Upstairs Lounge at Swing

You don't expect to find Cayuse Cailloux or a 2004 Clos de Lambrays Grand Cru at a hillside lounge in Olympia, Washington — but here we are. The list opens with a strong signal: this place takes wine seriously, even if the room leans cocktail-lounge casual. Sixty-seven labels with 27 pours by the glass tells you they want people drinking, not just browsing.

The list earns its credibility through an impressive Washington State backbone — Quilceda Creek, Betz, Cayuse, Woodward Canyon, Sparkman, and Gifford Hirlinger all show up, covering Red Mountain, Walla Walla, and Columbia Valley with real intention. Oregon gets its due too: The Eyrie Original Vines and Lingua Franca's Mimi's Mind Pinot Noir are genuinely exciting picks that most wine bars in larger cities wouldn't bother stocking. The Champagne section punches above the venue's weight, with Hughes Godme Premier Cru and Domaine Carneros alongside Cristal for the big spenders. Where it softens is outside the Pacific Northwest and French bubbles — there's a Marchetti Verdicchio and a Dominique Piron Morgon doing quiet, solid work, but Europe overall feels like an afterthought compared to the depth of the American selections.

Twenty-seven options by the glass is legitimately impressive and means you can build a real flight without committing to a bottle. The $15/glass entry point for bottles like the Lemelson Willamette Pinot Noir is fair, though the program as a whole trends steep once you move up the list. No obvious rotation or seasonal swap program was evident, which is the one thing holding the BTG program back from being truly exceptional.