Finger Lakes Gem Punching Way Above Its Weight
Corning · American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 8, 2026
RagingWine reviewed The Cellar’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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You're on a sleepy main street in Corning, New York — not exactly where you expect to find a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence winner. But open the list and it's immediately clear this place takes wine seriously, with 200-plus bottles anchored by serious Finger Lakes producers and solid French and California representation. It's a legitimately good wine program in a town most people only pass through on the way to somewhere else.
The list leans into its regional identity without being precious about it — Dr. Konstantin Frank and Hermann J. Wiemer represent the Finger Lakes Riesling case as well as anyone could, and Red Newt Cellars and Bedell Cellars give you New York breadth beyond just the whites. France shows up through reliable names like Louis Jadot and Joseph Drouhin in Burgundy, and California gets its due with Ridge Vineyards and Jordan Winery Cabernet. It's not a sprawling, encyclopedic list, but the curation is intentional — every region has a reason to be there.
Twenty to thirty-five by-the-glass options is a generous pour program for a restaurant this size, and it means you can actually explore the Finger Lakes without committing to a full bottle. We'd expect the local Rieslings to anchor the glass pours — they should. The range gives you enough flexibility to go region-hopping through a meal without breaking the bank.
Hermann J. Wiemer Riesling — $35
Wiemer is one of the most respected Riesling producers in the entire country, and at the lower end of this list's price range, you're getting a world-class wine at a price that makes sense. Ordering anything else while sitting this close to the Finger Lakes feels like a missed opportunity.
Bedell Cellars (North Fork of Long Island)
Most people sleep on Long Island wine entirely, which means Bedell almost always gets overlooked in favor of the Finger Lakes or the French bottles. That's a mistake — Bedell makes serious, food-friendly reds that hold their own at the table, and on a list like this, they tend to be quietly underpriced relative to their quality.
Jordan Winery Cabernet Sauvignon
Jordan is a perfectly fine Cabernet, but it's also one of the most widely distributed, heavily marketed bottles in American restaurants — you've seen it on a hundred lists. At whatever premium a Best of Award restaurant charges for it, you're paying for the label recognition more than anything surprising. The list has better stories to tell.
Ridge Vineyards California Zinfandel + Filet Mignon
Ridge brings enough structure and dark fruit intensity to stand up to a well-seared filet without bulldozing it the way a big Napa Cab sometimes does. It's a smart, slightly left-of-center call that rewards anyone willing to step off the obvious Cabernet path.
The Bottom Line
The Cellar is the kind of wine program that makes you genuinely glad you looked it up before dismissing Corning as a pass-through town. Send your friends here — and tell them to order the Riesling.
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Solid Range
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