Topper's at the Wauwinet

The wine list at Topper's arrives like a small novel — 800 to 1,200 selections deep, with a Grand Award from Wine Spectator that dates back to 1996 and hasn't gone soft since. You're sitting on a deck overlooking Nantucket Bay at golden hour, and the list in your hands matches the moment: aspirational, considered, and not cheap. This is a destination wine experience in every sense of the word.

The anchor here is Burgundy — and it's not just a token section. We're talking Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Leroy Bourgogne, and Henri Jayer Vosne-Romanée on the same list, which is genuinely rare outside of a handful of restaurants in the country. Bordeaux is equally serious, with Château Pétrus, Château Le Pin, and Château Mouton Rothschild representing the full spectrum of the Left and Right Banks. California holds its own with Screaming Eagle, Harlan Estate, and Kistler Vineyards, and the Italian coverage — Gaja Barbaresco, Sassicaia, Giacomo Conterno Barolo — gives old-world lovers plenty to chase. The Rhône showing, anchored by Guigal's Côte-Rôtie La Mouline and Chapoutier Ermitage, rounds out a list that feels like it was built by someone who actually drinks wine.

With 20 to 35 pours available by the glass, there's real range here — not just a token Chardonnay and a Cabernet standing in the corner. Sommelier Brittany Dawson runs the program, and that shows in the glass selection feeling curated rather than default. We'd push for a rotation that highlights more of the list's depth, but for a hotel dining room on an island, this is well above average.