Greensboro

Table at the Lake isn't a destination wine list, but it's a genuinely solid one for a lakeside casual fine dining room — fair prices, recognizable producers, and enough range to keep a table happy through a full meal. If you're already out there for the views and the filet, the wine program won't let you down.

Eighty8 is a solid, unfussy wine program for a resort crowd that knows what it likes — California heavy, staff willing, prices a bit steep but not insulting. Send a friend here for a good bottle of Cab with dinner; just don't send them expecting to be surprised.

ESSĒ is a solid lakeside wine destination for California Cab and Chard fans who know what they want and don't need to be challenged. Wednesday half-price wine night turns a steep list into a genuinely good deal — time your reservation accordingly.

Green Valley Grill is doing something genuinely rare for a mid-size Southern city — maintaining a list serious enough to warrant a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence year after year, without pricing out everyone who isn't on an expense account. If you're in Greensboro and you care about wine, this is your destination.