Washington Inn
Victorian Cape May's Most Serious Wine Room
Cape May · Cape May · American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 8, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
Walking into the Washington Inn, the wine list lands on your table like a statement — 300 to 500 bottles deep, curated with intention, covering California, France, Italy, and Spain without any of the filler you'd expect from a Victorian inn in a beach town. This is not a list assembled by someone who called a distributor rep and said 'give me the usual.' There's a sommelier here, April Fain, and her fingerprints are all over it.
Selection Deep Dive
California is the anchor, and it earns that position — Caymus, Jordan, Silver Oak, Stag's Leap, and Opus One cover the crowd-pleasing Cab corridor while still offering real range in quality tier. France shows up seriously with Château Margaux and Louis Jadot Burgundy, giving the list genuine old-world weight. Italy punches hard with Antinori Super Tuscans and Sassicaia, and Spain rounds things out with the benchmark Vega Sicilia Unico — a wine that has no business being on a Cape May wine list and yet here it is. The only gap we'd note is that the list skews heavily toward big reds and prestige names; if you're hunting natural wine or lighter-touch picks, you may have to dig.
By the Glass
Twenty to thirty-five by-the-glass options is a generous pour program for a restaurant of this size, and the price range of $12 to $22 is reasonable given what's on offer. We'd expect April Fain to keep the glass list rotating and representative of the broader cellar rather than just defaulting to the same workhorse wines every season. If you're undecided, start there — it's a low-risk way to audition the list before committing to a bottle.
Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon — $40s-$60s range
Jordan is one of those Sonoma Cabs that consistently over-delivers relative to its price point. In a list that runs all the way to Opus One and Château Margaux, Jordan is the smart play for anyone who wants serious California Cab without the trophy-wine markup. Drink well, spend smart.
Vega Sicilia Unico
Most diners at a New Jersey shore restaurant are going to reach for the California Cab column and call it a night. That's exactly why you shouldn't sleep on the Vega Sicilia Unico. Spain's most iconic wine — complex, age-worthy, unlike anything else on the table — sitting quietly on a Cape May wine list waiting for someone to notice. Notice it.
Opus One
Opus One is a great wine. It's also a wine you're paying a serious premium for everywhere you order it, and a restaurant markup on top of an already expensive bottle means you're deep into trophy-wine territory fast. The Jordan and Stag's Leap options on this same list give you excellent California Cab DNA at a fraction of the price. Save Opus One for when someone else is buying.
Sassicaia + Rack of Lamb
Sassicaia is Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc grown on the Tuscan coast — structured, savory, with that earthy iron edge that Super Tuscans do so well. Rack of lamb brings herb crust, char, and rich fatty meat to the table. These two were made for each other in the way that feels less like pairing and more like a foregone conclusion.
🔥 The Bottom Line
The Washington Inn is the rare beach-town restaurant where the wine list is genuinely worth the trip on its own merits — a Best of Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator since 2021, a resident sommelier, and a cellar that takes California, France, Italy, and Spain seriously. Yes, send your friends here for wine.
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