St. Paul's Dimly Lit Dessert Wine Rabbit Hole
· St. Paul · Cocktail Bar and Italian · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · October 5, 2026
RagingWine reviewed The Vermilion’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The Vermilion's wine list is nine bottles long and every single one is a fortified or dessert wine — no Chardonnay, no Cab, no apology. It's a deliberate swing, and in a dimly lit, late-night cocktail bar setting, it actually lands. Most restaurants treat dessert wine as an afterthought; this place built a list around nothing else.
Nine labels covering Madeira, Banyuls, two tiers of Taylor Fladgate Tawny Port, Sauternes, Tokaji, Icewine, and an obscure Macvin du Jura — this is a dessert wine education in a single page. The regional spread is genuinely impressive: France, Portugal, Hungary, Canada, and the Jura all represented. Gaps exist because there's essentially no dry wine program at all, so if you're not in the mood for something sweet or oxidative, you're drinking cocktails. But within its lane, the list has real curation behind it.
Everything is by the glass, which is exactly right for a list like this — these are wines you want to taste in pours, not commit a whole bottle to. The range runs from $10 for the Gérard Bertrand Banyuls up to $40 for the Inniskillin Icewine, giving you genuine entry points and a proper splurge option. Nine pours, nine styles, zero redundancy.
The Bottom Line
The Vermilion isn't a wine list for every night out, but it's one of the most intentional specialty lists we've seen in the Twin Cities — a full dessert and fortified wine program executed with actual conviction. If you're the kind of person who's ever wanted to work through a Tokaji, a Madeira, and a Macvin du Jura in one sitting, this is your spot.
Rondo · St. Paul · Cafe and New American
Golden Thyme deserves every bit of its community love, and the kitchen is cooking at a level the wine list hasn't caught up to yet. Come for the jambalaya linguine and the catfish po'boy — just don't plan your evening around what's in the glass.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· St. Paul · French
Restaurant Aubergine is running an eleven-bottle wine program that punches well above its weight class — the selections are specific, considered, and genuinely adventurous for a French spot in the Twin Cities. If you want a deep cellar and a leather-bound wine bible, look elsewhere; if you want someone's honest, well-edited point of view in a glass, this earns your attention.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· St. Paul · Mexican
Boca Chica is almost certainly a great neighborhood spot for Mexican food, but the wine program is an afterthought. Eight unlabeled house varietals and a White Zinfandel on the menu is all the signal you need — order the sangria, order a margarita, and save the wine night for somewhere else.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Roseville · St. Paul · Italian / Steakhouse Hybrid
Chianti Grill is not here to challenge you — it's here to give you a familiar Italian-American night out with wine that won't embarrass anyone. Watch the markups on the California pours, lean into the Italian section, and order the Chianti flight at least once.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· St. Paul · New American
Cafe Lurcat is a reliable anchor for a Minneapolis date night, and the wine list won't embarrass you — but at these prices, you'd want it to thrill you a little more than it does. Go for the atmosphere and the food; treat the wine list as a solid supporting cast, not the headline act.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
St. Paul · St. Paul · Wine Bar / Bottle Shop Bistro
Sunfish Cellars is punching several weight classes above its size — a 19-bottle list with three Sadie Family wines and an Elvio Cogno Nascetta at $15 is not something you stumble across. If you care about wine and you're in St. Paul, you need to know this place exists.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
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.
List Variety
Markup
Glassware
Staff
Specials & Deals
Storage & Temp
