Champagne dreams on a steakhouse budget
· Portsmouth · Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · September 20, 2026
RagingWine reviewed The Library Restaurant’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The Library Restaurant's wine list arrives with the confidence of a place that has won a Wine Spectator award and knows it. Seventy-three labels sounds substantial until you realize a big chunk of that real estate belongs to a Champagne lineup that reads like a duty-free shop menu, and the rest leans heavily on familiar California names.
The sparkling section is genuinely impressive in range — from Korbel at $40 up through Dom Pérignon at $398 and Cristal at $500 — but it's a collection more than a curated program, built around prestige labels rather than discovery. The Chardonnay section is the list's workhorse: ten labels, all California, all well-known producers like Sonoma-Cutrer, Stag's Leap, and Fess Parker. There's nothing wrong with any of it, but there's also no Old World presence, no interesting outliers, and no sign that anyone is actively pushing the program forward. Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc are present but the data suggests those sections are similarly California-safe.
Fifteen by-the-glass options is a solid number for a steakhouse, with prices running $12–$16 per glass. The glass list pulls from the bottle list in predictable ways — Simi and Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnays make appearances, as does Fleur de Mer Rosé — but there's no evidence of a rotating program or anything that would make you excited to come back and see what's new.
The Bottom Line
The Library Restaurant is a Wine Spectator award holder that plays it very, very safe — heavy California Chardonnay, a prestige Champagne tower, and markups that favor the house. If you're here for a special occasion and want to pop a Pol Roger at $125 or a Veuve at $155, it's a fine room for that. But if you're hoping to find something unexpected or feel like the wine program is working hard for you, this list isn't going to surprise you.
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Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
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Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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