spanish bottles, stay away from the California Pinot trap, and enjoy the view. We'd send a friend here for a low-key dinner, not a wine-first evening.
Downtown · Bellingham · Nautical-themed American contemporary / comfort food
The Admiralty Lounge isn't a wine destination, but it's doing more with a short list than most bars in its class — half-price bottles at happy hour and actual Sherry on the menu are the kind of moves that earn goodwill. Come for the cocktails, stay for the Fino.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
Downtown Waterfront · Bellingham · Seafood / Oyster Bar
Roe isn't a wine destination, but it's not trying to be — the list is fair, the pricing is reasonable, and if you know to order the Riesling, you're eating and drinking well on the water. Send a friend here for oysters; just don't send them expecting a deep cellar.
Plays It Safe
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Lummi Island (regional destination) · Bellingham · Fine Dining / Farm-to-Table
The Willows Inn is as serious about wine as it is about the 14 ingredients it sourced from within a mile of your table. You're paying destination prices across the board, but the list delivers at that level — this is a once-in-a-while splurge that earns it.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Downtown · Bellingham · Brewpub / American pub fare
Aslan Depot shouldn't have a wine list this good, and yet here we are. If you're in Bellingham and want natural wines in a no-fuss setting, this is the move.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Bellingham · New American / Wood-Fired Seasonal
Carnal is doing something genuinely rare in Bellingham: a tight, adventurous wine list that matches the ambition of the kitchen. It's not deep, but it's honest — and for a 17-bottle list, that's more than enough reason to trust it.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Bellingham · Pizza
Come to La Fiamma for the wood-fired pizza and the vibe — both are worth it. Come for the wine and you'll be disappointed. Order a cocktail or a beer and revisit when they decide the list deserves the same care as the kitchen.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Fogelsville / Near Allentown · Allentown · American, Bar
Madeline's won't be the reason you plan a trip to Fogelsville, but if you're already there, the wine list earns a solid passing grade. Fair prices, decent range, and a few genuinely good picks make it worth ordering a bottle instead of defaulting to the bar menu.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Southeast Portland · Portland · American, Bar
The Observatory is a great bar with decent food that treats wine as a box to check rather than a reason to come in. Drink the beer, drink the cocktails — but if you must order wine, go in with eyes open on the markups.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Short North · Columbus · American, Bar
Union Cafe is a legitimately great bar with a genuinely terrible wine list — come for the drag, the patio, and the Stack Burger, and order a cocktail unless you truly don't care what's in your glass. The pricing is shockingly fair for what it is, but what it is is Woodbridge.
Grocery Store
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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