Great Drag Show, Grocery Store Wine List
Short North · Columbus · American, Bar · Visit Website ↗
Updated June 2026
Reviewed March 22, 2026
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Union Cafe takes about four seconds to read — and that includes blinking. Nine Woodbridge and Barefoot labels, all priced at $8 a glass, staring back at you like a CVS endcap that got a little too comfortable. The room is genuinely fun and the drag shows are legitimately world-class, but whoever put this list together was not thinking about the wine drinkers in the building.
This is as California-generic as it gets: Woodbridge covers the reds and most of the whites, Barefoot handles the sweeter end, and that's the whole story. No depth, no regional curiosity, no producer worth mentioning to a friend. There's a J Roget Brut split on the menu that technically counts as bubbles, but J Roget is the bottom rung of a very long ladder. If you came here hoping to find something interesting — a skin-contact white, an off-the-beaten-path red, literally anything with a story — keep walking.
Eight of the eleven labels are available by the glass, which sounds generous until you realize the list is eleven bottles of mass-market California wine. Every pour is $8, which is honest pricing for what you're getting — essentially, wine as a mixer at a bar that happens to serve food. Rotation appears to be nonexistent; this list has the energy of something that hasn't changed since the Obama administration.
Woodbridge Pinot Grigio — $8
At $8 a glass for a wine that retails for $9, you're basically drinking at retail. It's not exciting, but it's cold, inoffensive, and won't hurt your wallet while you watch the show.
Woodbridge Rosé
It's not hidden so much as ignored — most people here are ordering cocktails, and the rosé sits quietly on the list. On a warm night on that big patio, a $8 glass of pink wine is a perfectly acceptable move, and at near-retail pricing, at least you're not getting gouged.
J Roget Brut Split
A 60% markup on a $5 split of J Roget — a sparkling wine that tastes like carbonated ambition — is the one place on this list where you're actually paying a penalty. If you want bubbles, order a cocktail instead.
Barefoot Riesling + Pad Thai
A little sweetness in the glass softens the heat and salt in the Pad Thai. Barefoot Riesling is not a serious wine, but it's doing real work here, and at $8 it earns its place on the table.
❌ The Bottom Line
Union Cafe is a legitimately great bar with a genuinely terrible wine list — come for the drag, the patio, and the Stack Burger, and order a cocktail unless you truly don't care what's in your glass. The pricing is shockingly fair for what it is, but what it is is Woodbridge.
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Cento is the rare Columbus restaurant where the wine list is a genuine reason to go, not just a footnote to the pasta. Matthew Selva's Italian-focused program earned its Wine Spectator nod honestly — send your wine-curious friends here without hesitation.
Surprising Depth
Fair
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Columbus · Columbus · Spanish, Catalan
Barcelona has been earning its Wine Spectator Award of Excellence since 2005, and the list holds up — serious Spanish producers, fair prices, and enough glass pours to drink well across a full tapas spread. For Columbus, this is genuinely the best Spanish wine program in the room.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Columbus · Columbus · French, Seasonal
The Refectory has been doing this quietly and correctly since 2003, and a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence held that long doesn't happen by accident. If you're in Columbus and serious about wine, this is the room — full stop.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Easton Town Center · Columbus · Steak House
Mastro's Columbus is a trophy-wine steakhouse doing what trophy-wine steakhouses do — and doing it well enough to earn a Wine Spectator credential in its first year. If you're celebrating something, drinking California cab with a great steak, and not particularly interested in venturing off the map, this list will absolutely deliver.
Solid Range
Steep
Varietal Specific
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Columbus · Columbus · American, Steakhouse
Jeff Ruby's is doing the steakhouse wine list right — deep cellar, Wine Spectator credentials, and enough California firepower to keep any red wine drinker busy all night. Bring your appetite for both the ribeye and the markup, because this room doesn't apologize for either.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Varietal Specific
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Columbus · Columbus · American, Asian
Agni is the best wine list in Columbus most people haven't had a reason to talk about yet — until now. With two sommeliers, a 300–500 bottle program, and a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence already in its first year, send your friends here and tell them to skip the Caymus.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Seasonal Rotation
Proper
Southeast Portland · Portland · American, Bar
The Observatory is a great bar with decent food that treats wine as a box to check rather than a reason to come in. Drink the beer, drink the cocktails — but if you must order wine, go in with eyes open on the markups.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Tremont · Cleveland · American, Bar
Lava Lounge isn't a wine bar and doesn't pretend to be — but that Stoller pour at near-retail pricing makes it a Wild Card worth knowing about. Come for the atmosphere and the lumpia, order the Pinot, and leave impressed by what you didn't expect.
Crowd Pleasers
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Louisville · American, Bar
The Seelbach Bar is not your destination for wine discovery, but it's not trying to be — and at least the daily half-price program on select bottles gives you a legitimate reason to order a real glass of wine instead of defaulting to bourbon all night. Come for the room, stay for the Cyrus at half off.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
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