Four Wines, Zero Apologies, Wednesday Wins
Downtown Lake Avenue · Traverse City · Food truck pod with bar (multi-cuisine street food) · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 25, 2026
RagingWine reviewed The Little Fleet’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Take Vibe Match and we’ll tell you what to order here.
Wingman Metrics
You walk into a gravel lot full of food trucks, picnic tables, and dogs, and the last thing you expect is a wine list that's actually thought about. Four bottles, sure — but they're Meinklang, Gor Gor, and La Posta, not Kendall-Jackson. Someone here is paying attention.
Four labels sounds like nothing, and in most places it would be. But this tiny list punches hard: Meinklang from Austria (biodynamic, natural-leaning), Gor Gor from France (low-intervention, under-the-radar), Sic Ma Sic Ma rounding out the natural wine angle, and La Posta Tinto Red Blend from Argentina for anyone who wants something a little more fruit-forward and familiar. The geographic spread — Austria, France, Argentina — is genuinely eclectic for a place where the main food option is tacos from a truck. There's no deep cellar here and no pretense about it, but the curation shows real intent rather than default distributor laziness.
All four bottles are poured by the glass, which means the entire list is accessible without committing to a bottle — smart for a spot where you're grazing from multiple trucks. At an estimated $8–$14 per glass, you're not getting gouged, and on Wednesdays those pours drop to half price. Four options is slim, but when each one earns its spot, slim is fine.
La Posta Tinto Red Blend — $10
Argentine blends at this price point are almost always reliable crowd-pleasers, and La Posta is one of the better producers doing it. On a Wednesday at half price, this is a $5 glass of wine from a serious producer. Hard to argue with that at a picnic table.
Meinklang
Meinklang is a biodynamic operation out of the Burgenland region of Austria making wines that most people have never heard of and would pay a premium for at a wine bar. The fact that it's sitting on a four-bottle list at a food truck lot in Traverse City is quietly wild. Order it before someone tells them what they have.
Sic Ma Sic Ma
The least documented of the four on this list, and with only four options, you want to know what you're getting. If staff can't tell you much about it — and at a casual outdoor bar, that's a real possibility — go with Meinklang or Gor Gor where the producers have stronger name recognition and more information available.
Gor Gor + Street tacos
A low-intervention French pour with natural acidity and lighter structure cuts right through taco fat and spice without fighting the food. It's the kind of wine that disappears pleasantly alongside whatever's coming out of the truck window.
Wednesday — 50% off all wines all night, 4pm to close. Applies to the full list, not a limited selection.
🎲 The Bottom Line
The Little Fleet isn't a wine destination — it's a warm-weather hang with a surprisingly honest four-bottle list that someone clearly cared about. Show up on a Wednesday, order a Meinklang at half price, and stop overthinking it.
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Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Slabtown / West Front Street · Traverse City · American tavern fare with waterfront grill classics
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Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
US-31 South / East Side · Traverse City · Mexican
Agave is a solid casual cantina — the margaritas are the move and everyone at the table knows it. The wine list is an afterthought, and there's no shame in treating it like one.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Front Street · Traverse City · Seafood/Raw Bar
Umbo is quietly one of the more interesting wine programs in northern Michigan, built with a clear point of view around Old World acid and seafood compatibility. The pricing is a stretch and the list could use more depth, but if you're eating oysters in Traverse City, this is where you want to be drinking.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Front Street · Traverse City · Steakhouse / Contemporary American
The Pretty Penny is a dependable date-night wine list in a beautiful lakeside town — not adventurous, not cheap, but competent enough to make your steak night work. If you're a wine explorer looking for discovery, you might leave a little flat; if you just want a solid Cabernet with a great meal on Front Street, you're in good hands.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Front Street · Traverse City · Steakhouse with Seafood and Contemporary American
Slate is a dependable steakhouse wine list that plays to its crowd — nothing wrong with that, but adventurous drinkers should zero in on the L. Mawby and call it a night. Send a friend here for a solid meal and a glass of something local; just don't expect the list to challenge them.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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