Chapel walls, Pinot Noir, and zero pretense
Northside / Historic Chapel · Taos · Northern New Mexican, organic, locally sourced · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 27, 2026
RagingWine reviewed The Love Apple’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're eating inside a converted adobe chapel from the 1800s, candlelit, with hand-hewn wooden pews as benches — and the wine list matches the room: short, intentional, and quietly confident. There's no filler here, no crowd-pleasing Kendall-Jackson to pad the page count. What you get is a focused selection that clearly reflects someone's actual philosophy about how wine should be grown.
The list leans heavily on Pinot Noir, and that's not an accident — the cool-climate, earth-driven character of the grape maps well onto the organic, terroir-forward ethos of the kitchen. Oregon shows up with Erath, Burgundy gets a nod via Pascal Janvier's Bourgogne, and the California contingent is represented by Flowers from the Sonoma Coast. The regional range is narrow, but it's coherent — this isn't a list that wandered into Malbec or Meiomi territory. The trade-off is depth: if you're not a Pinot person, your options thin out fast.
Estimated at six to ten pours, the by-the-glass program is modest but purposeful — expect the same organic and biodynamic sensibility that runs through the bottle list. Rotation appears limited, so don't count on something new every visit. What's there is well-chosen for the menu; what's missing is variety for the table that wants to explore beyond one red grape.
Erath Pinot Noir, Oregon — $40–$50
Erath is a workhorse Oregon Pinot that consistently punches above its retail weight. At a restaurant that could easily up-charge for its organic cred and candlelit ambiance, this one stays honest on the price — and it's exactly the kind of food-friendly red that makes tamales and trout both work at the same table.
Pascal Janvier Bourgogne
Most people ordering Burgundy are scanning for village-level AOCs and stopping there. Pascal Janvier is a small, biodynamic producer in the Coteaux du Loir — his Bourgogne isn't glamorous on paper, but it's the kind of producer-driven, living-wine choice that most restaurants at this price point wouldn't bother stocking. That it's here at all says something worth paying attention to.
Flowers Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast
Flowers is a genuinely good wine, but it's also widely distributed and carries a retail price that makes restaurant markup feel especially sting-y. In a room with Pascal Janvier on the list, paying a premium for a label you can find at most wine shops is hard to justify. Save it for home.
Pascal Janvier Bourgogne + Trout
A lighter, biodynamically farmed Burgundy with bright acidity and earthy red fruit is exactly what you want against freshwater trout — it won't overpower the fish but it's not so delicate it disappears. The mineral thread in Janvier's wine echoes the clean, high-altitude character of the whole meal.
🎲 The Bottom Line
The Love Apple is a Wild Card in the best possible way — a tiny organic wine list in a centuries-old adobe chapel that somehow makes more sense than most dedicated wine bars. If you're a Pinot person with a soft spot for biodynamic producers, this is your kind of detour.
Northside / Paseo del Pueblo Norte · Taos · Burger / American
Come for the burgers — seriously, people love them — but manage your wine expectations hard. This list is a placeholder, not a program, and you're paying convenience store wine prices at restaurant markups.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Taos Plaza Alley · Taos · Mexican bar & grill
We would never send anyone to The Alley Cantina specifically for the wine, but we'd absolutely send them for the vibe — and if you hit that 5–7pm happy hour, a $5 glass of Porto while a band tunes up is one of Taos's more charming small pleasures. The Wild Card badge isn't for the list quality; it's for the unexpected delight of finding Warre's Warrior in a cantina that also has a pool table.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
Downtown · Taos · Steakhouse
Martyrs is punching above its weight class for a steakhouse in Taos — the Italian selections alone make it worth a look. The markups are real and the pricing on the classics is aggressive, but if you order smart, this list rewards you.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Bent Street / Historic District · Taos · Fine Dining / New American
Lambert's is a reliable dinner destination in Taos, and the wine list won't ruin your night — but it won't make it either. Send a friend here for the elk tenderloin; tell them to order the Duckhorn and not overthink it.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Ledoux Street Arts District · Taos · Wine Bar / Mediterranean
Barra Vino is the kind of place that earns its reputation quietly — a small, smart list in an unexpected location, priced fairly, with enough personality to make the wine the point of the evening. If you're in Taos and care about what's in your glass, Ledoux Street is where you should be.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Taos · Wine Bar / European
Corner Office is a Wild Card in the best possible sense — a tiny, focused natural wine list in downtown Taos that punches well above its size. If you're passing through northern New Mexico and care about what's in your glass, this is a mandatory stop.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.