White Burgundy and Raw Bars, Done Right
Downtown Los Angeles · Los Angeles · Seafood · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed June 21, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Water Grill’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Water Grill arrives feeling serious — 400 to 600 bottles deep, clearly built with a point of view. That point of view is white wine, full stop. Burgundy and California Chardonnay dominate, and when you're looking at a tower of oysters and a bowl of Dungeness, that's exactly what you want.
White Burgundy and California Chardonnay anchor this list, with names like Domaine Leflaive Mâcon-Verzé and Kistler Les Noisetiers sitting alongside crowd-pleasers like Rombauer and Cakebread. Alsace gets a respectful nod — the Trimbach Clos Sainte Hune is one of the finest dry Rieslings on earth, and the fact that it's here says something about whoever built this list. Champagne shows up the way it should at a serious seafood house. Red wine exists on this list, but it's clearly not why you're here.
Twenty pours by the glass is a healthy number for a restaurant of this focus. We'd expect the Chardonnay-heavy selections to do the heavy lifting on the glass program, and at a downtown power-lunch destination that makes total sense. Rotation and freshness are the question marks — a sommelier on staff helps, but we'd ask when each bottle was opened before committing.
Domaine Leflaive Mâcon-Verzé — Unknown
Leflaive's village-level Mâcon is one of the best overachievers in white Burgundy. You're getting the house's winemaking DNA at a fraction of the Puligny price. At a restaurant where Kistler and Cakebread are the gravitational center, this one tends to get overlooked — and that's your opening.
Trimbach Riesling Clos Sainte Hune
Most tables at Water Grill will order Chardonnay on autopilot, and that's a shame when this bottle is on the list. Clos Sainte Hune is a single-vineyard grand cru-level Riesling from Alsace with the kind of precision and mineral tension that makes a plate of oysters taste like a revelation. It's underordered, almost certainly, and that's a missed opportunity every single night.
Rombauer Chardonnay Carneros
Rombauer is a perfectly fine wine that's become a restaurant markup machine. You're paying a significant premium for a label that's easy to find at retail, and the butter-and-vanilla profile, while crowd-pleasing, doesn't do the delicate seafood on your plate any favors. Pick the Leflaive or spend up to the Kistler — either direction beats this middle ground.
Trimbach Riesling Clos Sainte Hune + Oysters on the Half Shell
Clos Sainte Hune's razor-sharp acidity and saline mineral character are essentially built for raw oysters. The wine cuts through the brine, amplifies the ocean flavor, and leaves your palate completely clean. It's one of those pairings that makes both the wine and the food taste better than they do alone.
The Bottom Line
Water Grill is a reliable choice for serious wine with serious seafood — the list is deep enough to reward exploration, and the sommelier presence means you can actually ask for help. The markups sting, but this is Downtown LA and you knew that walking in.
· Los Angeles · Brazilian Steakhouse
Fogo de Chão's wine list isn't trying to be a destination — it's trying to support a meat-forward meal without emptying your wallet, and it largely succeeds. The South American focus makes geographic sense, the pricing is fair for LA, and there are a few genuinely good bottles hiding in a otherwise safe list. If you're going for the full churrasco experience, grab the Lapostolle Sauvignon Blanc or the Catena Alta Chardonnay and let the gauchos do the rest.
Plays It Safe
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Beverly Hills · Los Angeles · Italian
Il Cielo punches above its list size with some genuinely smart Italian picks and pricing that — especially on the Barolo — borders on generous. It's not a destination wine list, but it's a thoughtful one, and in Beverly Hills that's worth something. If you're going for a special occasion bottle, head straight to the Piedmont and Montalcino section and don't look back.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
West Hollywood · Los Angeles · Italian
A big-ticket Italian and Napa list with a genuine glass section: 14 wines by the glass from $15 to $85, then 89 bottles from $55 to $3,000. Start with the Prunotto Barolo at $30 a glass, or the Guidalberto at $145 if you want a Bolgheri bottle, and confirm prices because the page is undated. This unrated guide covers the posted drinks page, not service, storage or markups.
Westwood · Los Angeles · American, Steakhouse
A Cabernet-first list with 30 glasses and a long bottle book, but no wine prices posted online. If you want a known price, the $9 happy hour Bonanza Cabernet by Caymus is the one posted figure, and if you want to step away from Cabernet, try the Il Bruciato Super Tuscan by the glass. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Hollywood · Los Angeles · Neapolitan Italian, Pizza
An all-Italian list that runs from a $50 Bardolino to a $300 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, with 15 wines poured by the glass. Start with the 18 / 72 Rocca del Principe Fiano di Avellino next to the $25 Margherita, or the 16 / 64 Primo Monte orange Trebbiano if you want something off the Chianti track, and confirm prices. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Downtown Los Angeles · Los Angeles · French-inspired, New American
A 19-wine glass list where 17 pours land between $14 and $18. Start with the $13 Noble Vines Pinot Grigio or the $14 Intercept Pinot Noir, and put the $17 French onion soup next to a $52 bottle of Whispering Angel; confirm prices, since the list is undated. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
· Flowery Branch · Seafood
Fish Tales is on Lake Lanier, which should be a natural setting for a thoughtful selection of cold, crisp whites. Instead, the wine program is a single bottle of heavily buttered California Chardonnay. We'd recommend sticking to whatever's on tap and revisiting the wine situation if anything changes.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Perimeter Center · Dunwoody · Seafood
Louisiana Bistreaux is genuinely worth visiting for the food — the seafood is the draw, full stop. But if wine is part of your evening, don't come here expecting the list to match the kitchen's ambition. Order the crawfish ravioli, get a cocktail or a cold beer, and save the wine exploration for somewhere that's put in the work.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Cartersville · Seafood
Maine Street Coastal Cuisine is a seafood spot that doesn't take wine seriously, and the five-label, all-$7, no-producer list makes that clear without apology. If you're here for the food, drink the cocktails or crack a beer — the wine list isn't worth the conversation.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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