Finger Lakes Heart, Global Ambition, Ithaca Address
West End / State Street · Ithaca · Wine Shop & Tasting Room · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed July 22, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed The Falls Wine Room’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Walking into The Falls Wine Room feels less like a wine bar and more like raiding a well-read friend's cellar — in the best possible way. The list is tight, curated with real intention, and priced like they actually want you to try things. This is not a place for people who just want a Malbec because it's on every list in America.
The selection runs roughly 100-200 bottles, split between a genuine love of Finger Lakes producers and a global reach that punches well above what you'd expect from a West End Ithaca wine shop. Local heavyweights like Heart & Hands show up alongside Eduardo Torres Acosta bringing volcanic Canary Islands energy, while Tiberio's Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo represents the kind of Italian regionalism most shops ignore entirely. The Finger Lakes representation is serious — Osmote Cabernet Franc from Seneca Lake is not a tourist pick, it's a statement. The one gap: if you want deep Burgundy or Barolo rabbit holes, you'll need to look elsewhere.
Eight to sixteen pours on any given visit, which for a shop this size is genuinely generous. The glass program pulls from the same thoughtful inventory rather than offloading whatever needs to move, so what's in the bottle actually matters. Rotation appears to track with what's interesting and seasonal rather than what's convenient.
Heart & Hands White Wine 'EsoTerra' 2023 — $23
Heart & Hands is one of the Finger Lakes' most respected producers and EsoTerra is their exploratory white blend — getting it at $23 in a tasting room setting is the kind of price that makes you order a second glass without checking your bank account.
Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo, Tiberio 2025
Most people walk past anything labeled rosé without a second glance, which is exactly why this one deserves yours. Tiberio makes some of the most serious, food-friendly pink wines in Italy and Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo is a category most American wine drinkers haven't discovered yet. At $35, you're getting a producer with real credibility at a price that reflects a shop that's not trying to capitalize on your ignorance.
Terre Siciliane Bianco 'Versante Est', Eduardo Torres Acosta 2024
Eduardo Torres Acosta is a genuinely exciting natural wine producer working in the Canary Islands, and this bottle is worth knowing about — but at $47 it's the steepest ticket on the list and without retail comparables readily available, it's harder to verify the value proposition. Save it for when you've already explored the rest of the list and want to go deep.
Osmote Cabernet Franc, Seneca Lake 2024 + Charcuterie board
Finger Lakes Cab Franc is built for cured meats — the herbaceous edge and bright acidity cut through fat and salt without bulldozing anything on the board. It's a classic tasting room pairing done right with a producer who actually knows this grape.
The Bottom Line
The Falls Wine Room is the kind of neighborhood spot that makes you realize how low the bar usually is — thoughtful list, honest prices, and a genuine point of view on what wine should be. If you're in Ithaca and you care even a little about what's in your glass, you owe this place a visit.
· Ithaca · Southwestern / New American
Agava's wine program is essentially a placeholder — no producers named, no prices published, no apparent effort to connect the Southwestern-leaning menu to anything interesting in the glass. Ithaca sits in the heart of Finger Lakes wine country, making this omission especially puzzling. Order a cocktail, or bring your own bottle if corkage is an option.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Ithaca · Hotel bar / seasonal restaurant
For a hotel bar in wine country, this list punches above its category — the Finger Lakes producers are legitimate, the Saperavi alone is worth a detour, and the overall curation signals actual effort. Pricing at a lakeside inn will likely sting, and without confirmed by-the-glass options or staff expertise, you may need to advocate for yourself. Come ready to order by the bottle, pick something local, and enjoy the view.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Ithaca · New American
The Rook is swinging for something more interesting than its size suggests, and the range of regions and styles — Txakoline, Verdicchio, Barolo rosé, orange Garnacha — earns genuine respect for a 12-bottle list. Pricing skews steep at the top end, and the lack of any documented reds from classic regions is a real hole. If you're an adventurous drinker who's tired of the same wine list at every New American spot, this is worth exploring — just go in knowing you'll probably land in the $45–$56 range to find the value.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Ithaca · Brasserie / New American
Simeon's wine list does its job without breaking a sweat — it's approachable, reasonably priced, and quietly proud of the Finger Lakes producers it stocks. The by-the-glass selection is the real strength here; if you're in Ithaca and want to explore local wine without committing to a bottle, this is a perfectly decent place to do it.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Ithaca · Northern Italian
Mercato is a well-regarded local staple with the right regional instincts — Italian roots, Finger Lakes ambition, and a warm room that earns its reservations. We'd feel comfortable sending a friend here for a solid bottle of wine with dinner, but we'd tell them to ask questions at the table, because we can't yet confirm the specifics behind the list. Worth a visit; worth a deeper look once a full wine list is in hand.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
South Hill / Elmira Road corridor · Ithaca · Steakhouse
Texas Roadhouse Ithaca is not a wine destination, and it's not trying to be — the list is short, the producers are supermarket-tier, and the markups on house pours are quietly aggressive. Come for the bread and the steak; if you need wine, order one glass and make peace with it.
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.
List Variety
Markup
Glassware
Staff
Specials & Deals
Storage & Temp
