Mexican Wine Gets Its Houston Moment
Downtown Houston · Houston · Mexican (Oaxacan) · Visit Website ↗
Updated June 2026
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 28, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Xochi’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Xochi does something most upscale Mexican restaurants won't — it leads with Mexico. You're not hunting through token Baja bottles buried under a wall of California Cabs; the Mexican wine program here is front and center, curated, and clearly championed by someone who actually cares. That alone earns our attention.
With 150-200 bottles covering Mexico, France, and California, this list has real bones. The Mexican section pulls from Valle de Guadalupe heavyweights like L.A. Cetto and Vena Cava, plus the undersung Bichi out of Sonora — a producer making genuinely weird, genuinely good natural wines that almost nobody outside wine circles knows. France isn't an afterthought either: Domaine Weinbach from Alsace and the legendary Chateau Musar from Lebanon (yes, Lebanon) tucked in shows a curator who thinks in flavors, not just geography. California rounds it out with Raen's Royal St. Robert Cuvée Pinot Noir, a serious Sonoma Coast bottle that holds its own next to the rest. The gaps are minor — we'd love to see more depth in sparkling and South America — but overall this is a list that rewards exploration.
Twenty to thirty by-the-glass options is an ambitious pour program, and at Xochi it means you can actually work your way through Mexican wine without committing to a full bottle — which is exactly how discovery should work. The range appears to span whites, reds, and presumably some mezcal-adjacent territory on the spirits side, though we'd push the staff to rotate the BTG list more aggressively to keep regulars engaged.
Casa Madero — $12
Casa Madero is Mexico's oldest winery — founded in 1597 — and still cranks out bottles that massively overdeliver for the price. If they're pouring this by the glass anywhere near the low end of the range, it's the move for anyone curious about Mexican wine without wanting to gamble a full bottle.
Bichi Sonora
Bichi is a natural wine cult producer operating out of the Sonoran desert, making low-intervention wines from old-vine Mission grapes that taste like nothing else on the planet. Most diners will scroll right past it. Don't. It's the most interesting bottle on this list and a direct conversation with Mexican wine history.
Raen Royal St. Robert Cuvée California Pinot Noir
Raen makes beautiful wine — no argument there — but ordering a California Pinot at an Oaxacan restaurant with this much Mexican wine on the list is a waste of the room you're sitting in. It's not a bad bottle, just the wrong call when Bichi and Vena Cava are right there.
Monte Xanic Cru Blanc + Ceviche
Monte Xanic's Cru Blanc from Valle de Guadalupe is a textured, mineral-driven white with enough acidity to cut through citrus and enough weight to stand up to the seafood. It mirrors the brightness of the ceviche without competing with it — and keeping both the wine and the dish in Mexico is a satisfying full-circle moment.
The Bottom Line
Xochi is doing something genuinely rare: running a serious Mexican wine program inside a serious restaurant, with a sommelier who knows the material and a list that earns its Wine Spectator credential. Send your adventurous friends here and tell them to skip the Cab.
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Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Solid Range
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Basic Stemmed
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Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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Solid Range
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Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
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Small but Thoughtful
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Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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