The River Café

The wine list at The River Café arrives with the same gravitas as the Brooklyn Bridge looming outside the window — it's substantial, unmistakably serious, and not trying to be cute about it. France dominates the opening pages, with Burgundy and Bordeaux getting the most real estate, but California earns its seat at the table. This is a list built for a restaurant that has been doing fine dining before most Brooklyn restaurants existed.

The French backbone here is legitimately impressive — we're talking Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet, Leroy Bourgogne, Château Margaux, and Château Pétrus sharing pages with the kind of Burgundy grand crus that make serious collectors pay attention. California holds its own with Ridge Monte Bello, Kistler Vineyards Chardonnay, and Opus One anchoring the New World section. The Madeira selection — featuring both Barbeito and Blandy's — is a quietly wonderful touch that most restaurants in this city don't bother with. The list runs roughly 150-250 bottles deep, which for this caliber of producer feels focused rather than thin.

Twelve to eighteen pours by the glass is a solid program for a restaurant of this type, and the sommelier team here — Alex Bialas, Robert Pruett, and Austin Gardner — keeps the rotation quality-conscious rather than filler-heavy. Don't expect house pours to be an afterthought; this is a room where the staff will steer you toward something worth drinking. We'd ask what's open rather than defaulting to the printed list.