Wit & Wisdom Tavern

Walking into a wine-country tavern inside The Lodge at Sonoma and finding Madeira and Austrian dessert wines sharing menu space with Bedrock Syrah and Kistler Chard is not what we expected — and that's a compliment. The list is compact at five labels on the bottle side, but whoever put this together was clearly thinking beyond the standard Sonoma Cab-and-Pinot safety net. There's a point of view here, and it's more interesting than the hotel-restaurant context would suggest.

Five bottle labels sounds thin on paper, but the by-the-glass program is where this list actually lives — and it ranges from Roederer Estate Brut to Kracher Auslese to a 2024 Bedrock Syrah, which is a genuinely eclectic spread. The fortified wine section is the real standout: Warre's LBV Port, Broadbent Verdelho Madeira, and Taylor Fladgate 10 Year Tawny at $11–$17 for 2oz pours is a rare find at a casual tavern anywhere, let alone in a hotel. Local credibility comes via Blue Farm Pinot from Russian River and Far Mountain's 'Fission' Cab off Moon Mountain, which shows they're not just phoning in the Sonoma regionalism. The Bouchard Bourgogne Rouge at $35 a pour feels like a stretch when you can grab a bottle at retail for not much more, but everything else seems priced with at least some restraint.

The glass program punches well above the restaurant's bottle list size, with options spanning Champagne (Lanson Père & Fils), California Chardonnay (Kistler Russian River), Pinot, Cab, Syrah, and a full dessert/fortified flight. Sunday's Pizza & Pinot promotion takes the edge off prices that can otherwise climb — $35 a pour for Kistler is fair for what it is, but it adds up fast. Rotation isn't confirmed, but the presence of a 2024 Bedrock Syrah suggests they're keeping things reasonably current.